Which trolley jack?

[TEO]

I thought the 3T low profile from SGS would last me out.... Turns out it's carp.... first a castor failed (the replacement wheel was even worse), then the handle now the seals.
V. Disappointed, it didn't feel cheap at the time. Max budget £150, has to lift to 500mm.
Happy to hear any suggestions

 

[JOEPRO]

I like Sealey premier jacks - should be around your budget level too

 

[bourbon]

 

[TEO]

? Are you referring to the price of the Sealey premier jacks?

 

[JOEPRO]

? Are you referring to the price of the Sealey premier jacks?

He works for Machine Mart it's a plug for Clarke jacks

 

[TEO]

He works for Machine Mart it's a plug for Clarke jacks

The Sealey 3040 looks right but it's +-£190 3yr guarantee
The Expert by Facom is £155 (big discount ATM) & I think they have a lifetime guarantee

I've had stuff from both Sealey & Facom in the past & both are fine, any thoughts?

 

[Robotstar5]

Can't complain about my Halfords quick-lift jack, it gets used a few times a year and I've had it over 20 years now with no issues,

 

[TEO]

Can't complain about my Halfords quick-lift jack, it gets used a few times a year and I've had it over 20 years now with no issues,

Thanks, I had one & for the price they are very good, I'm not sure what I was doing wrong but mine twisted. I'd discounted it this time as the longer body & handle on the lower profile ones means that I can place it & stay out from under the van until the stands are in place; the angled & slightly jiggy handle linkage meant that I couldn't get any leverage when it's buried under the van.

 

[Ross365]

I bought my Sealey jack almost 50 years ago and it's been perfect. But the question is are Sealey still making good jacks? I bought a Sealey pillar drill a few years back and have my doubts about that.

 

[reb78]

Can't complain about my Halfords quick-lift jack, it gets used a few times a year and I've had it over 20 years now with no issues,

I was going to say Halfords too. I got the biggest they sold with a trade card and it's been really good.

 

[KimB]

I have the Halfords it was the cheapest at the time and I use it loads. Really nice jack. One mod I did was drill and bolt the handle up to stop it from spinning on the end. It didn’t break it’s just the way they designed it.

 

[dobbslc]

I've got two Halfords jacks, one small one large and they've been good. The small one must be 30 years old now!

 

[Porkypine]

Another vote for the basic Halfords job , I've had the same one carried in every motor I've had for well over 20 yrs and it's been fine. Whether they still sell the same model nowadays though is debatable

 

[MetalMonkey]

I bought my Sealey jack almost 50 years ago and it's been perfect. But the question is are Sealey still making good jacks? I bought a Sealey pillar drill a few years back and have my doubts about that.

Sealey don't make anything - they just import and rebadge, same as SGS, Clarke, Draper or any of the rest of them.
Models and manufacturers that they source from change over time, so it’s impossible to say really.

I thought the 3T low profile from SGS would last me out.... Turns out it's carp.... first a castor failed (the replacement wheel was even worse), then the handle now the seals.
V. Disappointed, it didn't feel cheap at the time. Max budget £150, has to lift to 500mm.
Happy to hear any suggestions

A Sealey 2001 low profile jack was on my shopping list before I got the lift - now I can't really justify one.

I have a 3 ton SGS (just a cheap basic one) which seems to have held up well, but again SGS don't make these, and it looks like they may have changed the supplier.
The only real issue I have with it is the lowering control is a bit rubbish and it tends to be quite violent unless you are very careful with it.

What are you lifting with it? I assume its not being overloaded? Remember these are chinese tons.

A lot of the jacks in the price range are likely to be pretty much the same thing with different paintjobs - so it might be worth considering resealing the one you have and repairing the handle and castors to beef it up.

 

[jmp49]

The Sealey 3040 looks right but it's +-£190 3yr guarantee
The Expert by Facom is £155 (big discount ATM) & I think they have a lifetime guarantee

I've had stuff from both Sealey & Facom in the past & both are fine, any thoughts?

Never bought a Facom jack, but over here Facom proper are equivalent to buying snap on, and see serious industrial use.
The expert range still have a lifetime guarantee, but Facom marketing themselves said :
"Compared to Facom, Expert will not offer the same level of quality, coverage of needs or service"
So tl,dr; expert is the cheap line of Facom tools. Make of that what you will.
Facom is black and decker owned now, and it was B&D's suggestion to bring in a cheap line because real Facom tools were considered too high quality and expensive for 80% of applications...

Personally I've never bought a new floor jack, I just check the small ad's for a ex hgv workshop one built from before the dawn of time and put new seals in it.

 

[Melvyn Best]

If you can find one , even if they need repair you won’t go far wrong with a quality British trolley jack, either a Bradbury or an Epco. My Bradbury which I brought new in 1976 is still going strong , has never been even topped up with oil , in daily use for 25 years with frequent use since. I did by a MM high lift jack at one time that lasted less than 2 years.

 

[TEO]

Just to round this off, Thanks for all the advice.
In the end it was between the Expert by Facom E200141 and the Halfords, both 3T, both low profile & £128.
I went with the Halfords as there's v virtually no info out there about the other one

 

[TEO]

I bought my Sealey jack almost 50 years ago and it's been perfect. But the question is are Sealey still making good jacks? I bought a Sealey pillar drill a few years back and have my doubts about that.

I agree, totally different quality but in relative terms probably way cheaper today?

 

[TEO]

I was going to say Halfords too. I got the biggest they sold with a trade card and it's been really good.

My trade card price is the same as the retail!

 

[JOEPRO]

I agree, totally different quality but in relative terms probably way cheaper today?

I have about 6x Sealey jacks. Some 20 years old and sitting outside year around and still work great zero leaks after all this time.

And some new Sealey premier low profile 3 tonne jacks. All excellent quality no issues at all.