Farm Hi Lift Jack

©  Brooke Clarke 2011-2021

After a second 10' shipping container was delivered and placed three feet from the existing 20' shipping container I wanted to move the empty container so it would be next to the existing container.  PS maybe 5 years later a fawn was trapped and we paid a deer rescue service to free it.

Don't bother getting the Farm (Hi Lift) Jack since they are made too cheaply to survive.  It may be that a more expensive unit would survive, but I doubt it.  The strap Winch is designed to hold down a load and does not have enough mechanical advantage to move a container, so don't bother to get one for this use.

The three items that I recommend are:

• 2 Ton Chain Hoist (a 3 or 5 Ton will have an advantage in more lifting power but it also weighs more so may also be more difficult to put in place)
  (also look for a 15 foot lift height [30 foot lifting chain] rather than the more common 10 foot lifting height.)
  
• 5/16" x 20' Tow Chain
• 1/4" Grab Hook (I'm 99% sure a 5/16" Grab Hook would fit and would have the same strength as the chain, this one is much weaker)

An option would be to get a Strap Winch, not to move the container, but to hold the other end so it will not move.

Many of this type of product have working load ratings.  For example the Strap Winch is rated 3,333 pounds working load limit and 10,000 pounds break strength.  BUT, when using it to lift or pull something the amount of force you can generate depends on the leverage (mechanical advantage) and how strong you are.  Here's a guess at how much force these devices can generate based on an input force of 50, 100 or 200 pounds.

Name	Mech Adv.	50 #	100 #	200 #
Strap Winch	9:1	450	900	1,800
Farm Jack	44:1	2,200	4,400	8,800
Chain Hoist

The first attempt was using a strap winch.  There was not enough leverage using the winch, but by using a six foot steel TV mast as a lever on the strap the empty container could be moved a little less than an inch for a lot of expenditure of work.  It would take a month using this method so on to the Farm Jack.
Home Depot p/n 04622  2" x 27' $15.04 out the door.

You can see tht the hand grip (black) is 6-5/8" from the axle.  The highest leverage is when there's only enough strap on the axle in order to prevent slipage, a radius of 3/4".  The mechanical advantage is about 9 to 1, so a 50 lbs pull on the handle would result in about 450 lbs tension in the strap. There are 10 notches on the ratchet wheel so the handle travels 4.1" per notch.	There are two ratchet wheels, one on each side of the axle.  There's a handle pawl and a load pawl. Once there's some tension on the strap the load pawl can not be retracted unless the handle is pulled enough to unload the load pawl. When starting out pass the strap through the slot in the axle and pull the strap so it's tight.  Then just work the handle and after a half turn or so the strap will bind to the axle and then the handle will tension the strap.
In this configuration 2 & single strap the force is just what the ratchet can apply. Not enough to move the empty container. But when a steel TV mast is used to add tension to the strap the container moves a little less than in inch.	In this configuration 2 & doubled strap, the force is doubled, but the empty container still will not move just from the ratchet force. Now when the TV mast is used it takes less effort to move the container. Maybe an extension on the ratchet handle would move the container? ans:  The release lever is in the way of just using a pry bar. Also the mast should be pulling only one strap to double it's effectiveness. Yes, pulling on just one strap doubles the effect. Container now moved about a foot closer.

The Farm Jacks I'd seen in the past did not have the top jaw.  For example the jack sold by Harbor Freight (Item # 6530).  So I was surprised to see the ones offered by Home Depot that had the top jaw (Model TR8485 & TR8605).  The local Home depot did not have either of them in stock but I found it at the local Tractor Supply (SKU  0115902) for less than at Home Depot.

Tractor Supply Co. No. 115902
Promo $43.09 out the door 9/2011
Reese 70334 48" Farm Jack

Leverage

The handle is 35-3/4" from it's pivot pin to the end.  The lifting pin is 1" from the pivot pin.  Mechanical advantage about 36:1.
One cycle of lifting raises the jack hand 1/2" and the Handle moves about 22", so the mechanical advantage is about 44:1.
With 100 lbs of force on the handle the jack would lift about 4000 lbs or 2 tons, with 200 lbs on the handle about 4 tons.

Physics of Moving Containers

There are a number of ways of using either the strap winch (see above) or the Farm Jack to move an empty container.

Configuration 1	Configuration 2	Configuration 3
If the jack is used at the top to try and pull the container, it causes the lower left edge to dig into the ground.  NOT GOOD.	When a strap is used from the upper left of the full container to the lower left of the empty container the forces not only moves the empty container on the right to the left it also takes weight off the lower left edge. GOOD.	When the jack is used between the lower right of the full container and the lower left of the empty container not only is the empty container moved to the left but also some weight is taken off the lower left edge.  Good But the jack top jaw slips out.
07:29:59		Tried this but the top jaw rotated because the small tab broke off. Because of the rotation when you try to clamp the jaw slips off, so it's useless now. The design problem is that the there's a gap to the right of the I-beam and the top jaw that allows this rotation. This is why you see many of these jacks offered for sale without the top jaw.
07:32:50		Looped a 3' Class III Safety Towing Chain through the lower left hole in the empty container and hooked the jack lower jaw in the lower right hole of the full container, configuration 3 (above). This worked for about 3 cycles then the jack handle broke at it's base because I was not pulling exactly in the plane of the handle motion. 6772488 Wire spring latch safety hook
The nut that holds the top jaw on the jack has loosened and needs to be tightened.  In addition to the lock washer I'll add some weak Loctite. After fixing the top jaw and starting to pull the front together, two problems showed up: 1) as the front moves closer the rear separates. It would be good to use the strap wrench to hold one end as the other end is moved. 2) the flange on one side of the top jaw broke off allowing the top jaw to turn, not good.  You can see crystallized metal at the break, i.e. it's cast metal.  The thing to do is have a new top jaw made of steel instead of a casting.
		This suggests two improved jack parts: 1) a stronger top jaw. 2) an improved handle. 3) better retaining method for handle pivot pin
The top clamp can be installed pointing up.  Then the hole in the clamp can be for a hook on some supporting cable.  The long side is flush when in the up position. I'm going to take this one back and add a new longer bolt to replace the 42mm long x 12mm dia. - 1.75mm pitch bolt so that malleable iron washers can be used on both sides.  Also going to grind the top jaw so it fits properly into the I-beam.  Maybe a 1/2" bolt?
After a lot of filing & grinding interspersed with an application of machinist's blue there's no tendency to climb and the side toward the teeth is now touching the I-beam (before that was a 0.050" gap along that side.
The Top Jaw pointing Up.  The jack could be lifted by a crane.  Also a sleeve could pass over the top jaw,, like shown in the Pole Setting device patent. As received the top jaw would not fit because the "tabs" were too big.
May2014 New Handle Welded to Farm Jack 0.120" wall thickness.

Bumper Lift Kit

Spare Tire Mount

Jack Handle Isolater

Jack Handle Strap

Mag Wheel Lift Kit

Roof Mount Kit

Off Road Base Plate

Rear Door Mount

Rugged Ridge sells some accessories for the farm jack for off road recovery use
Extreme Limits Off Road has a number of accessories

Some of the unique features of this jack are that the main support column is fixed to the base and there's a single mechanism that climbs or descends the main column.
There is provision to prevent getting the jack jammed when using it in the clamping mode.  i.e. there's a rod that senses that the base is close and stops the downward force.
Using holes in the main (I-beam) column instead of gear teeth is a lower cost way to get the step-by-step action and it's symmetrical.1410380
Class Numbers

684031 Lever-jack, Walter G Wuichet, Pasteur Chamberland Filter Co, 1901-10-08, - Similar to the Farm Jack.  Assigned to PCFC because he worked there?
1410380 Pole Setting Device, R.R. Daniels, Mar 21 1922, 254/133.00R (Special Engaging Elements) - has holes in main column

Active Storage - shelving, boxes and shipping containers
Air Tools
Measuring Tools - length, weight
8" Mini Shear Break
12" Bench Shear
Lathes for less than 1" OD parts

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