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Jack stands recommendation- Had a harbor freight failure

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Slycox

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So I've been using Harbor freight jack stands for a while never thought anything of it till I joined here and read the stories. Upgrading has been put off because I only need them for pulling wheels off and work from the outside. Because of the reports here I won't crawl under the vehicle and endanger myself with them. I have for and I always double up leaving one a notch down if I can't get it to the same height. Well this weekend I was working on a car and got the passenger side up and "secured" went and started raising the drivers side and heard a pop and the car shook. The jacks looked ok so I got the drivers side secured and went over to check the passenger side.

Sure as **** the ratcheting arm was busted doesn't seem to be holding like its supposed to.

So no I am looking for recommendations on good quality safe jack stands.
 
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Local

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Actually those us Jacks look sweet and a good deal for the piece of mind knowing they will last forever.
 
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Slycox

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Local said:
Scary stuff and glad you weren't killed.
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I credit that to the folks here on GJ. Ever since reading the posts about the stands failing I have doubled up both of them and either left my jack up or grabbed a bottle jack to go up as well. Needless to say having the car shift like that was not the most enjoyable experience.
 
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earthmover1980

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Recently, we got some new Chinese junker jack stands:soapbox: in our shop. The cast sliding piece never had the ratchet pawls true enough to latch securely. I ground each groove out, and only use these on light weight, non critical applications, and avoid using em. This junk shouldn't be allowed in the U.S. With all of our government control, don't they have a law against this?
 
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bagged150

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I just picked up some Craftsman 3 ton and they seem like they are good (for the work I will be using them for anyway). Not sure what you do but might be worth looking into.
 
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PureLeaf

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Because Ryan won't let user's control their own posts for editing, deleting, etc
 
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Local

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Slycox said:
I credit that to the folks here on GJ. Ever since reading the posts about the stands failing I have doubled up both of them and either left my jack up or grabbed a bottle jack to go up as well. Needless to say having the car shift like that was not the most enjoyable experience.
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Good stuff I do the same usually do the same.
 
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CJM8515

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I have the craftsmen 3.5 ton. Walmart sold a similar set branded good wrench (looks dang near identical. No issues in years.
 
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_Stang_

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Ditto on US Jack stands. None finer in my opinion.

Sent from my SM-T710 using Tapatalk
 
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Skin

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According to many on here HF jack stands never fail and are perfectly safe.



I'll never get under a vehicle held up by one. My life is worth more than $20.
 
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ItsNemo

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PureLeaf said:
Hein Werner insu USA anymore. Its assembled in the USA with global components or some BS.

I have US jack 6 ton stands for my truck. They're great. If you have a car though, the 6 ton are probably too tall.
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6 tons on a car are great, I used 3 tons for the longest time before picking up a set of 6 tons and now I rarely use the 3 tons...on the 6 tons I just use the lowest setting.
 
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Ign

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Also curious about the failure. My HF stands must be 13 years old but the little arm that you grab to release the pawl spun.

IIRC they also rely on the weight of this to lever the pawl into the closed position (gravity plus the length of the arm causes it to rest on a stop). I determined proper position and plug welded. Fixed.

That said those stands always made me nervous JUST 'CAUSE. Now this thread has me thinking I should be shopping for better. Back then I was broke. Now I can afford better.

What was the company where someone posted photos of some EXTREMELY questionable welds on jack stands awhile back?
 
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woody6904

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Ign said:
What was the company where someone posted photos of some EXTREMELY questionable welds on jack stands awhile back?[/b]
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My Torin 6 tons have some pretty crappy welds on the legs. Just was reading the amazon reviews on the Esco stands someone posted a link to, and one of the reviews was complaining about welds on the Esco stands. I have been wanting to get another pair of larger stands but not sure what to do.

Might just clean up and weld the Torin stands I have, then I know who did the welding.

I'm at work so don't have em in front of me but I remember the Torin's legs are only welded on the inside. After looking at some online pics, I think I will run a small bead on the outside towards the bottom. On the 6 tons guessing 1-1/2-2 inches of weld below the sticker. That would make me sleep a little better at nite.
 
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Ign

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Loscaldazar

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_Stang_ said:
Ign - you want the stands from US Jack. $120 for 3 ton pair or $150 for 6 ton pair. Rating is PER stand not combined like every other mfg. so it's really like 6 ton and 12 ton by the "standard" ratings.

http://www.goestores.com/storename/usjackco/ViewDept-276440.aspx
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They say nothing about what standard they used to rate them by. ANSI? ASME PALD? 2005 or 2009 versions? This standard is critical to understanding what the advertised rating actually means.

A pair of 6 ton jack stands rated under the ASME PALD 2009 standard means that together they can actually hold easily 12 tons with no failures (making them 6 ton jack stands per individual stand in reality), but can only be advertised as 6 ton per pair jack stands if they want to advertise the ASME PALD 2009 certification. The much loved Torin double lock jack stands are rated this way. 6 ton per pair, but in reality have been tested beyond 12 tons without failure.

Same with the ANSI standard, except in order to be advertised as an ANSI 6 ton jacks stand, they only have to support 9 tons (4.5 tons per stand).

EDIT: Found it! They are rated to ANSI standards (or the ASME PALD 2005, as they are the same). Their six ton jack stand thus is rated to not fail up to 9 tons, and 18 tons per pair of "6" ton jack stands. That is pretty impressive.
 
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_Stang_

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Loscaldazar said:
They say nothing about what standard they used to rate them by. ANSI? ASME PALD? 2005 or 2009 versions? This standard is critical to understanding what the advertised rating actually means.

A pair of 6 ton jack stands rated under the ASME PALD 2009 standard means that together they can actually hold easily 12 tons with no failures (making them 6 ton jack stands per individual stand in reality), but can only be advertised as 6 ton per pair jack stands if they want to advertise the ASME PALD 2009 certification. The much loved Torin double lock jack stands are rated this way. 6 ton per pair, but in reality have been tested beyond 12 tons without failure.

Same with the ANSI standard, except in order to be advertised as an ANSI 6 ton jacks stand, they only have to support 9 tons (4.5 tons per stand).

EDIT: Found it! They are rated to ANSI standards (or the ASME PALD 2005, as they are the same). Their six ton jack stand thus is rated to not fail up to 9 tons, and 18 tons per pair of "6" ton jack stands. That is pretty impressive.
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Good info! They are definitely legit.
 
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BearDeXPS

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skamp said:
Get the Esco flat top. Super stout and have pins. I have had these for years and feel they are very safe. Not the cheapest but worth the price.

http://esco.net/products/esco-3-ton-performance-jack-stand/

Steve
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bmwpowere36m3 said:
+1

Not cheap, but very stable... love them on my euros that use the small lifting pucks.
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Coastal has them for $31/ea ESC-10498 ... that's less then half off what they normally cost... I'm nervous but want to pull the trigger...


http://www.coastaltoolsupply.com/pr...ium=email&utm_campaign=abandoned_cart_w_codes
 
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bmwpowere36m3

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Their a drop shipper from I've read... never used them. Mine were closer to $50-60/ea a few years ago.
 
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Steve_P

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I also had a HF jackstand shear that pin - pretty sure I've posted about it before. If you do not notice it when it happens it can become dangerous next use as the pawl may not engage and you will be surprised when you lower a vehicles on it. I do not think this is a shear safety feature, just ease of mfg.

I have a set of Escos and also vintage home built with pins similar to Esco. Welds on my Escos are overall OK but could be better.
 
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Ign

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Steve_P said:
I also had a HF jackstand shear that pin - pretty sure I've posted about it before. If you do not notice it when it happens it can become dangerous next use as the pawl may not engage and you will be surprised when you lower a vehicles on it. I do not think this is a shear safety feature, just ease of mfg.

I have a set of Escos and also vintage home built with pins similar to Esco. Welds on my Escos are overall OK but could be better.
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There's just some argumentative sky-is-falling types here. You can't lift that with any sort of real load on the jackstand, you just don't have the mechanical advantage. You'd be using a ....what....3.5"??....lever to lift thousands of pounds before the pawl cleared the teeth enough.

And if I try to disengage a weighted jackstand, that's on me. I also shouldn't stick bare copper wire in my wall receptacle, but I could.
 
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