SCA 1200kg car stands product recall

[Dauphin]

Return to store for full refund.

Government notice:
http://www.recalls.gov.au/content/in...itemId/1085999

Official notice:
http://www.recalls.gov.au/content/it...l%20Notice.pdf

Discussion:
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/24..._newsletter_am

[Streets]

Hmm. I have a set of SCA car stands I bought sometime between those years, but they aren't the type pictured in the recall notice. Here are mine. Hopefully these ones are OK. I always go overkill when jacking my car, I have 1 stand taking the weight, 2 backup stands in case something happens to that one, as well as the jack, and a wheel under the chassis as well. I also have my phone under there and I don't get under the car if no one else is home. And even then I don't spend any longer under there than I need to.

Thanks for posting the notice, I wouldn't have seen it otherwise.

[Franco Cozzo]

Thats why you don't buy cheap crap safety equipment.

Think about it for a second, you're supporting the weight of the car, which you will be under, on this equipment.

Makes sense to me that you buy good quality trolley jack and jack stands, not SCA gear given your life depends on those two pieces of equipment.

At least they've recalled it though.

[Sprint]

I have big blocks of wood I often put under the car just incase the stands slip, if I have to get right under the car or for extended periods of time.

[FG50T]

HA! No ****...I had these, one bent and one cracked at the base.

[Pis-ton broke]

chinese crap

[Ford_The_Win]

SCA soldering iron - cost price is 89 cents. For sale at $15.99...
The stands are not much dearer than that, would be interesting to find out what the cost price is. Just don't buy anything from them

[TUF_302]

What's the actual fault with them??

[ando69]

Do they not have to meet Australian Standards to be for sale?

[.:4:.]

Ahh crap... I have 2 pairs of those holding my boat trailer (boat on) up and I need the motivation to finish the hubs...

[Stefan]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

Thats why you don't buy cheap crap safety equipment.

Think about it for a second, you're supporting the weight of the car, which you will be under, on this equipment.

Makes sense to me that you buy good quality trolley jack and jack stands, not SCA gear given your life depends on those two pieces of equipment.

At least they've recalled it though.

Damn straight, you'd have to be a complete muppet too buy cheap car stands or jack.

Snap on (blue point) gear in my garage, 5 years on and the fact I spent over 700 bucks on the gear is not an issue anymore, not like i'm poorer or richer for it.

[Sox]

Originally Posted by TUF_302

What's the actual fault with them??

Probably bugger all, just because they don't meet OZ standards doesn't mean you'll have a car on your head.

Sounds like red tape BS to me.

[mik]

im a bit onto the over kill thing , i have 5 tonners .

[janddbone]

Cheers the issue is the adjustable thread at the top of each stand, the feature I like best... The new ones have this feature removed and are otherwise identical.

[Bulletime]

Those look pretty poxy! I've got the 3 tonne stands and they look pretty serious, that and as others have mentioned having a tyre and the trolley jack underneath as backup and taking some of the load for overkill can only be a good thing. No point risking it.

[MITCHAY]

Regardless of what quality jacks/stands you have anyone who is smart enough at least puts tyres or bricks or wood or whatever underneath as a fail safe. Might be the difference between an injury or being killed. I don't do any of this **** myself so I don't have to worry about it all

[Shonky.]

good habit to slide the road wheel under as well stands, regardless of what gear you have

[Dauphin]

Spoke to them tonight and they said it's only the ones with the adjustable screw top thing, as janddbone said. The 1,200 kg ones without the feature are not part of the recall.

[Express]

It's the same old story, you get what you pay for and when your life is involved why go so cheap.

Like others have already said, even with a good solid set of stands it's wise to slide at the least the tyre and rim under the car to give yourself a fighting chance if something does collapse.




Seriously I wouldn't use those if they were given to me for free. My first fear would be that with the slightest bit of sideways movement they'd snap off at the base.

[EB#]

It's a bit of a worry that I can't see this announcement on the SCA home page... How are people to know otherwise, rather than stumbling across the news on a car forum as I did?

[Sox]

Originally Posted by Express

It's the same old story, you get what you pay for and when your life is involved why go so cheap.

Like others have already said, even with a good solid set of stands it's wise to slide at the least the tyre and rim under the car to give yourself a fighting chance if something does collapse.

Seriously I wouldn't use those if they were given to me for free. My first fear would be that with the slightest bit of sideways movement they'd snap off at the base.

They work fine.
I have 4 with that style of base, have never had the slightest issue in more than 20 years.
Have had cars with a stand in each corner probably hundreds of times.

I also have a set with the thread at the top like those pictured, but a different base.
No problem with those either.

The job of a stand isn't a difficult.

[janddbone]

Yep we have had the exact stands for nearly 10 years. They are quite reasonable.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Express

It's the same old story, you get what you pay for and when your life is involved why go so cheap.

Like others have already said, even with a good solid set of stands it's wise to slide at the least the tyre and rim under the car to give yourself a fighting chance if something does collapse.


image

Seriously I wouldn't use those if they were given to me for free. My first fear would be that with the slightest bit of sideways movement they'd snap off at the base.

I don't like that style of base, these are my ones:



The 4 smaller ones are rated to 4500kg and the bigger ones are 7800kg, I prefer this style of base, it seems to be a bit stronger.

They're only WTD stands, they aren't that expensive.

[Silver Ghia]

I had a set of the square section tube type stands with the welded horizontal base (not with the threaded bit at the top though). As mentioned, the vertical tube type stands can easily topple and really should be banned. I replaced them with a set of 2000kg stands like those shown on the right of Damo's photo above.

But I'm still wary of that design even, with the vertical butt welds up the sides without 100% penetration and in tension when loaded. Not a good design, which can split apart under load. Mine are Haigh; probably all stands of this type are made at the same place in China. What's not made in China these days? I always think "what if" when using them.

A much better design base is the one shown in Streets post where there are horizontal straps down near the bottom, arranged so the welds are in shear. Much better provided the welds are all done correctly. Except I like a ratchet arrangement at the top rather than pins.

[Sox]

Originally Posted by Silver Ghia

I had a set of the square section tube type stands with the welded horizontal base (not with the threaded bit at the top though). As mentioned, the vertical tube type stands can easily topple and really should be banned. I replaced them with a set of 2000kg stands like those shown on the right of Damo's photo above.

But I'm still wary of that design even, with the vertical butt welds up the sides without 100% penetration and in tension when loaded. Not a good design, which can split apart under load. Mine are Haigh; probably all stands of this type are made at the same place in China. What's not made in China these days? I always think "what if" when using them.

A much better design base is the one shown in Streets post where there are horizontal straps down near the bottom, arranged so the welds are in shear. Much better provided the welds are all done correctly. Except I like a ratchet arrangement at the top rather than pins.

I prefer the pin design to the ratchet.
I have a couple here with failed ratchet mechanism.

The SCA ones you just posted look good, and better than the ones Damo posted.

I like the KISS principle...

[Ken_AUXR8]

Just got back from dropping mine off. Bought them about four years ago as secondary stands to my better ones, rarely used them though and always thought they looked a bit cheap.

Got $60 refund and bought the 3000kg ones with the wide teepee base as above, on special for $53. They seem much sturdier and safer. Never had an issue with any of them though, thankfully.

[janddbone]

I personally like how this particular design does not limit working room as much as the other type shown. I agree their is a limit to their safety like most workshop equipment and that if your not careful you can knock the lot over. Have not had trouble in nearly ten years.

[Dauphin]

I checked mine, they are two different 1,200 kg types. One pair has the vertical shaft going all the way to the ground inside the base and the other type has it sitting up off the ground where the weld is. This second pair gives a much less stronger image as it's basically held up by the weld only in this case. Can a weld hold 1,200 kgs for long periods, with repeated cycles?

[Rallye Sport]

I've still got a set that I made in mech workshop at school, lol, truly scary but probably still better than the SCA ones, they're only a garage decoration nowadays...
Splurged out for a pair of 4000kg jobbies when I built the Escort, overkill but totally agree with what others have said and still slide an old wheel under the chassis rail to be double sure...

[SYZ]

Dates available for sale

• 19th February 2009 - 26th April 2016

How can it be that these defective stands have been marketed for more than seven years? Have there been any mechanical failures reported by purchasers, or any injuries reported?

There must have been hundreds (1000's?) of these things sold over that period—how many backyard mechanics are still gonna be using them, totally unaware of the risks? Although it does reinforce my opinion about a lot of Supercheap's stuff that it could be a little... uh... suspect. And I agree that the stands Big Damo's using look far more stable and less likely to tip under any unintended off-centre loading.