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$150 on a hydraulic jack that barely lifted a beam

I blew $150 on this cheap hydraulic jack from a hardware store near the docks, and it couldn't even lift a 10 foot I-beam off the trailer. Took me three tries and a buddy's floor jack to get it done. The piston just gave out after two pumps. Has anyone else had luck with those cheaper jacks or should I just stick to the name brand stuff?
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2 Comments
olivia_carr7
You said it took three tries and a buddy's floor jack - that's EXACTLY what happened to me last month with a "heavy duty" jack from the same kind of place. The piston just locked up halfway through lifting a 12 foot beam for a deck I was helping with. We ended up using a bottle jack and a bunch of scrap wood to finagle it, and it took over an hour. Meanwhile my neighbor's cheapo jack from a garage sale has been going strong for years, go figure. It's like you never know what you're gonna get with those things, total crapshoot.
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taylorlewis
Probably overkill for a 10 foot beam anyway.
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