Digging a pit

[Mary Fisher]

Hurrah!

[Dave Plowman (News)]

It's not. For a start, they can be difficult to get in and out of without risk of injury. They collect all sorts of rubbish on the bottom and aren't that easy to clean out. So they may be slippery, etc. And if wet, can be more of a hazard when using electrical tools, etc. They also collect some inflammable fumes which are heavier than air. Then, of course, there's the danger of falling in one when it's not covered up properly when not in use.

The one commercial garage I know which still uses them has a problem with height, so can't have a conventional lift. They dug down an access corridor at the back of both their pits so you get to them via normal steps away from a vehicles using the pits, and of course made them much easier to keep clean, etc.

I did have a garage with a pit once. It was, of course, useful, but the car never seemed to be in the right place for the bits you had to access. And getting the tools etc you'd forgotten was a pain too.

So unless they're very much larger than the average - ie longer than the car so you get easy access to either end, and to get in and out, they might just be more trouble than they're worth.

[Mary Fisher]

Like bathtubs.

Like bathtubs.

Like bathtubs.

Like bathtubs.

Like bathtubs.

BAN BATHTUBS NOW!

Mary

[Dave Plowman (News)]

You've not thought it through. Or, indeed, probably used a domestic one. I have.

[:::Jerry::::]

Were you trying to be funny or are you just totally clueless ?...

[Dave Plowman (News)]

True. So they make walk in ones. As I recommended for a pit.

I'd not like to visit your house, then.;-)

You don't believe in safety regs, then?

Mine tend to rise... Wonder what you eat?

Hence why most use a shower.

[Mary Fisher]

Or get a fix.

>

[Mary Fisher]

Evidence?

Mary

[Mike Mitchell]

Hey, it's my turn to be frank! You're exaggerating the dangers, hyping the problems and frightening the horses! I have known and loved pits all my life and have never come across any situation like you describe. But axle stands, jacks, half-bricks, lumps of wood, and all the other weird and wonderful paraphernalia people stick under half a ton of metal to kill themselves with are orders of magnitude more dangerous than any pit. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. You don't.

MM

[Mike Mitchell]

Yes, it is. See below.

You climb down into them. What is difficult about that? Think of a ladder up the side of the house. Now turn your head upside down. That's what climbing down into a pit feels like.

Tried a heavy-duty vacuum cleaner? The round ones with the face are good. Also, shops sell brooms, dustpans, brushes, that sort of thing. You can deal with grease - not that modern cars are all that greasy - by strewing sawdust, then treading it in. Obviously, this means you have to keep digging the pit a bit deeper...

Sawdust and industrial boots.

How/why would a pit inside a garage be wet? If it becomes wet by leakage from the radiator, for example, then stop the leak, then dry it out! If anyone is daft enough to use electricty in wet condtions - drilling in a swimming pool comes to mind - then why am I not surprised when he fries? By the way, a pit is rather like a baby swimming pool, but drier.

That indeed is a possibility. But what about a fan, so long as it isn't powered by electricity, of course, just in case a stray spark could trigger the US Early Warning System? (Actually, having written that I expect GCHQ is on my case right now.)

So cover it up properly when not in use! The pits I used had railway sleepers over them. It's hard to see how they could be dangerous. Mind you, if they're from Railtrack, anything is possible...

Ah, now you're talking! We had this type of pit, too, at a garage where I worked. But it's difficult to achieve such a length/height in a domestic garage.

Serendipity!

You can leave the handbrake off and roll the car from underneath. We did it all the time. No one died.

Yes, that *is* a pain. But so is forgetting one's tools when one is on top of the roof or in the loft and has to go back down again. Forgetting stuff has the habit of being irritating no matter what it is. I'm always forgetting while out shopping as I am so absent minded. I'm always forgetting while out shopping as I am so absent minded.

No. They cannot possibly be *more* trouble. The thing is, everything in life is a risk - including me making glib reference to the US back there - but as long as we take every care and are sensible there is much to be done without fear of injury. Face it, many DIY-ers kill themselves doing the most mundane things. How many wear eye protection? Who wears thick, industrial boots when digging the garden, and not wellies? Ever seen a spade partially sever someone's toes? Life is hard, but don't make it too hard, else we might just as well stay in bed and wait for the euthanasia wagon to come and collect the body.

MM

[Mike Mitchell]

Whenever someone mentions clueless, I immediately think of Alicia Silverstone.

MM

[Mary Fisher]

If it's worth forgetting once it's worth forgetting twice.

No they can't. In fact a pit is less trouble than anything else because it's there, it doesn't have to be thought about to be used (except ours which is full and hidden as previously notied). You don't have to make any safety checks, worry about the possibility of loose connections or anything slipping or unable to be turned because of rust.

A pit is there. Fixed. Unmovable. No trouble at all.

I've insisted that Spouse wears eye protection and masks and other safety equipment but it's been a long hard slog.

Not me and no - I used a no-dig system.

Actually, statistically bed is a very dangerous place to be. Apparently more people die in bed than in any other place. Especially pits.

Mary

[Mary Fisher]

Just remembered - pits have the advantage of not having to be stored and not being able to be lost.

Mary

[:::Jerry::::]

You don't know the first thing about pits and there safety, go and kill yourself in one if you want, please don't encourage others to do like wise.

Pit are dangerous, they can easily become filled with poisonous or inflammable gases / fumes without warning and thus without a chance to use a fan or what ever to try and disperse the gases / fumes.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Err, decent axle stands are cheap. Putting them in the same breath as old bricks or a jack is just plain stupid.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I'm not quite sure why you're so enthusiastic about something you obviously never use? IMM isn't faking your address by any chance? ;-)

For much car maintenance, you'll still have to lift the wheels off the ground - the common stuff like brake changing. Gone are the days of having to get under a car to attend to loads of grease nipples.

I do all the maintenance and repairs on my old Rover, and I've really not thought how much I'd like a pit - despite once having a garage with one.

It was often more a pain than a help - dropped tools and nuts etc ending up in it rather than just on the floor.

[:::Jerry::::]

Also, how does one use axle stands when the vehicle is over a pit, unless one starts to bridge the gap with 'lumps of wood' etc. ?...

Pits are unsafe and inconvenient at best.

[Jerry Built]

You are IMM without the content, or the humour. What you're doing posting rubbish like this to uk.d-i-y I don't know, but it's tedious - alt.wibble went that way ------------->

J.B.

[Mary Fisher]

You're not very bright if you can't see a difference.

If you think it's rubbish I don't know why you open my posts. Killfile me NOW.

I bow to your greater experience.

[Jerry Built]

How many repair businesses do you see with an inspection pit? Not many (any?). Why do they prefer (have?) to spend money on lifts that cost lots of money, need safety certificates, and are an on- going maintenance cost? It is because pits are dangerous.

J.B.