Electricians are wiring my garage. They are about done but still need to run the wiring for an eventual 4-post lift. Looking on Bendpak's website, the owners manual instructions say to use a 25amp breaker or fuse. Under the FAC they say to use a 30 amp breaker. I'm having it wired for 220v and I'm wondering what wire size to have the electricians run. A 30 amp breaker should require 10gauge wire but the electrician is saying that the pumps don't use nearly that much under normal opperation. He thinks 12 gauge might be fine but wants to know the motors specs.

For those who have a hoist, what size wire are you using? I can't find any other info on the pump motor on Bendpak's website. I'm tempted to just have them run 10 gauge and be done with it.

The size wire will depend on the length from the breaker panel as well. Myself I always go larger than needed in case I change the piece of equipment or add something else to the circuit

Tell sparkie to run 10 ga.

My lift came with a plug to go in any 20 amp receptacle. I have it plugged into an extension cord with 12 guage wire because I move it around sometimes...

This is correct, the amp draw and the distance from the breaker panel are what helps decide the wire gauge needed.

Mine is about 60 feet from the breaker panel and I used 10 Gauge wire. (110 volt pump).

Other than expense there's very very few reasons not to go bigger on wire gauge.

All 3 lifts and my compressor are on 10 gauge. Everything else is 12 as it was more cost effective to buy spools of wire.

Four post lifts can be had with either a 120V pump or a 220/240V pump - I highly recommend the 220/240V versions I have a 2 challenger lifts one 2-post and one 4-post both are 220/240V and are wired with #10-4 wire / 30 amp breaker and a four prong twist plug in the wall - that is what was required by code in our area as it is considered a commercial equipment install - you could direct wire from a junction box if you don't want a plug in wall outlet. The reason for the four wire is if you add accessory panels on the lift like an outlet panel - I have the plug and air panel on my two post and is real handy

What is the FAC? I'm unfamiliar with that.

I typed it wrong. I meant to type FAQ = Frequently Asked Questions

I told the electrician to just wire it with 10 gauge.

Might be too late but if not have him put the plug on the ceiling or wall where it is accessible when raising the lift. WHY? I had an incident in which the contacts on the switch stuck closed consequently the lift kept raising. i was able to hit the hydraulic release (lowering lever) but could get to the breaker panel to kill the power. Fortunately the windows were open and the wife heard me hollering and came to help.

After that I put loop in the cord so i could reach up and pull it should it ever happen again. Which of course it hasn't. bit if it does

The manual says to install a switch between the motor and power supply...I assume for that very reason. The plug will be located on the wall close to the motor too so I could pull it if I ever need to.

Well, 10 gauge is probably overkill but there's nothing wrong with margin. I am assuming that it's a 2hp motor on the pump. The last version of the NEC I have (not the current one) calls for 12 ampere conductors for a 2hp, single phase, 230 volt AC motor. 12 gauge would have been adequate at 20 amperes but 10 gauge is good for 35 amperes. This neglects any derates for number of conductors in conduit. You'll be fine.

If by chance the pump is a 2 1/2hp pump, the NEC values are 17 amperes for a 3hp so you still have plenty of capacity.

I went through the whole deal with the same install when I had to get my electrical inspected. In Canada and think the USA is the same, but there won't be a 25 amp breaker, so you have to use the next size up which is 30 amp, but now the old rules of wiring size to breaker don't work like they use to, with all the new temperature de-rations of wire and what not.
But here's what I did to get the ok from the inspector. The motor on the power unit did not have any internal or thermal protection and was over the limit in hp for not requiring it, so it need to have external motor protection, that's where the problem came up. The motor shipped with the lift did not state a clear service factor or overload capacity. I had to wait for months and they finally shipped me a made in USA powerpack that had the service factor to calculate the external overload properly. I have 30 amp breaker, and 10 awg and I bought wire that didn't need to be de-rated, then I used an external manual starter/overload with high temp wire to meet the specs on the motor nameplate and mounted it in a box on the hoist.
The inspector said I could have put it on a plug, but by code it would have to be plugged in and unplugged every time i used the motor, if it caused a fire and was found to be plugged in unattended then it would be considered against code.

Must be a Canadian thing. Here in the states 25 ampere 220 volt breakers are available.

25 Amp 220 volt breaker

I just had a BendPak 4 post lift installed. I went with the 120 and it is a standard plug in an outlet in my garage.