Monday, October 21, 2013
How to Add a Pressure Gauge to a Hydraulic Jack
A good hydraulic jack can be pressed into a variety of uses besides lifting heavy objects. One of the most common secondary uses for a jack is in a jack-operated press. When pressing various materials, especially ones with low tolerances for pressure, it can be helpful to accurately measure the amount of pressure the jack is under. This can be achieved by installing an oil-filled pressure gauge on the jack itself.
Instructions
Disassembling the Jack
- 1
Drain the oil out of the jack through the oil plug or side drain.
2Remove the handle pump by removing the bolts holding it to the base of the jack.
3Remove the pump housing by unscrewing the housing from the jack base using a crescent wrench.
4Clamp the jack in a vise and remove the top nut from the vise using a pipe wrench.
5Pull the top off the jack. Measure the diameter of the inner piston and calculate the area of the base. You will need this measurement to interpret the reading from your pressure gauge.
Tapping the Jack
- 6
Drill a three-sixteenths-inch hole in the base of the jack opposite the pump assembly. The hole should pass beneath the inner cylinder of the jack without penetrating it, and should reach to the center of the jack base.
7Widen the hole in the side of the base to five-sixteenths of an inch, and to a depth of about an inch. Insert a one-eighth-inch pipe thread tap.
8Drill a one-quarter-inch hole in the bottom of the jacks inner cylinder. The hole should be at the center of the cylinder and should intersect the hole you drilled from the side.
Reassembling the Jack
- 9
Put the top back on the jack, using Teflon tape to seal the seam at the top of the jack. Screw the top nut down tightly using a pipe wrench.
10Screw the pump assembly back onto the jack using a crescent wrench. Reattach the handle assembly using the original bolts.
11Refill the jack with hydraulic fluid, working the handle to displace any air bubbles before closing the vent.
12Screw a one-eighth-inch to one-quarter-inch hydraulic tap adaptor into the tap you installed. Attach a quarter-inch elbow connector. Thread a 5000 psi oil-filled pressure gauge onto the elbow connector.
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