No way to put the genie back in the bottle now, just assume all stands are rated in pairs, unless you can prove otherwise. Another reason to use good cribbing…
It is a fact. The ASME rates stands "per pair" (or at least have in recent memory).
"Jack Stands made after 2015 are always rated as a pair. Meaning 6-ton jack stands are individually rated to hold a maximum of 3-tons. They are also only rated when used as a pair together."
Oddly, some companies make this hard to discern in their instructions/manuals/safety info. This is what's in the Harbor Freight Jackstand safety section
"Maximum load capacity per identical pair shall not exceed the rated capacity of the individual stand."
That sorta says the same thing, just a bit backwards. But the pair still share the same load rating (ie: it's not doubled by using two).
Further looking around, I found how the ASME rates them (which is a wee bit conflicting to what they state above):
"to meet the standards set up by ASME each jack stand must be tested to 150% of the rated capacity of the pair to pass. Therefore, a 6-ton rated jack stand pair each individual jack stand would be tested at 9-tons. As long as the jack stand doesn’t fail at 9-tons on a single jack, then the pair passes as a 6-ton jack stand with ASME certification. "
Now I wouldn't bet my life on that, so I'd stick with keeping then within operational spec.
I have the 12t Horror Freight stands. Heavy mofos and I trust them (as jackstands) when set up properly. But I always inspect the welds and pins, etc before deploying them. Interestingly (and not shocking) some old stands that HF (and others) sold have been recalled over the years. So older isn't ALWAYS better/safer. But I trust their more recent models.
Here's quick little page I found on the web that kinda confirms most of what's been said here....
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@ramdough : note that they recommend avoiding "cheap"
Are you researching jack stands to buy? Confused as to how they are rated and what the weight ratings mean? I found it confusing as well. So I did some research and compiled this guide to understanding how jack stands […]
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