JHZR2
Staff member
Was helping a friend today with some car work, and he had gotten a 1.5 ton aluminum HF jack.
As everyone knows, I'm not a fan of made in China when an easily sourced option can be found and bought. HF perpetuates the theft of us manufacturing jobs and putting workers on to unemployment payrolls that we must then pay.
Still, people buy from there, and they do have some things that are half decent.
I have to say, this jack is a nice looking jack.
Now, the handle comes in two parts. The spring loaded button that locks the two parts together was so poorly made that it didn't work, so we had to remove it and fix the steel so that it had any action at all.,
The jack was coated in grease in a few spots, very messy.
But it is far sturdier than the little 1.5 ton mini trolley jacks that most places sell cheap, and it is super light. While I'm sure the bigger models are even sturdier and more capable, the lightness of this was impressive. The finish of the jack was also great, very nicely done. I think the price was $59 on a coupon.
I have my doubts about its rating. We were trying to lift the front of a 3200-3500ish lb car up, both wheels at once. The jack strained and I was uncomfortable pushing it anymore to actually get the wheels off of the ground. I ended up lugging out my hefty hein Warner 2 ton from my trunk that lifted it with ease.
Doing only one corner of a car made it an easy task. The jack is low slung, pumps easy, etc. not bad.
But I do think that it can't maintain it's height for very long, and slowly sinks. So that is a concern. My hein Warner never sags under weight.
But it's portability is awesome if its reliability is sound.
Is there a made in USA equivalent?
Is it possible to refit a jack like this with a higher quality piston that can actually handle and support its rated weight? Or are these meant to be throw away when the hydraulics fail?
As everyone knows, I'm not a fan of made in China when an easily sourced option can be found and bought. HF perpetuates the theft of us manufacturing jobs and putting workers on to unemployment payrolls that we must then pay.
Still, people buy from there, and they do have some things that are half decent.
I have to say, this jack is a nice looking jack.
Now, the handle comes in two parts. The spring loaded button that locks the two parts together was so poorly made that it didn't work, so we had to remove it and fix the steel so that it had any action at all.,
The jack was coated in grease in a few spots, very messy.
But it is far sturdier than the little 1.5 ton mini trolley jacks that most places sell cheap, and it is super light. While I'm sure the bigger models are even sturdier and more capable, the lightness of this was impressive. The finish of the jack was also great, very nicely done. I think the price was $59 on a coupon.
I have my doubts about its rating. We were trying to lift the front of a 3200-3500ish lb car up, both wheels at once. The jack strained and I was uncomfortable pushing it anymore to actually get the wheels off of the ground. I ended up lugging out my hefty hein Warner 2 ton from my trunk that lifted it with ease.
Doing only one corner of a car made it an easy task. The jack is low slung, pumps easy, etc. not bad.
But I do think that it can't maintain it's height for very long, and slowly sinks. So that is a concern. My hein Warner never sags under weight.
But it's portability is awesome if its reliability is sound.
Is there a made in USA equivalent?
Is it possible to refit a jack like this with a higher quality piston that can actually handle and support its rated weight? Or are these meant to be throw away when the hydraulics fail?
