Does anyone have / use a scissor lift for maintenance and general fettling ?? I’ve been looking at getting one for some time now.
There are a number of choices and I seem to be drawn towards either an Automotech AS7530D or a BPH AS3600.
https://www.automotechservices.co.uk/products/as-7530d-garage-scissor-lift/
Any experiences or guidance would be appreciated.
Steve
Basically all made in China and sold by different garage equipment shops.
I installed one for a friend, similar price in green sold by another garage equipment supplier.
Similar to the AS 7530D not the cheaper one that is not much use for exhaust work.
Slight issue in that we had to adjust the drop valves as it would not come back to the ground but that only took 5 minutes to sort that out with the tech support guys.
I had to modify the garage wiring to feed the unit.
My friend had an old fashioned fuse wire type fuse box in the garage and it worked on a 15 amp wired fuse wire.
A 15 amp commando socket was installed at the end of the wire and I used a similar 15 amp blue plug on the lift end.
On a more modern consummer unit with mcb’s you would use a 15 amp or 20 amp Typre C mcb for that use. Type C can take a bigger inrush current for the first few seconds of the lift. The normal breaker is a type B.
It is considered bad practise to just use it on an existing ring cicuit, it should have it’s own circuit.
The lift is very very heavy and you need to have it unloaded and moved into your gargae. How are you going to do that?
They can be moved long ways but not clever from side to side.
A bit too heavy to move out the way. They tend to need their place to sit.
My friend likes his unit.
What length is the main wire from the house consumer unit to the garage consumer unit.
What would be the length of the cable from the garage consumer unit to the power unut.
I have one of these.
You don’t say where you live but if your in east anglia then your welcome to come and have a look.
Paul G
Hi Paul - thanks for the pic and offer ??
I’m in Cambridgeshire ??? - don’t know how far that is from you but always up for a day out ??
Probably best to PM and perhaps we can sort something out.
Steve
The oil can made me chuckle.
How much is one of those Paul and where do we get one??
I thought I told you that there was no need to lift the car off the ground to top up the oil Paul
That looks like a really useful tool. How portable is it?
What’s that in the garage looks like a trike with two wheels at the front?
The advantage of the lift in the picture is they lift a bit higher the the 1 mtr that the other scissor lifts lift with better centre access lift.
The disadvantage is that they lift too high for most normal garages and the access in the middle is poor.
It’s a hard life being a DIY mechanic.
Height and central access are part of my “do I / don’t I” quandry. I prefer the 7530 as it has solid floor runners to spread load and has better central access but…I also like the 4 arm spreader system and the extra height albeit only 11 cms more. I can probably make up the height diff with blocks or similar.
Another positive in favour of the 7530 is that the garage floor is block and beam so the 4 point pressure of the taller beam lift could possibly be an issue - although the floor easily takes my Mitsi PHEV which comes in at just under 2 ton.
Electrics etc are not a problem being time served 
Steve
A couple of interesting videos from ‘John’ from the ‘To The Garage’ YouTube channel.
The higher you lift the car the more oil you can get in. Especially useful for Mk 3’s
You know your electrical stuff so that is a positive.
Be very careful about adding spacers to get extra height under the car. The lift is CE certified with the supplied blocks I believe but check that with the seller
I cannot remember which of the scissor jacks we are taking about but one of the sellers advised pins into the floor at two places to stop it moving when you drove over it. It must be the better central access ones.
It comes with arms that can be swung out (yellow bit) and on these arms there’s various size posts that can be used. Add a wooden block and your 300mm above the main horizontal beams.
More than enough space to pop a gearbox out.
The pump trolly acts as a device for rolling the whole thing outside should you wish to use all the 1400 mm of height.
OK, so most of us can’t use the full height in our garage but thats why I bought a portable lift rather than a two poster that would have needed two holes in the roof.
Paul G
(its my Seven in the back of the garage btw)
£25.60 from Halfords, less 10 % with the club discount.
Be very very careful here with adding any height to the longest adapter that is supplied with the unit that Paul G is advising people to do when they want extra height on their scissor lift.
There is a free length needed by the lift to get out of lifting it’s self up mode, a very small load on the mechanism and getting itself in to load lifting mode, when the weight of a car is on the lifting device scissor, at that point the scissor can take the load of a car.
There have been a number of failures of scissor lifts that have had non supplied adapters i.e. blocks of wood or whatever installed that have caused this failure and StrongmanTools have detailed these failures in the past and advised users not to use such adapters.
As long time users of this forum are aware, I call a spade a spade and do not worry about upsetting people if I see a safety issue being discussed on the forum.
Let me advise again the action that Paul G is advising here is not a safe procedure nor is a block of wood an approved lifting adapter.
Can I ask you Paul G to delete the picture with the block of wood in it and also delete any text from the messages that advises the use of non manufacture approved and supplied lifting aids for your existing lift.
I agree on the safety grounds.
An American friend once said to me in his languid slow southern drawl: ‘Don’t whale on it harder, merely select a bigger hammer.’
In this instance, to go higher select a taller lift.
I received a text from Steve (Chap) thanking me for showing him my lift, and apparently he is due delivery this morning.
I did ask if it included any wood and he said he was “looking out for some Scots Pine”.
Paul G
Big thanks to Paul G for his time on Weds - very useful to actually see one of these beasties in the flesh.
I was impressed - so much so, I ordered one on Weds afternoon, it arrived Thurs afternoon and is now tucked away in the garage awaiting a further clear out for space and its inaugural lift
Steve
I have used one. I took a rent, but be sure that all people you employed have a license or certificate to use scissor lifts. Because they are very dangerous to use, so you must have special knowledge. I don’t need anyone to work with lift, because I finished training.scissorliftacademy.com; and I have my own license. . Current regulations state that all personnel who work with or near scissor lifts must be trained and licensed