car pits are against code nowadays in most of my home country. I don't think they make you fill em in if you have one already depending on your jurisdiction but the insurance companies make you want to. Hydraulic lifts are claimed to be safer. It could be just bureaucratic busy bodies taking bribes from lift dealers though. I don't know for sure. the simple passive nature of a pit has certain appeal. especially for a room with a low ceiling. If you have a high ceiling than a lift can double as a second storage lot. Even concrete pits can flood if the water table gets high enough and your concrete develops small cracks and where casts mate . I worked at a shop with a pit and I had to keep a pair of rubber boots handy for oil changes But that was a place where ice and drought where actual things lol. There's not much you can't accomplish with a bunch of good jacks, jack stands, engine hoists and creepers though. Portability and resale value being advantages... Except when you are being robbed. I assume those windows are bullet proof and those doors locked with state of the art fail safe systems. :) Amen on the forge. A forge is simple enough to assume to be there but maybe a trip hammer could warrant some tweaks to the floor plan.
good point. A pit can not be stolen or broken and only run full of water, but since we are on a mountain, this should be solvable. The hydraulics need energy, maintenance, can be stolen.
I think there are a lot of solutions to find a place for the pit in or outside the building.
The forge could be just gas powered, but since there are rarely uses for it I would consider it to be a "nice to have". But then again: its a whish list :)
Maybe we could experiment with an induction forge.
good point, you could run a drain out to the side of the mountain. It would be a long run but totally doable. I never even thought of an out door pit. Would you have the pit right out front so that a crane could wheel out from the overhead door to lower equipment down into it. would it have a big spring or air assisted trap door covering it?
Good ideas! Adding them to the list :)
car pits are against code nowadays in most of my home country. I don't think they make you fill em in if you have one already depending on your jurisdiction but the insurance companies make you want to. Hydraulic lifts are claimed to be safer. It could be just bureaucratic busy bodies taking bribes from lift dealers though. I don't know for sure. the simple passive nature of a pit has certain appeal. especially for a room with a low ceiling. If you have a high ceiling than a lift can double as a second storage lot. Even concrete pits can flood if the water table gets high enough and your concrete develops small cracks and where casts mate . I worked at a shop with a pit and I had to keep a pair of rubber boots handy for oil changes But that was a place where ice and drought where actual things lol. There's not much you can't accomplish with a bunch of good jacks, jack stands, engine hoists and creepers though. Portability and resale value being advantages... Except when you are being robbed. I assume those windows are bullet proof and those doors locked with state of the art fail safe systems. :) Amen on the forge. A forge is simple enough to assume to be there but maybe a trip hammer could warrant some tweaks to the floor plan.
good point. A pit can not be stolen or broken and only run full of water, but since we are on a mountain, this should be solvable. The hydraulics need energy, maintenance, can be stolen.
I think there are a lot of solutions to find a place for the pit in or outside the building.
The forge could be just gas powered, but since there are rarely uses for it I would consider it to be a "nice to have". But then again: its a whish list :)
Maybe we could experiment with an induction forge.
good point, you could run a drain out to the side of the mountain. It would be a long run but totally doable. I never even thought of an out door pit. Would you have the pit right out front so that a crane could wheel out from the overhead door to lower equipment down into it. would it have a big spring or air assisted trap door covering it?