HEADS UP ON A REALLY BAD & DANGEROUS BOTTLE JACK!

[chief38]

10 years ago I purchased a motorcycle lift. The name of it is "The Pit Bull" which in itself is a well made (in the USA) and really beefy lift for motorcycles weighing up to 1500 lbs. It's about the best one I have ever seen and used!

The bad part (and Achilles Heel) of this lift is in that they rely on a 6 ton Omega bottle jack for the lifting action. The first time the Omega bottle jack failed was after 9 months of ownership. I called Pit Bull and they sent me another one and I returned the original. Two years after that the second one failed - leaked all over the floor again. After calling Pitt Bull again they said it was past the warranty period and so I had to pay for the replacement this time. Fast forward another 2.5 years and guess what - I found all the hydraulic oil on my garage floor again! Just before it visibly leaked I had been using it the prior day and while working on a MC in the air, the jack was letting the jack go down slowly. Fortunately this MC lift also has mechanical locks that I was using so the jack couldn't go down any more past the mechanical locks.

OK - so last week I called Pit Bull again and had a nice long conversation with them. I stated that I have bottle jacks that are older than I am (67) and have never even had to add oil! They will not fit this lift if anyone is wondering why I just don't use them. They explained (not that I had any doubts) that one can not compare the old USA made quality to today's imports - no kidding! Anyway, they told me they no longer deal with Omega and they are currently transitioning into another brand but have nothing to ship right this moment.

I went online and ordered a rebuild seal kit for the bottle jack and when it arrived a week later I tore down the Omega bottle jack. As I opened up the new seal kit I quickly realized that the parts in the kit were not for my jack model - even though it was marked correctly - I GAVE UP! They can't even package the correct parts!!!

I have done a search and have come up with another brand of bottle jack which is an 8 ton model and should fit my lift - we'll see when it arrives. I believe it should work but I will have to drill and tap a few holes.

What I wanted to say here is that if anyone happens to be looking for a bottle jack for any purpose - STAY AWAY from the Omega Brand manufactured by Shinn Fu Co. of China. BTW I also called the Omega bottle jack in the USA (distributor for Shinn Fu) and they would do nothing except tell me that my model was discontinued - gee I wonder why!? They do however sell other models that are basically the exact same design, so I don't have any faith in them either - same design / different size.

I know this is not what most come to the S&W Forum to read but if I save even ONE person from getting hurt by this horrible bottle jack I will have done my public service. PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM OMEGA BOTTLE JACKS!!! Can't say how the other brands are - but nothing could be worse than 3 failures in 10 years!

Discovered that there is a Company called US Jack Co. that manufactures and sells bottle jacks of all types to the US Military. Expensive - but not as costly as one getting hurt! Available to the public as well.

Home | U.S. Jack

 

[ladder13]

When working under a car, which I rarely do anymore, I would never trust anything Chinese to provide protection.

I always use jacks, blocks, etc.

Those products linked are pricey but how much are your life and limbs worth?

 

[oldbrownhat]

When working under a car, which I rarely do anymore, I would never trust anything Chinese to provide protection.

I always use jacks, blocks, etc.

Those products linked are pricey but how much are your life and limbs worth?

When working under anything held up by any hydraulic jack, Chinese-made or otherwise, I always add a solid jack or block!

 

[BC38]

Jack stands. Never crawl under a vehicle on a jack. It only takes a couple of minutes to set up a pair of jack stands.

 

[chief38]

Yes I do use jack Stands when working on a car and I do not use a bottle jack for cars. I use a regular 4 ton floor jack for cars.

This bottle jack is an integral part of a Motorcycle lift and the lift has mechanical locks so it will catch the lift if the bottle jack fails - which thankfully it has done several times already with the Chinese bottle jacks.

I can't stand Chinese products - they are GARBAGE! I have no faith in most of what they make! Even the Chop Sticks you get with Chinese take out requires getting extra sets because some are so bad they can't be used for eating. If they can't make a simple sticks, how are they supposed to make anything mechanical!? This is why I get so enthusiastic when I actually find an American made product that is quality. Unfortunately, many buyers won't pay the extra cost - I understand that - however if it's a tool or something I use constantly that gets wear and tear - I will pony up the extra bucks and get something that will last.

HERE IS THE REAL SCARY THING....... Many of OUR prescription drugs are made in China! They can wipe us out without firing a shot!

 

[charlie sherrill]

A friend of mine was killed a few months ago when his jack collapsed and pinned him under his truck. He was able to call 911 before he died but when rescuers arrived they found him dead under the truck. The jack he was using was of Chinese manufacture. His widow has hired an attorney.

 

[BigBill]

I have a walker bottle jack from 1973 still functions made in the USA. Most jacks today are imports. Use jack stands. I also block with oak wood too. I have 12"x12"x12" blocks

 

[eveled]

Thanks for the heads up. While on the subject, never use cinder blocks as cribbing either.

 

[GaryS]

I was thinking about 12x12 wood blocks while reading this. We used those at the family auto salvage when either working on equipment or stripping out cars.

We always had those, by which I mean my father had them before I was born. I didn't think much about them for years and only recently figured out that they came from the ship yard which was across the street from the yard.

When my father came back from serving in WW 2, he reopened the business that my grandfather had closed for the duration.

The shipyard was downsizing and he must have got that along with a lot of other surplus equipment from there.

When you put a vehicle on top of those, you knew that it wasn't going anywhere.

I have a walker bottle jack from 1973 still functions made in the USA. Most jacks today are imports. Use jack stands. I also block with oak wood too. I have 12"x12"x12" blocks

 

[oldbrownhat]

... Even the Chop Sticks you get with Chinese take out requires getting extra sets because some are so bad they can't be used for eating. ...

But apparently they make great table tops and other furniture!

UBC student turns thousands of chopsticks into table tops

...A UBC student is turning thousands of wasted chopsticks from Vancouver restaurants into home decor — and he is just getting started.

Felix Böck, a PhD student in the Faculty of Forestry, estimates that up to five tons of chopsticks are being tossed in the trash each day in Metro Vancouver.

He began collecting them from different restaurants and has since managed to transform them into coasters, shelves and tabletops.... "We collect 100,000 [chopsticks] per week — only in one neighbourhood," said Böck.

The end products range from coasters, to shelving, to table tops.

 

[SAFireman]

The Fire Dept instilled the 'Lift an Inch, Crib an Inch' motto.

I use a lot of hydraulic and mechanical advantage, but trust none of it 100%.

I think that we have single handed-ly de-forested a small county with all of our cribbing

 

[ladder13]

The Fire Dept instilled the 'Lift an Inch, Crib an Inch' motto.

I use a lot of hydraulic and mechanical advantage, but trust none of it 100%.

I think that we have single handed-ly de-forested a small county with all of our cribbing

One could build a house with a trench rescue.

 

[jdlii]

At first, I honestly believed, based on the subject, that this thread was going to be about a bad bottle of "Jack" from Lynchburg, TN.

That is why I drink George Dickel.

 

[jag312]

10 years ago I purchased a motorcycle lift. The name of it is "The Pit Bull" which in itself is a well made (in the USA) and really beefy lift for motorcycles weighing up to 1500 lbs. It's about the best one I have ever seen and used!

The bad part (and Achilles Heel) of this lift is in that they rely on a 6 ton Omega bottle jack for the lifting action.

Home | U.S. Jack

I have one of these. It doesn't work. The bottle jack failed.

 

[ancient-one]

When I was working on my cars I never trusted a jack. It was always concrete blocks or jack stands. I knew a guy whose car fell on him, crushed him and it was hours before his wife came home from work and found him.
I always blocked the wheels also.

 

[BC38]

My dad was the one who beat it into my head to always use jack stands or SOMETHING besides the jack to support a vehicle before you get under it.

When he was in high school he had an old car come off the jack and land on him. If it hadn't been for his tool box right beside him it would have crushed him to death. As it was he said he was seeing spots and about to pass out by the time my grandmother could get to him and jack it up enough for him to get out. He was lucky to be a big strong guy or else he'd have probably had some broken ribs or worse.

 

[Muss Muggins]

The Fire Dept instilled the 'Lift an Inch, Crib an Inch' motto.

I use a lot of hydraulic and mechanical advantage, but trust none of it 100%.

I think that we have single handed-ly de-forested a small county with all of our cribbing

I remember when step cribbing first became a thing . . .

 

[chief38]

At the risk of sounding like a dweeb - what exactly is curb cribbing? I am thinking it is driving one side of the car up on the curb about 8 inches past the tires to allow one to sneak under it. Is that correct?

If that is correct than I would think some of the filthy oil would not come out as the car would be tilted. Still I guess safer than relying on a Bottle Jack without Jack Stands.

As long as I am the OP on this thread, I'll hi-jack it a bit to say this as well. There is a good youtube video on the failures of Chinese Jack Stands too! You can google it. There are some good models and some to stay clear of but just don't assume all Jack Stands will work properly!