Trolley jacks
The purpose of trolley jacks, like all other auto workshop tools, is to make auto repair work more productive.
There are three main types of jacks namely
screw jacks,
trolley jacks, and
bottle jacks.
Risks for auto mechanics
Research shows that there are three main areas of risk for auto mechanics:
- overstraining of organs (muscles and ligaments),
- the impact from objects and moving items,
- being crushed by heavy objects.
Trolley jacks are usually used to lift a motor vehicle to access its interior component or extract certain parts such as gearboxes for repair and maintenance.
How trolley jacks work
Trolley jacks are hydraulically powered to create maximum output with minimum effort.
The operator needs to apply a small amount of force (energy) to get a large amount of power. The size of the piston and the strength of the wheels determine the power of the trolley jack and the load it can lift.
A quality trolley jack like the Snapon has a pump that allows the pivot arm to go from lowered position (100mm) to meet the load in the least number of pumps. The length of the handle contributes to the ease with which the trolley jack can be used.
Hydraulic jacks function on Pascal’s law, which states that the intensity of pressure at any point in a fluid at rest is same in all directions.
If two cylinders (a large and a small one) are connected and force is applied to one cylinder, equal pressure is generated in both cylinders. However, because one cylinder has a larger area, the force produced by the larger cylinder will be higher. The pressure in the two cylinders will remain the same.
Hydraulic jacks operate on this law. The two-cylinder hydraulic jack operates by applying force to the smaller cylinder which results in the same amount of pressure in the larger cylinder. Since the larger cylinder has more area, the resulting force will be greater, and that allows the operator to lift a car that would be impossible to lift manually.
Working principle of a hydraulic jack
Quality trolley jacks
Looking at the design of trolley jacks and the physics that it is based on, it is clear that inferior trolley jacks can be dangerous in an auto shop.
Hydraulic systems that are made from too weak or sub-standard materials can lead to serious accidents and loads of trouble for auto shop owners.
That is why GTS Equipment only stocks brand names that have proved themselves and have stood the test of time and intense use in workshops all over the world.
Price should be low on the list when buying trolley jacks for auto shop or home garage use.
GTS stocks trolley jacks that are much cheaper than a hospital account.
