dwe8922

I've heard of a few people doing this, and was wondering if anyone here has tried it. The only picture I've been able to find of it so far is Richard Griot, who looks to have used a few pool lights recessed into his floor. I would think you would still have shadows around where you're standing, but would add a lot of light in addition to a shop light.

Thanks!
David

J richard

You can get good cast in place light fixtures from companies like Staff or Hydrell. Little pricey but they can take the traffic load and with a metal halide or biax compact fluorescent will put out plenty of light.

tonypai

Here's a picture I took of Sabine's shop in Germany.

JackOlsen

Subscribed.

I've thought about using some sort of gooseneck light that attaches to the underside of my lift top. But I haven't worked it out yet. In the floor looks cool, but doesn't seem ideal when you think about it (in the floor from either side seems better).

dntlvet

oh I wish I had a lift. Nice

kurt M

If you have a cross plate 2 post lift like I have you might be able to set LED puck lights in the plate. I have a Bend-pac lift and there is just enough room between the cross cables for a row of lights. No knocking holes in the floor. I have the puck lights in hand and laid them out as a test asd they worked well. Now I need to get around to drilling the plate.

dwe8922

I talked to the rotary rep that I'm buying my lift from today about under lights, and he said he hasn't had a shop do that to date. His concerns were shadows, and ease of clean up after oil spills.

The lights like in Sabine's shop are similar to what's on the Griot's site.

dwe8922

Cook recessed shorty lift!

Kurt, how have the under lights worked for you? Shadows? My lift will have the cables running overhead.

kurt M

I have not formally installed them yet. They worked Ok when tested. Not a 100% replacement for a drop light but far more light overall than without. I felt they added enough for me to bother installing. Will follow up when installed.

I have also tinkered around with under arm lights. An articulated 3 section arm that extends about 8 feet from the base Mounts to one post on a up down slider and can be positioned and stops in place with a hand. Lots of light but gets in the way at times. Works best when close to the undercarriage but this reduces overall illumination. I also tinkered with an array of tight focus up lights just set on the floor as a test. The light was a bit distracting as it seemed that least one was always shining in your face. I found myself holding a hand out / down to block glare as you would with the sun shining at you. I was bummed out at this as I had access to a cor drill and proper fixtures. I was going to drill the floor and drive curved rods to fish UF feeder between the holes. I was also thinking that a light on a bendable stalk like a giant desk light might work too.
Hand held lights from an overhead cord-reel seem to work well as you can stick the light tight and point it where you want. With the cord coming from overhead it does not drag in the dirt or get in the way of wheeled carts or you. The strip of lights was good for overall additional light but not a replacement for a good drop light.

One tool I did make that works is a IV stand like tool tree. It was in fact made from a discarded IV stand. I mounted a light on the top and a plug strip on the stalk. I added more hooks and arms and it gets covered in power tools like grinders. The light is easy to move and point and the tools are right there. One cord for all the stuff. Handy when welding and grinding. All the grinders are right there along with lots good light.

dwe8922

I emailed Hydrel, and the rep told me that this wasn't the best application for an ingrade light. They saw many angling a flourescent fixture upwards from low to the ground.

rkirshner

hi jack osson
can you tell me what kind of lift you have
thanks

JackOlsen

It's a hydraulic lift table, made my Vestil in Indiana. It wouldn't make sense for most people as an automotive lift, since it costs more than a lot of mid-rise lifts (at close to $3,000), and has a large (48"x48") table top, which would interfere with most cars' exhausts or drivetrains.

But I found it second-hand -- for $455 -- and the only car I do regular work on is my old 911, which has a flat and unobstructed belly pan. The top of it is now tiled to match the floor, and when the car is parked in the garage, I don't need to do anything in order to lift it up -- other than to press the up button.

It's not the right solution for most people. But for my small garage, I couldn't spare the space for a two-post or four-post lift. And I don't have much ceiling height. But this just happened to work out as a very low cost and effective solution for my track car.

Here's how it looks when the lift is recessed. I dug the hole, poured the reinforced concrete and did the tiling myself. The floor is old and is NOT flat, but with the tile it all works pretty well.



You can see I also have a couple of work benches that fold down on that side of the garage. Even an on-the-floor scissors lift would have been a problem for them. But the way it is now, the lift also functions as a work surface if I need it. And the adjustable height has come in handy for painting stuff. It's also great for getting things up and into the bed of my Jeep.

rkirshner

what a great idea
i am redoing a garage that has limited space and height
i hope mine turns out as nice as yours thanks

fatbillybob

Believe it or not the best under carrage lighting is those stupid head lights you can buy at REI. They can be angled etc.. Or buy an adjustable dental headlamp with or without the power pack that fits in a smock pocket. Those give you amazing focused light with minimal glare. Don't laugh until you try it.