[mjothi]

Just happen to see a bunch of people displaying a "rubber" jack in RMZ premises.

Here is what I found on inquiry.

1. These are some special material imported from Germany.
2. They make it in Bangalore.
3. They claim to be the one and only one to market it in India.
4. But the cost is 5K.

Here are the picture of it.





How do we use it.

The rubber ball sort of bag is placed under the car body, and the tube is inserted on the Exhaust of the car. You just need to start the car and the bag is filled up in just 30-40sec lifting the car.

This can handle up to 2Tons. But the 2ton bag is more to do with the ground clearance than the weight of the car.

Yes, the 3 ton is used for vehicle with high ground clearance - like safari, xylo etc.

Although I liked the utility value, but the price was simply on the higher side. May be its justified, but I could not find any.

Your thoughts?



Btw, this is distributed by Puja Enterprise in Rajaji nagar. They mentioned that right now they do not have any other network. We need to purchase from here only.

Contact number : 9945231961.
Contact person : Vinod Kumar.

Note: I thought of putting this in Directory, but since I do not have any experience on using this or purchased anything, put it in technical section for the discussion.

[anandpadhye]

Good to see this is available in India now.
Was amazed to see this in Germany - very popular on www.ebay.de !

Yes, 5K is high, but if the tyre shops resort to this, it will be great. It was a nightmare to get the Tucson's tyres changed - most of the tyre shops do not have high enough jacks so they resort to placing their car size jacks under suspension components.

I would like to buy the 3 ton version - any idea how much space it occupies when deflated?

[mayankk]

i have a genuine question.
isnt this messing with the block, with all the pressure?
not after inflation of course, im assuming theres a valve of sorts, but during.

[libranof1987]

The regular jack is supposed to lift the car through specific points; I believe that point is selected depending on how the load balancing takes place/where the stress joints are in the chasis. (Can't explain it technically)

If one uses this jack anywhere, won't it disturb the chasis integrity?

That apart, how is the exhaust removed?

It is a useful apparatus no doubt, senior citizens/the female folk (without any offense whatsoever) could find it handy. 5k? - CBU eh?

[n_aditya]

So looks like its made of rubber or something similar as mentioned.

Would one have to wait for the vehicle to cool down before using this apparatus? Reason is the rubber could melt due to the heat from the exhaust pipes under the car.

Also is this equipped with a valve or something similar to shut the entry of exhaust gases thereby preventing the ball from bursting? (assuming you're awestruck with this contraption and forget to turn the engine off )

[mjothi]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

I would like to buy the 3 ton version - any idea how much space it occupies when deflated?

It comes with a bag. When deflated it was slightly thicker than a laptop, may be.

Originally Posted by libranof1987

If one uses this jack anywhere, won't it disturb the chasis integrity?

That apart, how is the exhaust removed?

I don't think it will have any -ve impact on the body of car. Moreover, no on stops us from keeping it in right place! Also, it will be like a cushion I guess.

There is a 15ft(?) tube provided with this. One end of the tube fixes to the opening of this ball, and the other end has a funnel shaped stuff which is used to fix or hold on the exhaust.

Originally Posted by n_aditya

Would one have to wait for the vehicle to cool down before using this apparatus? Reason is the rubber could melt due to the heat from the exhaust pipes under the car.

Also is this equipped with a valve or something similar to shut the entry of exhaust gases thereby preventing the ball from bursting? (assuming you're awestruck with this contraption and forget to turn the engine off )

There are 2 carpers provided with this. one for keeping below and other n top of the ball. May be that is the reason it is provided? Not sure.

Oh, that is a good question. I did not see (or asked about) any safety features if we forget to switch off. But, I guess it may just be difficult for the funnel outlet to be fixed to exhaust. It may just slide out due to pressure?

[thedreamcatcher]

I saw the ad for this product on those TVs that stream ads in malls. Had seen this one in the Garuda mall food court.

I dont think this is entirely practical. One is the high cost. 5000 bucks for something that we already have and does not save any significant time. For instance, you still have to take this out from a bag or whatever, roll it under the car, connect the other end to the exhaust and so on. Further, imagine if you have a flat when the road is wet. You now have to fold this dirty balloon, obviously you cant fold it neatly as it is dirty now and then dump it in the boot. And talk of cleaning it later.

Novel concept, but for me the regular jack or better still a portable hydraulic jack is any day better than this

[DerAlte]

Isn't this the same one that at one time (~10 years back) was advertized heavily in India? That was a Chinese product. I remember it being used in an old Jackie Chan movie where they jack up the car with this and steal the wheels, or some such caper like that. Interesting - always wanted to get one, will spare me the awkward bending down and placing the jack under the car.

[scopriobharath]

I have couple of queries.

Is the rubber strong enough to withstand heat and other natural elements ?

Is this Servicable assuming somehow the rubber leaks ?

Is the jack puncture resistant ? (If there is a thorn or nail on the area where it comes in contact with the ground).

[SirAlec]

I would not personally use this or recommend this. With me safe keeping is an issue. As i am bit rough or careless on things, same reason i don't use iphone.

A small puncture will mess up the thingy. I am sure they have made it sturdy but you will never know. I would stick to my mini hydraulic jack. It has a 2 ton capacity with its own plastic case. A very handy and must have.

[techn0l0gist]

Originally Posted by mjothi

I don't think it will have any -ve impact on the body of car. Moreover, no on stops us from keeping it in right place! Also, it will be like a cushion I guess.

AFAIK, there are strengthened points on the body/chassis to be used for lifting the car. Most people who are "technically challenged" for using a regular jack wouldn't really know where/what the so called "lifting points" are and might end up causing damage to the body.

In all probability if you try lifting up a car by putting a jack somewhere in the middle of the floor pan you'd see the floor getting warped.

I've not seen the volker jack, so I don't really know how it works and the like, but its way easier and simple to just buy a hydraulic bottle jack - and the bottle jack is way more value for money (you can buy 10 of those for 10000 rupees) even a regular floor jack is way cheaper ! But from what I know the IT folks in bangalore - they'd buy such stuff

[mayankjha1806]

How much has this been tested? any idea. I would not buy this thing and sticking to existing jack seems to be a good idea. One never knows when this thing blows up in between me making a tyre change maneuver thereby not only bringing the car down and damaging something in the underbody but also has the potential to get someone injured.

Also when lifting the front wheels it would get in touch with the engine bay are which is much hotter then the exhaust pipe. Would the carpet still prevent it then?

PS: In the picture its not just lifting the one wheel which needs to be changed but lifting both wheels, wouldn't this is risky when doing it on an incline. The existing jack only lifts one wheel and there are three wheels to hold ground, in this case there are only two.

[DWind]

This still does not make the most difficult part of changing tyre, easy. For me the most difficult part of the tyre change is screwing and unscrewing the bolts (have to stand on the wheel spanner) and lifting the fully inflated tyre and placing it on the wheel to fit the screws (pity the people who drive SUV and suffer a puncture)

[Rudra Sen]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Isn't this the same one that at one time (~10 years back) was advertized heavily in India? That was a Chinese product.

I would say 15 years back. They were selling pretty OK, especially from IOC petrol bunks. Don't know why that fizzled out.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by Rudra Sen

... Don't know why that fizzled out.

Usual import-and-sell modus operandi: get one container's worth of the product. Sell it through known channels. If it sells well, get another (or more) container. If not, what sales, what service?