Old Fashion Grease Pits

Ft.ValloniaStreaker · Jan 25, 2013

I'm wondering if anyone has an old drive over pit in their shop. I was at a friends alignment shop the other day and thought, that beats the hell out of a lift! I've done some searches but didn't come up with much. So if you have one or have built a new one, LETS SEE IT! Old pictures might hold some good ideas also. Thanks!

Zeke · Jan 25, 2013

Here comes all the old and tired warnings about fumes settling in the pit.

IBTL.

bygasper · Jan 25, 2013

My farmer just put in a big one in a new building. I'll get a pic.

bdamico · Jan 25, 2013

This has been covered a bunch and always comes to the same answer about fumes, standing water, and snakes.

lilredex · Jan 25, 2013

As a kid, the frame garage next to us burned down twice because of careless pit use. It seems both cases involved removing gas tanks and breaking the bulb in a trouble light..........didn't learn the first time!

Ft.ValloniaStreaker · Jan 25, 2013

See I'm already thinking of ways to avoid such things as fumes, standing water and snakes. My son helped me take a full tank out just the other day, if I'd have known about the trouble light trick I be building a new shop! The things you guys come up with are priceless........lol

GAR64 · Jan 25, 2013

I have a pit in my garage. The house was built in the 1940's. Never used it but it looks to be in pretty good shape...damp down there though. Might come in handy some day.

luvit · Jan 25, 2013

Hey, checkout HOTFR8's Thread
He has a pretty cool pit he built recently.

Larwyn · Jan 25, 2013

I used a pit on the job for 9 years. No fumes, fires, floods or snakes in the pit during that time or as far as any other time. It was probably built in the 40's and as far as I know it is still in use. (Just checked Street View on Google and it looks like there was a pick up on the alignment pit at the time of the pic).

Personally I like a pit. It is not subject to mechanical failure, will even work during a power outage, and can serve as an emergency tornado shelter.

stingry · Jan 25, 2013

At one time our town had a service station (it's gone now) that had the ultimate service pit! It had a two bay area that was just for service work. The entire area had a basement level "pit" with steel ramps for the cars to drive over the top. The lower level was well lit with tool boxes, oil drains, oil, filters, etc. Really slick set up, never seen another like it!

Personally I do not like pits (except for the one described above) but I don't think they are as evil as some say.

Cheers
Steve

DAVE VAN · Jan 25, 2013

Go to your local quick lube and look at their pits. State of the art design.

kbs2244 · Jan 25, 2013

The price on lifts has come down to the hobbyist level.

So the current trend seems to be lifts for cars and light trucks and pits for commercial trucks and buses, etc.

It is a lot less hassle to install a lift compared to digging a pit and you can take it with you if you move.

nehog · Jan 25, 2013

Consider this.

1. Go down in the pit, start working.
2. Need tool.
3. Climb out, get tool.
4. Go down in pit, realize you brought the wrong tool.
5. Climb out, get right tool.
6. Go down in the pit, start job.
7. Climb out, get parts.
8. Go down, and start installing parts.
9. Parts don't fit, climb out and get another tool.
10. Go down, and use the new tool.
11. Repeat until exhausted!

In short (uh, is that a pun creeping in?) unless you have some really great organization skills, you are going to do a lot of up and down leg work, and I suspect you'll eventually get tired of that. Also consider, no adjustment, the vehicle is at the same fixed height regardless. You can't lower it, you can't raise it easily.

Get a lift.

Jagmandave · Jan 25, 2013

I think it would be difficult to work in a pit unless you were just doing lube and oil changes; suspension work, clutch or ****** work or anything that requires you to be on top and underneath would be a royal pain.

I just don't see the advantages for general repair work.....

Seems to me even a mid size scissor lift would be a better choice.

LCD · Jan 25, 2013

Installed this one when I built the garage 30+ years ago, perfect for work on my '53 Dodge M37. Yes I do have to think about what tools I will be needing before climbing into it but it was cheaper than a lift and was an important factor to a man that didn't have the cash to spend on one. Conc. block was cheap and my labor was free.

ctb · Jan 25, 2013

I have an outside pit - concrete walls, dirt floor - in the middle of an old concrete slab.
I climb down on a ladder. If I ever have enough money I'll put walls around it and call it a garage. (I have a workshop on the other side of the house, but its inaccessible to my vehicles)

I keep my old dead honda accord over top of it to keep people from falling in. When I need it to work on my vehicles I put a come-along on the honda and pull it back. Every other cover I've made for the top of the pit either rusts or goes rotten, the pit being outside. So far two people have fallen through, me being one of them. Hence the honda.

I've never had a lift, or the money for one, and honestly am nervous being under a car lifted on one.

I'm too old to go crawling under vehicles, and hate working on my back on gravel or mud or even a sheet of plywood. My pit has saved my *** many times, from changing out an exhaust to removing gas tanks, front end work, brakes. It's a civilized way of working on a vehicle. I keep the tools I'm most likely to use in a tray on the outside of the pit, so I don't have to climb out so often. I can stand up full height and work.

Plus it doesn't have to be inspected after whatever time period, for insurance purposes or my own piece of mind.

The pit came with the house I bought, and if I was doing it from new, I would have another.

ears · Jan 25, 2013

Pits are great for trucks. Haven't had one in two years were moving again soon and I'm getting a pit if I have to dig it by hand.

Justanoldguy · Jan 25, 2013

My workshop has a pit that is over 30ft long.
I do use it but not that often.
No probs with fire or water and we don't have any snakes in NZ.

Engineer61 · Jan 25, 2013

Due to falling in and the other issues pits are against code in many places. My uncle had to fill in his before the place could be sold. And an issue that hasn't been mentioned is that many dirt floor pits have contamination issues with oil, anti-freeze and solvents soaking into the ground and getting into the water table. This is a big expensive clean-up that you are 100% responsible for if you have ever owned the property.

dreamingmuscle · Jan 25, 2013

LCD said:
Installed this one when I built the garage 30+ years ago, perfect for work on my '53 Dodge M37. Yes I do have to think about what tools I will be needing before climbing into it but it was cheaper than a lift and was an important factor to a man that didn't have the cash to spend on one. Conc. block was cheap and my labor was free.

Need more pictures of the 53.

coljar · Jan 25, 2013

My older garage next to my new one has a pit that my grandfather installed in the early 1930's. It has a built in staircase and a storage area on both side out to each side wall. I haven't used it in years and have a sectional wooden cover over it. I use the room for storage and I have a lot of things stored in the pit as well. After he installed the hoist in 1946, he quit using the pit.

Justanoldguy · Jan 25, 2013

Engineer61 said:
Due to falling in and the other issues pits are against code in many places. My uncle had to fill in his before the place could be sold. And an issue that hasn't been mentioned is that many dirt floor pits have contamination issues with oil, anti-freeze and solvents soaking into the ground and getting into the water table. This is a big expensive clean-up that you are 100% responsible for if you have ever owned the property.

I never in my 60 years seen a dirt floor pit.
Around here it would probably be a swimming pool. :headscrat

HTGTS350 · Jan 25, 2013

I have had both pits and lifts, in my last shed I started to dig a pit and hit bedrock so I never finished it but I used it in its unfinished state for a few years because I didn't have a lift, now I have a lift and no pit at home but at work when working on road trains the pit is invaluable for daily greasing because you can drive the whole combination over the pit without uncoupling. When I build my new premises I will be putting in a pit as well as lifts.

Charles (in GA) · Jan 25, 2013

Friend down the road built a pit of sorts. Its on a down slope next to his garage. Three sides of poured concrete and floor, open on the downhill side to walk out of it, with I beams across the walls supporting the ramps. Safe as its not a true pit, open so fumes can escape on the downhill side, and its strong, he has had his small bulldozer on it for an oil change.

He recently added a steel carport shelter over it..

If you have plans to build a real pit, hole in the floor, please, for your own safety and that of others, adhere to the electrical code, and use the proper sealed vapor proof boxes, switches, light fixtures, etc. Also provide it with proper ventilation, again for your own safety. People have died in pits by being overcome by fumes, so rapidly they could not react or get out. The codes exist for a reason, to keep you safe, and alive.

Not saying to not build one, just saying to use the sense to do it safely.

Charles

sberry · Jan 25, 2013

I agree, good lifts have come down in price that a pit is a waste of effort in most cases. Only way it makes sense is for routine service of big trucks.

luvit · Jan 25, 2013

Hey, OP.. it's all about education and quality..
a poorly implemented pit vs a poorly implemented lift.. what to choose.
ask a lift salesman what's safer.. then you get an answer.
ask a pit salesman what's safer.. you get an answer, too
I felt the link provided is a fair statement, even though it's written for their sales.

karrbass4life · Jan 25, 2013

We use a pit everyday to service garbage packers. It's well lit and is invaluable when it comes to greasing everything. It even has a fresh air pump built in. But the trucks are never running on the pit except during hydraulic checks and light checks.

LCD · Jan 26, 2013

dreamingmuscle said:
Need more pictures of the 53.

justanengineer · Jan 26, 2013

Engineer61 said:
Due to falling in and the other issues pits are against code in many places. My uncle had to fill in his before the place could be sold. And an issue that hasn't been mentioned is that many dirt floor pits have contamination issues with oil, anti-freeze and solvents soaking into the ground and getting into the water table. This is a big expensive clean-up that you are 100% responsible for if you have ever owned the property.

I'd be curious to hear where theyre "against code" bc Ive never been to one, then again, I never saw a dirt floor pit either. Last I looked OSHA mandated a few basic safety features of pit design which include covers that eliminate the possibility of a vehicle falling in, drains, and other safety considerations.

Call me crazy, but I'd much rather work in a pit than work in a flat bay. I'd also much rather have a pit in a shop for routine undercar maintenance than a lift. Speaking from experience, cars are quicker in/out using a pit.

Car Collector Chronicles · Jan 26, 2013

bdamico said:
This has been covered a bunch and always comes to the same answer about fumes, standing water, and snakes.

To which should be added, "buliding codes"

Mr_fixit · Jan 26, 2013

nehog said:
Consider this.

1. Go down in the pit, start working.
2. Need tool.
3. Climb out, get tool.
4. Go down in pit, realize you brought the wrong tool.
5. Climb out, get right tool.
6. Go down in the pit, start job.
7. Climb out, get parts.
8. Go down, and start installing parts.
9. Parts don't fit, climb out and get another tool.
10. Go down, and use the new tool.
11. Repeat until exhausted!

Keeps you fit. I had a pit in the first garage I had built, and wanted one in the second. And a lift. too much water in the ground prevented me from putting one in the 2nd. Compared to a lift it was pretty cheap.

Lippyp · Jan 26, 2013

I used to use a tyre and exhaust place that had a mammoth pit, used mainly for exhaust work, they had toolboxes down there, a parts room with all the clamps, hangers etc and even a gas axe for torching off stubborn exhausts, I think it had space for three cars and was all interconnected and had proper stairs down into it. That place had to have been there since the 1960's if not earlier (it certainly hadn't been redecorated since then apart from the odd tyre banner and girly calendar!)

sberry · Jan 26, 2013

If you are oil change specialist with quick lube pit then they quicker. Compared to a modern 2 post hoist to do real work its no comparison, a pit is primitive.

STClurker · Jan 26, 2013

DAVE VAN said:
Go to your local quick lube and look at their pits. State of the art design.

actually they aren't really pits, they are basements with holes cut in the roof.

Stuart in MN · Jan 26, 2013

justanengineer said:
I'd be curious to hear where theyre "against code" bc Ive never been to one, then again, I never saw a dirt floor pit either. Last I looked OSHA mandated a few basic safety features of pit design which include covers that eliminate the possibility of a vehicle falling in, drains, and other safety considerations.

There are fairly clear guidelines for pits in commercial garages in the NEC electric code as well as other sections of the NFPA fire codes, but it's less clear for residential or private garages - I've gone through both of them and haven't found anything that specifically addresses this situation. However, there are most likely local codes in many parts of the country that effectively ban them in your home garage.

My biggest concern would be fire, and if it happened being able to get out quickly. Gas fumes or leaks can collect in a pit, and a spark from a dropped trouble light could ruin your whole day.

kiatech · Jan 26, 2013

unless you are working on big rigs just get a lift.

FarleyMcD · Mar 15, 2019

I moved into a 1945 house recently. There's a pit in the detached workshop/garage. It mayyy be a little crumbly.

I can fit under the door enough to change the starter and oil but that's about it.

I made a flush sturdy cap for it for now.

Jazz1 · Mar 15, 2019

Insurance company has the final say whether you can have a pit or not.

ATC · Mar 15, 2019

I'd like to have a pit. I can add a pit to my garage. I can't add a lift.

mtwaterguy · Mar 15, 2019

Jagmandave said:
I think it would be difficult to work in a pit unless you were just doing lube and oil changes; suspension work, clutch or ****** work or anything that requires you to be on top and underneath would be a royal pain.

I just don't see the advantages for general repair work.....

Seems to me even a mid size scissor lift would be a better choice.

^^^^^^^^ agree

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