Air jack: space hopper for cars
If good gadgets are those whose purpose and method of operation are obvious from a photo, then the truly great ones are those in which the grisly consequences of failure are equally clear. What then, is the Exhaust Air Jack? Pure awesome.
Coming soon to a "PHENPHEN!!!"-style lawyer ad near you, just as as soon as some idiot does this in his garage after a few cans.
Product Page [Northern Tool via ProductDose via Book of Joe and Gizmodo]
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We used to use one of these in the desert - you can't do much else in soft sand.
Why would it be any more dangerous to a drunk than a standard jack?
OMFG, right because a standard jack is too hard to figure out and ... less safe?
Kaboom!
I remember seeing late night infomercials for these back in the '80s. Wish I could remember what they were called. It was something spiffy like "Jack-in-a-Bag" I think.
Finally another great use for car exhaust besides warming the planet and sending yourself for a dirt nap!
That's actually been around for many years. I've never been tempted to try one since good old fashioned hydraulics work fine, stow compactly and don't look like your vehicle is humping a pumpkin.
Is this not bad for the car's engine? What happens when you hugely increase the exhaust pressure on a car?
Anybody?
It's no worse for the engine than working under load, and in the worst case can stall it. But it definitely shouldn't damage anything.
(Think: potato in tailpipe. It stalls the car but doesn't damage it. Unless you didn't put it in tightly enough, in which case it shoots out like a potato cannon!)
I don't see why it would be dangerous in a garage. Unless it leaks a lot.
My dad had one of these back in the eighties. Seemed to work fine, lifting our champagne-coloured Volvo 244 on the frequent occasions that it died in the middle of a family camping trip to Bognor Regis.
Ah, the eighties!
I don't see why people are so down on this idea. Regular car jacks do work ok but innovation is what creates progress in the world. If people used the "but XXXXX works just fine" mentality then no progress would ever happen.
Not only that, Fire Departments and rescue teams us these all the time. Maybe they are not exhaust powered, but the same principle. I beleive they usually shore the vehicle up though, not so safe to rely on not puncturing the bag.