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Do electric jacks stand the test of time?


Shamil

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Hi,

Since I have been assisting newbies with recoveries in the off road drives off late, I realized its time I got myself a jack besides the stock jack that comes in my car. @Srikumar has also pointed out that its better if I get a good jack to help out with recoveries. I have noticed all the seniors use the standard hydraulic jack which is very convenient and gets the job done all the time. However, when I was looking around, i did come across a few electrical options and I was wondering how these would fare against the classic hydraulic jack that we all use. Two models in particular have caught my eye (ill include the picture and description below) but if any of you could share your experiences with me on this, that would be great as I am not sure if these newer electric options will stand the test of time, as in, will they last or would they stop working over a period of time.

1) The first is an - Automotive Electric Hydraulic Floor Jack 12V DC 3T with Electric Impact Wrench 4 in 1 Electric Car Jack Tool Kit with LED lamp

51aAbb4EywL._AC_SL1000_.jpg.6a20314be673cc4b8712990b998e6d5a.jpg

 

I have seen a bunch of video ads for these and they seem fairly simple to setup.

 

2) And the next is an electric scissor jack

41zERobh36L._AC_.jpg.6eb3a01ad1808c9408d492d72351b33d.jpg

 

The price for both of these are a bit higher than the standard hydraulic jack but then again, they provide a convenience of lifting the car with a lot more ease. They both come with cigarette lighter wires and crocodile clips to connect to the battery.

 

If anyone has had any experience with these jacks or even other types of jacks, your feedback would be highly appreciated. Thanks.

Edited by Shamil
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One of the main reasons that we don't suggest a bottle Jack or a scissor jack is that in the uneven surface of desert the jack might fail. They are fine in a flat surface but not in the desert. Not sure about the electric part though. Are they reliable?

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I agree with @Srikumar and the question is also : does it really worth the price ? I mean it doesn’t make a big difference in terms of physical effort, as the most tiring part of a pop out recovery is to clear the sand around the wheel...

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Not really a fan of those things for the following reasons:

1) Haven’t seen them in floorjack model, which is the only model that works on unstable ground. The first model you displayed is a bottle jack model, which might sometimes work, but maybe only in 40% of the cases.
2) They are rather fast, and that’s wat you don’t want during lifting a 4x4. You want to be able to slowly position it in place, and then gently lift up the car. The hydraulic floor jack is much better for that.
 

Like Emmanuel pointed out, shoveling is far more intensive than lifting a car. 
Maybe consider buying an electric shovel ? 😂😉

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"Go as far as you can see; once you get there, you'll be able to see further."

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Electric and recovery cannot go in same sentence. 

Small fuse, wire, switch, short circuit can impair your recovery process.

I rem when my winch controller switch failed in one of extreme recovery and we spend next 4-5 hours joining ropes, and finding suitable angle to tug.

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Let's root for each other & watch each other grow.

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I had an electric bottle jack ( got it for free )similar to the one in the pic. Unfortunately I never got to test it. On flat tarmac and at full extension it would not even reach my lifted Discovery. 

 

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My concern is being Chinese cannot be reliable, it might work for 10 years or might cough up on the very first recovery. Plus I saw it in person and it is very high which means in desert you need to dig deeper. Another point is its very heavy. Plus I'm more comfortable with anything mechanical than electric. One last thing if sand enters the electric system it might get stuck.

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I asked myself this question too when I was going to buy my jack, the scissor jack is useless but the problem with the electric jack is that when fully extended is very unstable and not to mention that all the sand will eventually mess up with the electronics inside. Sometimes is better to go old school.

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Thank you all for your valuable feedback. I'll get myself the good old manual hydraulic jack then. As most you have very rightly pointed out - electric and sand is a bad mix and I didn't think about that. 

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