In ground hoist

I was wondering whether its worth it to buy a used in ground hoist from a defunct service station. The guy getting rid of it is asking $300. What are peoples thoughts on this kind of lift vs 4 post, as well as price. Worth it?
Thanks

 

they are in the way in the middle of the car and you will have to dig a big hole.
I think you would be better of with a 2 or 4 post lift

 

Is it out of the ground? There is like 10 12 ft. of cylinder in the ground. oil. and it is heavy and a little bit of a pain in the ass to take out and re install. I say buy a 2 or 4 post. i just bought a used one for 300 that came out of a school auto shop.

 

I had one given to me a few years ago and ended up selling it for junk. They are air over oil/hydraulic. Somewhere in the system there is usually a container for the oil that holds up to 50 gallons or more of oil. They often leak and when they do they leak into the water table on your property. Also if they are worn a bit they tend to want to drop a few inches at inopportune times.

That said, they are pretty nice for changing wheels and working on brakes and suspension and changing oil. They aren't that great for working on the transmissions or exhaust.

The 300 is also just the starting point. You will have to rework the garage floor, plumb in the air and possibly oil lines. You also need an air compressor that has enough volume to raise the hoist with a vehicle on it.

I used them daily in every shop I worked in for all the years I worked in the shops and had one in the high school autoshop that I taught in after that but I would rather have a decent four post. or a two post with the swing in arms.

 

I'd like to find one just to use for bodywork and rust repairs. Anyways, check the inground outer skin for rot.

Two types of inground lift valving. The better ones have a hyd control lever to control precise position of various heights. The cheaper one, you add a bit more air and hope it stops at the point of where you want it to.

I hate twin posts except for trans work, or stuff in the middle

 

A buddy of mine has two of them. One is in the shop and the other is out behind. They both leak at the seal as the shaft is baddly pitted. We don't trust either and block them in the up position with 4"x 4" posts.

Fred Drew

 

i have one just waiting to get it into the ground, you need a good slab on concrete to sit it on, i was told by a guy who used to be an installer of inground hoists i would need a 4ft by 4ft by 12" slab, then where the arms are i want then to sit down flush with the new floor that needs to be poured, i worked under this type of hoist for years, exhaust and removing a trans can be a little tricky but it beats the hell out of laying on the ground, for brakes, oil changes, tire changes and body work there the cats ass, in my mind a 2 or 4 post above ground would take up to much floor space.

 

I recently went from working in a 10 year old shop with all brand new equipment (2 post lifts) to a shop at least 40 years old with a pair of in-ground hoists. The in-ground hoists are nice for a couple of things like working on anything at the wheels and doing anything walking around the car (rotating tires etc.) because you don't have the posts in your way.

That said, I'd take a twin post hoist ANY day over an in-ground. It gets to be a real pain to get down on your knees and fish the hoist arms out everytime you want to lift a car. In Minnesota where I work this usually means dealing with all of the snow and slush hanging on the bottom of the car- not pleasant. We actually use a pole to pull the arms out but it still gets old.

Also, like some others have said not being able to get at the center of the car underneath makes the kind of work you can do kind of limiting. I wouldn't spend all of the $$$ to put in a hoist and then not be able to conveniently take out a transmission.

The buy-in might be cheap but in the end I'd spend the extra $$$ for a twin post.

It's definitely betyter than nothing but by the time it's installed how much will it really cost?


Jay

 

I put one in my shop when I built it about 15 years ago. I dug the hole by hand, about 7 or 8 feet deep, poured a concrete pad at the bottom, set the cylinder in place, then backfilled. Been working great ever since then. The center post sometimes makes it hard to work on transmissions and such, but for $300, you can't beat it. If I had the funds and the space at the time, I would have prefered a side post, above-ground style so you can access the whole underside of the car. I don't think EPA would like you installing a single post lift today, 'cuz there is a chance a lot of oil (it holds about 50 gallons) could seep into the ground, but mine barely weeps around the top seal and I have only had to add a few gallons a couple of times.

 

I got an old in ground hoist and went to a lot of trouble setting a slightly bigger well casing in the ground with a big block of concrete poured around the top and then poured the shop floor over the top of that. The idea was to simply slip the hoist into the pipe, hook up the hyd line (pre plumbed in the concrete block) and go. by the time I had found an air over hyd oil tank for it I had changed my mind and got a four post hoist instead. When I moved I took the four post with me and set it up in my current shop. By making some tall heavy duty jack stands I can do brake, suspension and tire work no problem. And no hyd leaking in the ground.

B

 

I'm sure there was a guy here on the HAMB reconditioning one of these hoists... It would be worth looking at his thread to see what he had to go through and to factor that into the price...

As mentioned also, if the hoist is still in the ground, you'd be paying the guy $300 for the privilege of removing something that would cost him a lot more than that to get someone else to pull...

 

I've been trying to find the thread I mentioned above, and haven't had a lot of luck yet, however, I did find this one:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=352530

 

every inground hoist i have ever seen has a place to put a safety pin in so they cant fall, not that i have ever used a safety pin, would you go under a 2 or 4 post hoist that had there locking system removed?

 

I have one in my garage, it was there when we bought the place,
'love it for tires, brakes, suspension, body work but
like said already, they are not good for working under the center of the car, transmissions, exhaust etc.

I wouldn't buy one though, and I wouldn't pay to have one installed even if it were free.
there are too many better options available now.

 

By the time it has been repaired and put in the ground, with all the work that needs to be done, save the money. Buy a two post above ground asymetric hoist if you have the room overhead. In the long run you will most likely spend less money, be able to take it with you if you move, and will be much happier every time you use it. A 4 post is o.k. but takes up more realestate. There is a reason almost every new shop you see out there today is using them.

 

have you ever sen the mess left behind when one is removed? if you had, you wouldn't want one in your yard, I'm talking about the pool of oil that is often around the piston when one comes out of the ground. it's going to cost more to install this thing, then it will to get a good four post lift. then you still have an old used lift with issues. depending on where you are, you may run up against the EPA, there are a lot of places where they can't be installed now, due to pollution issues.

 

Ever wonder why they are no longer manufactured or installed new? Avoid like the plague and get a two post or a four post with jack bridges. See my signature line re 'cheap'.

 

Been a while since I checked into doing the same thing. I believe that the EPA frowns on in ground hoists anymore. At least that is what I remember.

 

There used to be 5 service stations here in town and they all had at least one in ground hydraulic hoist, some 2 or even 3. Now there are no service stations in town and in every case when the buildings were converted or torn down they took the rack off, lowered the post in the hole, pumped out the tank and covered them up with concrete or blacktop.

 

New inground lifts are available.... no problems with oil contamination with the way the newer ones are built.

A lift for $300.00 is hard to pass up... if you provide the sweat equity with the install you'll have a cheap deal... BobK has an inground lift in his shop... ask him for info on how he likes it.

I worked in shops for years when all we had were in-grounds.... above grounds were few and far between...

 

hell Id take it for that price,the guy that painted my 65 impala lowrider used a paint booth with a in ground post lift in the "booth" what a great way for doing serious detail paint................

 

Got one of these in my shop. All the limitations of an in ground without being in the ground, and the benefit of being portable.

 

ob1 can you work under that lift? i see it would be handy for break jobs and paint and body work.

back in the 60's i worked in a gulf station and we had one of those in the ground lifts went many times with a knot on my head from walking into the post.

 

Not very friendly for under car work, although it does have riser pads for the arms that with some work could get the car a small distance above the arms. Mine is slightly different, I dont see a safety stop on that unit.

 

they are a lot to get them set right. but can be done by your self
i have one that i converted to a twin post side by side
if you can see it in the up position i would look at it. you can get seals for most of them
i had no $ in mine and had no $ to get an above ground
$300 is a little high but scrap will bring quite a bit
i would not pull it out unless you owne a wrecker and it is a lot of work

 

yeah I worked at Bucks texaco in portland oregon for a couple of years and the lift we had one had a saftey one didnt,I had a 63 impala fall off it when in dropped about a foot or so and the open door caught on the tire rack..........after that we had a plank to jam into it when it was up.still like the idea.........As the Dos Equs guy says "saftey third"

 

One of the most valuable things about the HAMB is the almost instant ability to not only learn from others mistakes but the enormous of freely given well thought out advise. I had a chance back in April 2009 to pick an in-ground hoist for scrap prices. Follow the link above which I started back then and read it thru. I backed away from that hoist and never regretted it. A 2 or 4 post hoist really doesn't eat up too much space in fact it can often allow you to store an extra vehicle aloft. I hate dealing with government and sure as hell when that hoist starts leaking and you are going broke feeding it hydraulic fluid that you'll be dealing with countless government agencies. Lots of old equipment is grandfathered in but you'd probably never get an install permit for it. If nothing else call and get a price on a drum of fluid and you'll see that before you do anything else you're already halfway there to a new lift. Good luck whichever way you decide to go.

 

Funny story.My friend had a used car lot that was originally a service station and the workshop had an inground hoist.Later on they removed the ramps and sealed over the floor but left the centre pole in the ground and NEVER unhooked the workings.

One day the compressor was turned on and it was still connected.
No car over the section of the floor.They heard a noise and the tube
came flying out of the floor and shot several feet in the air before crashing to the ground.Luckily no one hurt or cars damaged but did mess up the workshop

 

Ok i have to chime in as there is much incorect or bad information on this thread. To start I am a demolition contractor who regularly removes this type of lift from jobs. I have never thrown one away and every one has been reconditioned and resold or reinstalled for a customer. I personally have 3 of them myself. i have 2 single poles and one two pole inground hydraulic hoist. all of which are used and reconditioned and reinstalled in my personal shop. Parts for all of these units are redily avalible.

Ok fist to dispell the myth that the epa dosent like this type of hoist. This couldnt be further from the truth. In fact this type of hoist can still be purchased brand new today. Why everyone thinks they are illegal is due to a law that came out in the 80's called the LUST or leaky underground storage tank program. There was a very large push to get rid of leaking underground storage tank. This type of hoist was SPECIFICALLY EXCLUDED from the LUST laws. the reason for this is that the hoist generally contains such a small quantity of oil that a leak isnt going to cause a enviromental catastophie. Ok lets think about that? if I have a 10000 gallon fuel storage tank and it is underground with a leak and i keep topping it off every 5 days or so then i will never know it is leaking. it is such a small leak that i will never see it in service station use but over time the cumulative effects of this leak can be a real disaster. On the in ground hoist if it develops a leak it is gona bleed down on you during use and will lose oil and become very dangerouse to operate so you are going to discontinue use and or remove and repair this unit and is another reason this type of hoist was excluded fron the lust laws.

Ok so if you have a used hoist and want to install it and are really worried about the leak problem then here is what you do. First you must understand why the unit will develop a leak. this hoist is constructed from a steel tube. what happens when you put steel in the ground with wet dirt. yes it rusts. when these hoists where first introduced they didnt do much to prevent the steel from contacting the wet dirt and they would rust and pit and eventually develop a leak. The new modern hoists that are now on the market today are coated with fiberglass. fiberglass is completly resistant to the effects of the enviroment in which this unit will be installed and provides a barrier for the elements to the steel parts. When I refurbish hoists to be resold and reinstalled I sand blast them completly clean. I then check for leaks and pinholes from corosion that might need to be repaired. after any repairs are performed the hoist is then painted with a good quality two part epoxy paint. the unit is then given a couple of coats of a polyeter resin fiberglass material. this is redily sold at any home improvement store. I have done this method and installed several hoists for customers and then dug them up and moved them again some 20 years latter. when coated in this manner all effects of the corosion problem was solved and the units did not require any repair to be installed once again. Ok so why would I dig it up again 20 years down the road. simple: customer gets a new building and would rather have his hoist moved rather than buy new units. yes it is more cost effective to do this.

Ok now as far as the question is this hoist the right choice for you? I think you must consider the question of what else do you do in your shop. If all you do is automotive then this unit will be adequate but so will a good above ground hoist. Consider this: when you are in your shop and you have a project that is not automotive ie a woodworking project. At that point are you willing to have a large above ground hoist making a large portion of your workshop virtually un usable? with a inground hoist you simply make a top to set on your hoist and now you have the best workbench you will ever have. Why? Well you can work all the way around it, lift it to any hieght you need. lets say your working on your lawn mower or motorcycle? how about rolling them up onto the installed benchtop and the just lifting it to the desired hieght you need? far esier than lifting it up on a bench. Lets say you need to get a heavy item out of your pickup truck. just back up to the raised tabletop and slide it off onto the table top and then lower it to the ground. The point is an inground hoist is far more versitle if you do many things in your shop like I do.

Ok now for the question of the single pole vs 2 pole. I have both and the 2 pole is very nice for older type vehicles where you need to pull a driveshaft or tranny. still with the single pole i have never not been able to remove a tranny from any car. besides most new cars are front wheel drive and there just isnt a problem with that.

To all the posts that said they have had one of these hoists drop a small or large amount while in use i am going to say that this is not normal. What you have is an air or hydraulic leak. In other words your hoist is broken and in despreate need of repair. If you are stupid enough to continue the use of this equipment in this condition then may just maybee you deserve to dye or become severly maimed. sorry if this statment seems to strong but i just hate how a good piece of equipment gets a bad rap from stupid substandard operators. Would you drive your car for years with no maintenance and then say your make of car is very dangerouse and would not recomend that make??? These unit need mainenance just like your car does to be safe. Why would you get under a piece of equipment that has a possibility of dropping on you and never maintain that unit????? Would you get under a four post lift that had the saftey disabled or has frayed cables or a leaking cylinder??? any piece of equipment no matter how good the design CANNOT make up for the stupidity of the lack of mainenance. Any piece of equipment that you get under and trust with your very life must have a regular inspection and maintenance. How many 2 or four post above ground lifts are out there that never had any inspections or maintence performed on it???? seems to me a above ground hoist can be just as dangerous if not maintained.

Long and short is these types of hoists are very usefull and are an excellent additon to any shop. consider this: of the several hundreds of these i have installed over the years i have never had a customer call me back and want to get rid of one. the only time I ever hear from a customer is when they are moving or quiting business and desire to take thier hoist with them.

Do not be affraid of them and do not belive all the naysayers that tout epa this and epa that permits and blah blah blah. you do not need a permit to install one just like you do not need a permit to install a above grond hoist. I have installed several hundreds of these and never need a single permit. it is a piece of shop equipment just like a aircompressor or drill press or lathe. do you need a permit for your drill press or table saw? usually anyone that will give you any grief about one is someone who is extremelly jellouse. or at least that has been my experience.