Underslab Prewire for Future Lift? Or drop from above?

[CA_Tallguy]

Hey guys - I tried searching but came up empty in finding answers on this. Basically I'm wondering if I should try to run conduit to a box in my slab in the location I am eventually going to put a lift. The lift may be installed in 6 months or a couple years from now. I have no idea. But the slab is going to be poured in the next few days.

I guess that I'd try to run an air line as well as wiring down there to the best guess location as to where the post with those feeds would be. I'm probably going with the bendpak HD-9XW and have the drawings for that.

Does anyone go through the trouble of having this under the slab or does everyone just drop those lines from above? The tricky part would be having either conduit sticking up a foot or two in the middle of the slab until I installed the lift, or else terminating the conduit in a floor box that also would be out like an island in the slab or recessed. Recessing it brings the obvious issues of potential liquid incursion and keeping other dirt and debris out.

Advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[justin1795]

my friend did his under. he had about a 3 inch stub sticking up in the concreate. I bet the few times I went over there I tripped on it 5 times. also I was helping put up a ceiling and we were constinly negotiation the tractor around the stub. I decided to do mine from up top.

 

[sublimate]

I'm probably going with the bendpak HD-9XW and have the drawings for that.

NO, I wouldn't run anything under the slab for that four-post lift. One big advantage of a 4-poster is you can move it around as needed, even if it's only a foot or two in any direction. Running under the slab kind of kills that.

Only for a 2-poster would I consider under slab.

 

[CA_Tallguy]

Awesome - thanks for the feedback. So that's 2 votes against under slab. Any other opinions?

 

[kaffine]

Run it above. The only time I would run power to a lift in the slab would be for an in-ground lift or a recessed lift. Most lifts have the pumps mounted up high. If it is a 2 post lift I would consider running conduit to the post and mounting an outlet near the motor. For a 4 post I would likely put a twist lock on the ceiling and then make a short extension cord to go from the twist lock to another connector near the motor. This way I don't need to get a ladder to unplug it.

 

[CNGsaves]

Guru's above answered main question on underslab pre-wire for lift.

However, one more thought you might consider is encase "Pull point can" in concrete at far end of garage if you want to winch in vehicles that are inoperable.

Multiple in-slab pull-point cans in corners of garage would be critical if you were planning on doing body work that needed to "stretch" a car back into shape.

Heck some guys have put PVC exhaust ports into concrete slab so running vehicle could be worked on within building with door shut while exhaust fumes routed outside.

 

[James-W]

Heck some guys have put PVC exhaust ports into concrete slab so running vehicle could be worked on within building with door shut while exhaust fumes routed outside.

That's a very good idea. I saw that in a guy's garage one time but he had a little squirrel cage fan that helped blow the exhaust outside thru the pipe.

 

[bjcouche]

Generally most people just come down from the ceiling, but there are exceptions.For a 4 post lift, if you are able to move it around, then I'd probably go from the ceiling. If however, your location is fixed, or you have a 2 post lift or very high ceilings, going up from under the concrete is a good idea. This is what I did in my shop. My lift specified a minimum mounting distance to any crack saw mark, etc. I came up out of the conduit about 1" from that dimension. I brought up a 1" conduit on each side and ran that conduit to one of the garage walls. I also ran a small 1/2" conduit from one side of the lift to the other, along with the two Stainless hydraulic lines. I now have NO hydraulic lines or cables overhear or across the floor. The 1" conduit on one side I ran an air line through to have an air reel mounted on that column. On the other side was the power for the lift along with a quad outlet box. Then utilizing the 1/2" I ran some 12awg to the other post for a quad outlet box there as well.
It makes sense in my application but if you have a smaller garage or walls next to the lift, coming up out of the floor isn't as much of a benefit.

 

[ddawg16]

If you don't plan on moving it....I would do ground.

When you place the conduit....use a sweep and have the female end right at ground level. Cover with duct tape and do your concrete. Even if you have 1" of concrete on top of it, it's easy to find. light taps with a hammer will reveal it's location. A moderate tap will break the concrete. A little clean up and your ready to go.

 

[Andybull]

I did everything above.

 

[CA_Tallguy]

Thanks everybody! Lots of great feedback to ponder. And thanks for the extra tips too, like the pull points CNG pointed out! Gonna have to look into that.