Car jacks: what to choose? Car jacks: reviews

Without a jack, you do not need to drive at all, and this is an obvious fact. Each driver should have in his trunk such a device, which in the case of a broken wheel or something else exactly will help out. If you do not already have one, then you need to choose. But since there are a lot of them, it can be very difficult, especially if you are a beginner. First, you need to understand how the car jacks are classified. Which one to choose is your business. But let's start in order.

General concepts and classification

To lift a weight of a certain weight to a height, usually a small one, you will need to use a jack. The aggregates are classified depending on how the lifting mechanism is driven. All car jacks can be conditionally divided into three large groups: mechanical, hydraulic and pneumatic. Mechanical devices are the simplest. These jacks are completed with all vehicles coming off the conveyor. They are lever and folding. The latter are extremely relevant for today. Firstly, they are very reliable, and secondly, it is one of the best solutions for servicing vehicles with a mass of up to 2 tons. With hydraulics, everything is somewhat different. This kind of jack is quite heavy, which is due to the presence of a hydraulic cylinder with a working fluid. At the same time, such a device raises large enough machines. There are telescopic and subtle, a little later we will consider each species. Let's take a closer look at the car jacks. Which one to choose, we also decide based on the capabilities and characteristics of the devices.

Mechanical jacks

Mechanical devices were very popular in the USSR, but now it is often possible to find such an assembly on store shelves, only a new sample. At one time it was a guarantee of reliability. Nothing so long and qualitatively worked like a mechanic. For example, car jacks jacks are considered one of the most popular in this group. They are divided into two types: lever and gear. The main difference is that there is a rack with prongs and a rack, which is fixed on the stand. Retention of cargo is realized by a ratchet with a dog. With the help of the handle, lifting is carried out. It is worthwhile to draw your attention to the fact that such units are very rarely broken, since they are extremely simple. Carrying capacity is from 2 to 20 tons. In fact, these are very reliable car jacks. Which one to choose, you ask? Follow the work performed and the weight of the vehicle.

Jacks, car screw: features and benefits

Such units are widely used in construction, during repair, as well as installation and dismantling works. This is a good solution if you need to put the load on the rotating heel (top) or on the paw (bottom). Screw jacks can be considered regular for a large number of cars. The carrying capacity of such a device is about 15 tons. Let's take a short look at the device. We have one or more lifting screws, which are placed in a cylindrical body (base). A toothed nut with a trapezoidal thread , depending on the direction of rotation, propels or retracts the screws. This is how the lifting / lowering is carried out. It's safe to say that the car screw jacks are very reliable, very durable and stable. Another advantage is that there is no need to use special stands. In some cases, you can talk about an awkward grip, but this does not apply to all models.

Jacks, bottle, for cars

If we list all such devices working on hydraulics, then this kind of units can be considered the most reliable and universal. They can be telescopic or single-rod (bottle). The latter are designed for installation and dismantling of equipment in any industry. From machine building and metallurgy to construction. Quite often a bottle jack is used to repair cars at stations of the service station. The carrying capacity of such an aggregate can vary over a wide range from 2 to 200 tons. But you should pay attention to the fact that the transportation of the bottle jack must be carried out only in an upright position, this is necessary so that the liquid does not flow out of the hydraulic cylinder. There are also telescopic jacks (2-rod). Their feature is the presence of a telescopic rod, which allows you to lift the cargo to a slightly larger height than the classic (bottle) option.

This is the most expensive type of jacks, which is used today to raise the car and perform emergency repairs. The device is quite simple. There is a flat rubber-cord shell made of high-strength fabric and a stationary compressor. From the latter supplied compressed air or gas, which is filled with a shell, increasing in height. Sometimes this is the only right decision. For example, if the distance between the lifted load and the surface is minimal, then only a pneumatic jack will do. But such devices are not without flaws. Users, for example, are far from always positively talking about pneumatic jacks for cars. Reviews of unmet consumers consist in unjustified high cost of the device, as well as complexity of the design. In addition, such a jack poses a risk when blowing, and with it you can not work with a stalled motor. Well, now let's look at a few more devices that are very popular among motorists and not only.

Electric jack and its features

It's safe to say that this is an option for the most lazy. You do not need to do anything at all. However, it is unlikely that this is an actual solution, if you get a wheel somewhere in the wasteland. Finding an outlet there will be problematic. Therefore, this solution is suitable for use in a garage, at a station of service stations, etc. Although if your battery is very much anything, then you can connect the wire to it. Consumed current is less than 20 A. But all this is limited by the fact that the car electric jack does not pick up more than 2 tons. Although the height is very impressive - 43 centimeters. The principle of operation of the device is somewhat similar to a mechanical jack, but instead of a lever there is a power electric motor and a reducer. Through the gearbox, rotation is transferred to the screw, which, in turn, raises and lowers the load. The jack is suitable for operation in severe weather conditions, therefore it will not be a problem to perform the necessary repair work in the rain, snow or frost. The platform of the unit is solid and stable, but this entails an increased mass of the product, which in principle is not essential. Based on this, it can be said that the electric car jack is not a bad decision, but it can not always help out on the way.

Diamond ram

The product belongs to the group of mechanical devices. Let's briefly review the design. As load-bearing elements, we have four levers, forming a rhombus among themselves. They are fixed, of course, hinged. Lifting is carried out by changing the angle between the diamonds, which is achieved by rotating the screw. All that is required of you is to put the jack in the right place and rotate the handle. The main advantage is that you do not need to exert much effort. In addition, the support pad provides sufficient stability for the device to work not only on a solid surface, although much depends on the manufacturer. In principle, car ramps are inexpensive, but at the same time, there are quite good quality devices with small dimensions. If you need to raise the load to 2 tons, then this is the ideal solution.

Rolling jacks

Of course, we can not say about such popular hydraulic devices. They got their name for a reason. The fact is that the construction of the jack is such that you drive it under the car, for which the device has two or four rollers. Further, with the help of the handle, lifting / lowering is carried out. There are special low-profile options. They are suitable when the vehicle's clearance is small. In principle, jacks hydraulic undercarriage automotive (low profile) can be a good replacement for pneumatic devices, only in this case you have to pay much less. In most cases, the weight of the device does not exceed 15 kilograms with a carrying capacity of 2.5-3 tons.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are a variety of car jacks. Which one to choose is your business. If you want to get a maintainable unit and at the same time very reliable and inexpensive, then give preference to mechanical devices. If you appreciate the speed of the repairs performed, and also the accuracy of lifting / lowering is important to you, you can safely purchase hydraulic devices. As for pneumatics, for the time being such jacks are not yet widely used, but sometimes they are extremely necessary. In any case, try not to raise the jack more than necessary, and it will serve you very long without breakdowns.