I got a lift for Christmas

[FEF]

Well, not really. What I did get was another bridge jack, so now I have a pair of 6K bridge jacks and an Atlas 412, 12K 4-post lift.

I rented a 26' U-Haul truck, picked up the lift (they put it in with a forklift), then it took me about 3 hours to get the jacks and lift out with an engine puller, floor jack, and heavy duty dolly.

Here's where the question comes. I could only afford the manual jacks. I thought long and hard about getting an air/hydraulic pump, but then I had an idea... These are hydraulic jacks, right? Why not build a manifold rig with a 3-way valve that would allow the lift's hydraulic pump to actuate either the lift or a hydraulic line? If I used quick disconnects, I would just plug into a jack, flip a valve, hit the pump button, and up it goes. The only down side I can think of is that the tank may be too small to have enough oil for both jacks and the lift. The concept sounds pretty straight forward. Am I missing something?

Any way... Here's what I've got so far.

 

[LXCam]

Congrats on the lift and having two jacks is saweeet. But damn man, your side clearance is a rough one. I'd suggest instead of plumbing a pump unless you already own one or could modify the lift pump you could purchase a pneumatic/hydraulic pump at each jack. It's been a long time since I priced one but around 300 comes to mind. Good luck!

 

[Aahz]

I would be concerned that the hydraulic pressure from the power unit would blow the seals right out of the jacks. The power unit is probably putting out somewhere between 4-5000 psi and the hand jack is at best probably designed for a few hundred psi.

 

[bobabuee]

you might be able to use a pump from HF air over hydraulic 12ton bottle jack fit it to your jack just thought.

 

[FEF]

I would be concerned that the hydraulic pressure from the power unit would blow the seals right out of the jacks. The power unit is probably putting out somewhere between 4-5000 psi and the hand jack is at best probably designed for a few hundred psi.

The pressure was my concern, too, so I did some research over the past few days. I didn't find any lift with a bypass over 3,000 psi. There could be, but 3k gave me a rough idea where the lift protection would kick in The portable units (and pumps mounted on jacks) claim pressures up to 10,000 psi. This tells me that pressure won't be a problem.

It's the flow rate that's the big difference. The most I've seen from a portable air/hydraulic pump is about 120 cipm, or about 0.8 gpm. The lift pumps, as you might expect, can flow in the neighborhood of 1.8-2 gpm. This means a very fast lift for a small ram. I'm sure I can get the flow rate down with a restrictive flow orifice (RFO) or a simple needle valve. It's an interesting idea, at the very least.

And yes, the side clearance stinks. However, I'd rather be a bit cramped with a lift, then kinda cramped without one. I've got an idea about how to clear out the left side and put a bench there. That might be nice.

More pics to come as I progress. Why can't the world just leave me alone in my Garagemahal. I've got important stuff going on.

 

[rburke65]

A cramped lift IS better than no lift.

 

[Aahz]

I'll be very curious to see if you can make it all work. Good luck!