Show us your shops!

[BaitMaster]

Conduit (EMT) has a few benefits:

1) Its visible. Any damage done is plainly apparent and there is no mystery hidden in a wall.
2) If you upsize the conduit (cheap if running conduit anyway) you can pull more circuits in later and add plugs/equipment as you need it.
3) Its basically rodent / damaging pest proof. A properly installed conduit system will never suffer pest or rodent damage.
4) Its durable. It takes a lot to damage conduit.

And a few downsides:

1) Its significantly more expensive when compared to running NMD in the walls before drywall/tin. Depending on the setup, probably 1.5x the price for the same number of devices. This includes labor and materials. Its slower to install, and the parts cost more.
2) Its visible. Some people(s wives) don't like the look of visible conduit as it definitely has a "commercial" appearance.
3) Most people are not comfortable DIY'ing conduit. There is more code to be aware of and the skill is definitely something that doesn't come naturally.


If I were wiring a shop for myself I would do it. But I'm a licensed sparky who is well practiced and my labor is free for me. It really depends on who you are and what you want. Alot of farm/industrial shops do it because of the benefits. Rodents wrecking wires in walls absolutely does happen and it really really sucks. It is super nice to be able to slap another couple wires in an existing pipe when the customer buys a new air compressor. That saves money / time in the long run.

 

[Mcgyver]

I went conduit, all over the place ....110 1P, 220 1P, 220 3P, 600 3P. I had brick walls and it is a lot easier going over top of existing walls/ceilings. It felt like the right way to go.

 

[canuck750]

I installed the first overhead crane trolly in my nearly finished shop / garage.
This is in the shop upper floor that one day will be finished as a two bedroom apartment. The upper loft is partially open to the main level where my machinery and workspace is. The barn door crane rail and crane is to lift motorcycles and other large items up to the loft.
I bought the 120 volt 400 lb/800lb hoist from Vevor and it arrived in three days. I added a 24” long piece of 1-3/4” square tube that is suspended from the barn door trolly carriages (2). The Vevor hoist comes with two brackets that wrap around the square tube.
My roof trusses were designed for minimum 600 lb point load. The limit on the barn door trolleys is also 600 lbs. I don’t plan on lifting more than 500 lbs.
I am adding an eye loop to the end of the yellow square tube that will let me grab the trolley with a long steel rod / hook to push and pull the trolley out over the open to below.
The Vevor hoist is so cheap I am buying another for the crane rail that runs above the vehicle stalls in the garage area.
I am so looking forward to finally finishing the shop / garage and getting all my tools and motorcycles moved over for winter.

 

[LenVW]

I just checked ‘Google’ and . . .

Standard Factors of Safety by Equipment Type :

• Wire Rope Slings: Typically 5:1 (or up to 6:1 depending on application)

** You may want to double check your lifting capacities **

 

[Chicken lights]

I just checked ‘Google’ and . . .

Standard Factors of Safety by Equipment Type :

• Wire Rope Slings: Typically 5:1 (or up to 6:1 depending on application)

** You may want to double check your lifting capacities **

Except a wire rope sling is generally used as a static load. A winch is generally dynamic

In other words, a crane main line is usually a larger diameter than any of the accessory rigging

 

[canuck750]

I question why Princess Auto and Vevor would list these winches at 409/800 lbs capacity if the wire was not up to spec for the listed rating.
In my existing shop I have a very heavy overhead crane made from 24” deep wide flange rails and 8”deep cross beam. The winch is a Princess Auto 800/1600 and I have lifted 1200 pounds without drama. The cable on the 400/800 doesn’t look different than the heavier winch I have.

 

[Lucky7]

Trust, but load test?

And not while underneath.

PA engine hoist failed that for me years ago and was returned. No were near rated capacity…

Not an engineer, but understand wire is more difficult to inspect than chain. If you want to see an inadvertent test, suggest watching Brian Block’s radial drill lifting youtube.

 

[architect]

I installed the first overhead crane trolly in my nearly finished shop / garage.
This is in the shop upper floor that one day will be finished as a two bedroom apartment. The upper loft is partially open to the main level where my machinery and workspace is. The barn door crane rail and crane is to lift motorcycles and other large items up to the loft.
I bought the 120 volt 400 lb/800lb hoist from Vevor and it arrived in three days. I added a 24” long piece of 1-3/4” square tube that is suspended from the barn door trolly carriages (2). The Vevor hoist comes with two brackets that wrap around the square tube.
My roof trusses were designed for minimum 600 lb point load. The limit on the barn door trolleys is also 600 lbs. I don’t plan on lifting more than 500 lbs.
I am adding an eye loop to the end of the yellow square tube that will let me grab the trolley with a long steel rod / hook to push and pull the trolley out over the open to below.
The Vevor hoist is so cheap I am buying another for the crane rail that runs above the vehicle stalls in the garage area.
I am so looking forward to finally finishing the shop / garage and getting all my tools and motorcycles moved over for winter.

Awesome planning to do something similar in my upcoming workshop too. I'll putting some LVL beams in there so maybe I'll attach a tubing onto it to create a sort of track for a hoist.