Jack Stand tests (continued)-new tests on 6 ton rated stands

[husky drvr]

A 500 ton press versus 2 ton jack stands

Interesting insights into failure points total destructive limits

Did the results match your expectations?

 

[Barry]

Don't see anything either unfair or unscientific about the testing; unrealistic expectations are a different matter.

 

[husky drvr]

Well, the title was a bit of a "tongue in cheek" statement.

Unfair and unscientific might be because this is simply an entertainment video of someone playing with a large hydraulic press to see what it takes to make metal pancakes of two light duty jack stands. There's no real defined testing, just squish till it's flat while videoing the results. There is some data supplied to the audience for limited comparison. On the other hand, can you tell how much linear displacement there is at the first destructive failure on each stand?

I apologize for using a "click bait" type title in an attempt to be humorous, I'll try not to do it again.

 

[Bill Blue]

Testing the weight required to make a pancake out of the stands is stupid. He did reveal the failure point for each stand, which I found to be a more honest of endeavor and informative. My expectation for a jack stand is to support at least twice its rated capacity in order to provide protection due to inadvertent error, such as assuming that four two ton stands could support an 8 ton vehicle, forgetting the fact that 60% of the load is on one end.

But no problem. The test was equally applied to each stand and failure point reported. So I'm cool with it.

Bill

 

[MikeH]

The points of the failure were not where I expected for either stand.

 

[Barry]

Testing the weight required to make a pancake out of the stands is stupid. He did reveal the failure point for each stand, which I found to be a more honest of endeavor and informative. My expectation for a jack stand is to support at least twice its rated capacity in order to provide protection due to inadvertent error, such as assuming that four two ton stands could support an 8 ton vehicle, forgetting the fact that 60% of the load is on one end.

But no problem. The test was equally applied to each stand and failure point reported. So I'm cool with it.

Bill

What Bill said. The "test procedure" was the same for both stands and the "peak load" was reported for both stands. Both stands achieved at least twice the rated capacity before failure. I would like to have seen the rate of movement or rate of load, but I doubt that it would have made much, if any, difference in the ultimate results.

The points of the failure were not where I expected for either stand.

I was not surprised by the failure mechanism of the "ratchet and rack" stand, but only because I have seen a similar failure in an industrial rack-and-pawl mechanism. Both the rack and the pawl are very strong and the failure point becomes the next weakest link which is support for the pawl shaft.

I assumed (yes, I know) that the failure mechanism for the "concentric tubes and pin" stand would be shearing of the pin. In fact, the pin was pushed through the outer tube in the axial direction. In hindsight (nearly always 20/20 or better), the pin material was better than the outer tube material.



Both stands failed as the result of plastic deformation (slow) rather than something catastrophic (fast), so the design and fabrication is probably better than the prices would suggest.

 

[Alpine 1789]

The test was interesting, and the fact that the failure was slow is somewhat comforting. But, I will still place a wheel under the car while I am working, just as a fail safe.

Still, I found the $15 telescoping stand interesting. I have never seen one of them before and could see that as something to carry in the trunk for emergency use. I just Googled "telescoping jack stand" and other variations and came up pretty empty. I found something similar but far more expensive for RV use, but nothing comparable. Does anyone have any idea where these can be purchased? Or, does anyone want to tell me why keeping a set in the trunk for emergency use would be a really bad idea?

 

[Barry]

The test was interesting, and the fact that the failure was slow is somewhat comforting. But, I will still place a wheel under the car while I am working, just as a fail safe.

Still, I found the $15 telescoping stand interesting. I have never seen one of them before and could see that as something to carry in the trunk for emergency use. I just Googled "telescoping jack stand" and other variations and came up pretty empty. I found something similar but far more expensive for RV use, but nothing comparable. Does anyone have any idea where these can be purchased? Or, does anyone want to tell me why keeping a set in the trunk for emergency use would be a really bad idea?

Safe is preferable to sorry and I can't see why having a set in the trunk is anything but a good option.

These appear to be the same unit, but the eBay listing is for one and the Amazon listing is for two:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/363436970877

https://www.amazon.com/Adjustable-Heights-Trolley-Caravan-Repair/dp/B094J8R39N/ref=sr_1_7?crid=38AGSPSTV5NF5&keywords=folding+jack+stands&qid=1650728785&s=automotive&sprefix=folding+jack,automotive,81&sr=1-7​

 

[husky drvr]

Found this, but no price.

Seems to be a wholesaler and minimum order may be eight units in a master pack.

http://www.valleytools.net/app/stx.productdetail.asp?did=1435

 

[Alpine 1789]

Thanks, guys. Very helpful. I was about to click 'Buy Now' on the Amazon pair, but read all the way though and it is unclear how many you are getting. Someone asked in the Q&A if this was one jack or a pair and got three answers: two said a single jack and one said he "got a pair of them", which could mean he bought two. However, the eBay listing shows the weight of one as 2070g (4.56 lbs) while the Amazon 'set' is 4.66 lbs. I am inclined to think the "set" sold on Amazon is also just one jack, especially since it also says "Package Included: 1x Lifting Stand Jack". Still, I now know more about these than I did just a few minutes ago and will look a little more to see if I can a better deal for something I hope to never use.

As for Don's link, I think 8 may be a few too many, even if I put a pair in each Alpine.

 

[husky drvr]

Revisiting this topic with a more comprehensive test:

 

[Bill Blue]

Never considered yipping, always test the lifted vehicle with a good shake, mostly testing the stability of the lift (stand placement), not the components. Since all stands failed the stability test, the question is how much stability is adequate?

Bill

 

[Alpine 1789]

Watching the test made me think of Nick O'Dell regularly telling us that he always put a big log under the car when it was on jack stands.

I was very surprised by how little force it took to tip even the best ones over. I always give the side of the car a big push with my hips after raising it up and it always feels rock solid. I wonder how and where the force was supplied in the video. He didn't say.

 

[nsbluenose]

During the stability test it struck me that the jack stands were located quite close to the centre of the rear axle. If they were placed further outboard next to the leaf springs would that not increase the stability greatly.

 

[sunalp]

would that not increase the stability greatly.

Exactly, and I'd mount them on the frame sections, not the rear end which does have some give. Springs don't
always give the most stable platform.

 

[Bill Blue]

Exactly, and I'd mount them on the frame sections, not the rear end which does have some give. Springs don't
always give the most stable platform.

Correct, but they are preferable to supporting a car on four fixed, but unequal slippery surfaces. I find that supporting the car on two fixed points and two sprung points leads to a more stable lift. My typical lift uses the the two forward lower "A" arm pivot points and either the rear axle or rear spring.
Bill

 

[husky drvr]

These are some observations I noted while viewing the video.

The truck is probably a first gen Ford Ranger, as seen in other Project Farm videos.

The test setups were prioritized to test a jack stand's capabilities and minimize potential damage to truck or jack stands. The jack stand positioning had NO intent to mean "This is the best way to support this vehicle for your protection" type statement. If that were the case, then I would have expected the front tires to have been blocked to prevent rolling. Blocking the front tires would have dramatically increased the required force to tip the stands, but not shown how the stands were performing.

The two tipping tests seem to show, if possible, the stand's longest foot dimension should be placed to resist the most likely direction of unsettling force to be expected while working on the vehicle. If using four stands, it might be best to have two stands positioned 90* from the other two. That would seem to allow the best use of just the stands capabilities. It seems the data being displayed for the tipping forces is closely related to how much weight is lifted by the rotational arc required to rotate the stands about the radius from the load support pad to the outer edge of the stands' feet. The more initial angle of that radius, either by height reduction or wider base footprint, provides better tipping resistance.

Another point, the stands with tighter tolerances between the stand base and riser seem to resist tipping better than the stand's with a sloppier fit. The looser tolerance seems to allow a pivoting at the stand connection which causes a shortening of the lateral distance required to reach the tip over point.

In summary, the stand designs with the broadest base dimensions and tightest connection tolerances should allow for safest stand performance.

As always, YMMV.

I hope that sums up the most important things.

Stay safe,

 

[husky drvr]

Project Farm recently performed the same tests on 6 ton rated stands if you're interested in the results.

Same testing protocols as the previous, lighter rated stands.

Have a good day,

 

[Warren]

Certainly interesting especially the tipping. If you have had to work on dirt at anytime you get the meaning of things going sideways...