Understanding Pneumatic and Hydraulic Lifts
Hydraulic lifts work on a basic principle: to go up, a pump pushes oil into the cylinder, pushing the piston (which pushes the lift car) up. To go down, the valve opens and oil is allowed to flow back into the reservoir, and is pushed back using the gravitational force of the lift car. The diagram above shows this system. When the valve is closed, the oil can only go from the reservoir into ...