https://www.youtube.com/embed/T6ufAL5R0mg
Does spending more always equate to more safety when it comes to jack stands?
To find out, YouTube channel Project Farm compared jack stands of various price points–from $31 to over $200–from brands like Husky, Pittsburgh, Hein-Werner and more.
The HF aluminum held up better than I expected. That's nice to hear since the front of the Bentley is sitting on a couple of them.
The different design of the Big Red worked much better than i thought it would.
I've been categorically avoiding this channel because his stuff on engine oils is largely trash. Is the other stuff good?
If I am under a vehicle on Jack Stands with tires removed I also slide the tires under the frame just in case.
I wouldnt put a lawnmower on the HF red one. Similar design to that rolled over and killed a guy and its an inherently crap design even with the improvements.
Personally, I do not use 3 Ton Jackstands to support a car.
I have for years been using HF 6 Ton stands for my car.
The two advantages:
1) height. I can get the transmission out from under the car on the 6 ton stands.
Can't do that with the 3 ton stands
2) The 6 ton stands are solid as a rock. The 3 ton stands are kind of wobbly, and don't really inspire confidence.
As a guy who spends a significant amount of time under cars supported by jackstands similar to the ones in the middle of the pack he tested, seeing how much they exceeded their weight ratings by was rather comforting.
IamFODI said:I've been categorically avoiding this channel because his stuff on engine oils is largely trash. Is the other stuff good?
I think so, but I don't see the problem with his oil stuff, either. He's not an expert, he's an enthusiastic amateur with a knack for coming up with interesting/creative tests for various things. I don't take anything he says as gospel, but it can be interesting information.
My takeaway from this test is that all of the jackstands performed well above their weight limits, and if used correctly all are more than adequate to the task of holding a car up, even with my fragile human body underneath it.
Gearheadotaku (Forum Supporter) said:The different design of the Big Red worked much better than i thought it would.
I've always wondered about this design. I think I may buy some now.
Is there a "rule of thumb" for how long you can safely use jack stands before you should replace them? The engineer in me says that I'm probably worrying about nothing since they are not rusted, I'm probably nowhere close to using them enough to even think about fatigue failure, they're rated for 3 tons and the heaviest car they've supported is 2 tons (and a pair only supports one end of that total) but one of my sets is probably 20 years old so I really wonder if I should just toss them especially since new ones are fairly cheap. But why toss away a perfectly good tool if it's still working?
In reply to jkstill :
Pretty sure this is how I swapped the transmission on my 2000 NB back in the day. Takes a bit of clever use of a jack to get the car that high in the first place, but once you do, a nice heavy duty stand sure makes for a nice amount of room to work with. =)
"Very impressive!"
Bummed he didn't include this design in the test. I've had one pair for a couple of years and am probably grabbing another set this christmas.
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said:IamFODI said:I've been categorically avoiding this channel because his stuff on engine oils is largely trash. Is the other stuff good?
I think so, but I don't see the problem with his oil stuff, either. He's not an expert, he's an enthusiastic amateur with a knack for coming up with interesting/creative tests for various things. I don't take anything he says as gospel, but it can be interesting information.
My takeaway from this test is that all of the jackstands performed well above their weight limits, and if used correctly all are more than adequate to the task of holding a car up, even with my fragile human body underneath it.
Just watched a couple if his oil ones. He makes some leaps to conclusions not really based on facts. Hes using some outdated information on what makes an anti-wear package and his lubricity test results are within the margin of error and equipment use. Several other issues in his testing but I don't want to clog the thread. They may be entertaining to some (his voice and presentation drive me nuts) but a little thin on the facts.
Schmidlap said:Is there a "rule of thumb" for how long you can safely use jack stands before you should replace them? The engineer in me says that I'm probably worrying about nothing since they are not rusted, I'm probably nowhere close to using them enough to even think about fatigue failure, they're rated for 3 tons and the heaviest car they've supported is 2 tons (and a pair only supports one end of that total) but one of my sets is probably 20 years old so I really wonder if I should just toss them especially since new ones are fairly cheap. But why toss away a perfectly good tool if it's still working?
As long as they are not showing significant corrosion, welds are good, and they are still square, there isnt really a reason to replace them. I would replace them if I noticed a structural defect like a twist or a cracked weld that could not be safely reworked, if something had been dropped/fallen on them, or you had applied so many load cycles that you were getting close to the fatigue life. But that is gonna be way off the scale of what would be seen even in heavy use in a production shop.
Anybody ever welded on a larger base...plate or angle...to make them less tippy?
When I use stands, I put the floor Jack long axis in tippiest direction as a "3rd leg".
As mentioned, spare tire is a good back up. I had a scissor Jack roll over on the side of the road once. Joy.
My concern with cheap jackstands is more of quality control than design. Can I trust those welds and castings? Not that I don't have a bunch of them...
mfennell said:My concern with cheap jackstands is more of quality control than design. Can I trust those welds and castings? Not that I don't have a bunch of them...
That mentailty causes me to de-rate all jackstands by 50% in my head for extra safety margin. And I still shove a tire underneath or similar whenever possible. And if it can be worked around, leave the jack loosely in place after setting the car down onto stands.
In reply to BimmerMaven :
Friend of mine welded 1/8 inch plate to the bottom of a set to keep them from sinking into the ground at the track. Seems to work pretty well.
BimmerMaven said:Anybody ever welded on a larger base...plate or angle...to make them less tippy?
When I use stands, I put the floor Jack long axis in tippiest direction as a "3rd leg".
As mentioned, spare tire is a good back up. I had a scissor Jack roll over on the side of the road once. Joy.
Instead of welding a plate just buy a stand mat or rubber plate. Northern Tool sells some really good ones that give a larger solid base.
In reply to CrustyRedXpress :
Yeah, once I got a set of ESCO's I have zero desire to go back to the other styles. HF just recently released a clone. Haven't seen them in person, but they're not that much cheaper than the ESCO ones.
rslifkin said:mfennell said:My concern with cheap jackstands is more of quality control than design. Can I trust those welds and castings? Not that I don't have a bunch of them...
That mentailty causes me to de-rate all jackstands by 50% in my head for extra safety margin. And I still shove a tire underneath or similar whenever possible. And if it can be worked around, leave the jack loosely in place after setting the car down onto stands.
Hah. I do all those things too!
Thinking about it, I also tend to use big 6 tons stands a lot, as I can often use them at minimum height, rather than a 3 ton raised to a taller height. And the bigger footprint doesn't hurt either.
Any thoughts on using more than two jackstands per end? Like, instead of four overall, maybe six or eight?
Would that increase the safety margin or more likely just put jack stands in your way?
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