c/elevator-mechanics

Picked hydraulic over cable for a high-rise retrofit last month

The cable bid was $2,000 less but I went hydraulic because the building manager said noise was a big issue for the tenants. Worked out fine so far, but the extra maintenance log paperwork is a pain has anyone else run into that with hydros?

2 comments

mark361•2d ago

Can we talk about people who don't level the car before working on the rails?

I keep seeing guys at other shops just torque rail brackets down without checking if the car is perfectly level first. Rode a job yesterday where the doors were dragging because they just went by feel on the leveling. Over three years now I've seen that cause more callbacks than anything else. How do you deal with mechanics who rush that step?

2 comments

troyreed•2d ago

Vent: Stuck between a new hydraulic jack and rebuilding an old one

Had a 30 year old jack on a freight elevator in a warehouse near Cleveland start leaking last Tuesday. I figured $2,800 for a new kit versus $900 for rebuild parts and a weekend of swearing. I went cheap and rebuilt it, now its groaning like crazy after 3 days. Anybody else get burned trying to save a buck on old jacks?

2 comments

paul251•3d ago

Eight years in and I just realized I've been lubing guide rails with the wrong grease.

A senior guy from Otis pointed out my tub of lithium grease was actually for hinges, not rails, after he saw the buildup on a car I did in Raleigh last Thursday - has anyone else found out they were using the wrong lube for years?

2 comments

ryanh56•4d ago

Chat with an old Otis mechanic at a supply house changed my mind about digital controllers

This guy told me he's been fixing elevators since the 70s and said the new tech is great until a lightning storm fries a board, then he just walks away and waits for a part while the old relays could be patched up in 20 minutes with a screwdriver and a prayer, got me wondering how many of you still work on old relay systems?

3 comments

sarah531•5d ago

Old timer called me out on my brake adjustment method

Ngl, I'd been doing brake adjustments the same way for 8 years until a retired mechanic saw me at a job in Seattle. He said my gap was too tight and showed me to leave 1/8 inch more clearance. Now I haven't had a callback on those jobs in over 6 months.

3 comments

black.pat•7d ago

Just realized how many guys are installing door locks wrong on modernizations

I was out on a service call yesterday at an office building in downtown Portland and found the door lock contacts were totally misaligned. The mechanic before me had the gap set at almost 1/4 inch too wide. You gotta check the manufacturer spec sheet, the gap needs to be 1/8 inch on most Otis models or the door won't seat right. How many of you actually pull out the manual or do you just wing it like the last guy?

2 comments

the_jana•8d ago

The day I had to choose between fixing a 30-year-old Otis or swapping in a new MRL

Last Tuesday I got a call about this old Otis in a downtown Phoenix building, you know, the kind with the oil-soaked ropes and a controller that looks like it belongs in a museum. I was staring at this thing for an hour (the brake was stuck open and the door interlocks were acting up) and had to decide: spend the rest of the week rebuilding it or pull it and drop in a newer machine room less model. I figured I'd be a hero and go with the rebuild, thinking I could save the property some cash. Two days later I had replaced three relay boards and still had the dead zone on the second floor. I finally gave up and they went with the swap, which honestly took less time than the rebuild mess. Has anyone else tried to revive those old Otis models and just ended up regretting it?

2 comments

sandra_anderson2•8d ago

Just hit my 1000th emergency callout in 8 years at work

I was doing the math last night and realized I've done over a thousand after-hours callouts since I started as an elevator mechanic in Denver. That's like one every 3 days or so if you factor in holidays and weekends. Anyone else keep count of how many times you've had to leave dinner to fix a stuck car?

4 comments

black.pat•9d ago

Heard a building engineer say 'stop chasing ghost faults' and it clicked for me

He meant spend your time on the one rail sensor that keeps failing instead of checking all the limit switches every call. Has anyone else found a specific part that causes most of your intermittent headaches?

3 comments

caleb_thomas93•9d ago

Had to pick between a 2:1 or 1:1 roping setup on a job in Dallas last month

Went with the 2:1 for a 6-stop lowrise because the machine room was tight and I needed the car speed to still be decent. Anyone else run into situations where the gear ratio choice came down to shaft dimensions more than anything else?

2 comments

olivia_harris19•10d ago

Old timer laughed at my makeshift pulley setup on a job in Uptown last Tuesday

I was working a service call on an old Otis in Uptown. Had a temporary pulley rigged with some rope and a carabiner. This guy, must have been 60, walked up and just shook his head. Told me my knot would slip under 200 pounds of load. He showed me a proper double figure eight in 30 seconds. Now I carry pre tied slings everywhere. Got 5 in my bag right now. Anyone else run into old school guys who call out unsafe work?

3 comments

sandrat24•12d ago

Tried swapping relays on an old MCE controller and burned my hand bad

Was working on a MCE 4000 controller in a building downtown last Tuesday. Heard chattering on a relay so I swapped it live cause I was in a hurry. Stupid move. Arc flash popped and burned my fingers. Now I always kill power first even if it takes 10 extra mins. Anyone else ever get bit by a live controller?

2 comments

king.andrew•13d ago

Chatted with a retiree at the supply house about those old Otis 211 controllers

He told me they'd just adjust the brake shoes by ear and walk away, and it made me wonder if we overdiagnose everything now with all these test tools.

3 comments

lily_singh2•14d ago

Can we talk about picking the right door seals for a high-rise

I had to choose between magnetic seals and brush seals for a bank of four elevators in a 30 story building here in Chicago. The manufacturer pushed the brush option for noise reduction, but I went with magnetic after talking to a superintendent who had constant complaints about air leaks. That was six months ago and only one return call so far for a loose seal. Has anyone else had better luck with one type over the other in windy conditions?

2 comments

willow_morgan•14d ago

Found a stat about elevator rope life that floored me

I've been reading through the ASME A17.1 code book for my upcoming recertification exam, and I stumbled on something that honestly surprised me. The standard says that under normal conditions, steel elevator hoist ropes can last up to 25 years if they're properly maintained and lubricated. I always figured we were looking at maybe 10 to 15 years max based on what I see out in the field. But then you factor in things like building traffic, alignment issues, and how often the car levels, and that number drops quick. A guy I know downtown in Chicago says they replace ropes every 3 years in that high rise office tower because of how many people ride it. It made me wonder how many of us are actually tracking rope age versus just going by feel. Any of you keep a log on rope service life for your routes?

2 comments

kai_park•15d ago

Switched from soldering all my signal wiring to using push-in connectors after a job in a Newark basement last January

That basement was so cramped and dark I kept burning my fingers on the piping above the controller. Has anyone else made the change and regretted it later or am I the only one who misses the old way?

2 comments

barbara_baker57•16d ago

Finally got a stuck brake switch loose with a little heat

Was working on an old Otis in a building on Elm Street, and that brake switch wouldn't budge for nothing. Hit it with a heat gun for about 2 minutes (careful not to toast the wiring) and it came free like butter. Has anyone else tried this on stuck components or do you stick to penetrant spray?

2 comments

tyler_wilson•21d ago

The old timer who taught me to listen to the cables before looking at the board

I was working on a Miconic 10 in a hospital in Pittsburgh about 5 years ago, chasing a phantom door reopening issue. An older mechanic named Dave, must have been in his 60s, walked over and just stood there for a minute listening. He said 'stop staring at the controller, you can hear the cables binding on the sheave about 3 feet before the door zone.' I checked it and sure enough, one of the compensation ropes was frayed and catching. Has anyone else had luck diagnosing issues just by sound rather than going straight to the black box?

3 comments

troyreed•22d ago

Old timer told me to stop lubing guide rails every month

Guy with 30 years in the trade at my local union hall said I was overmaintaining and actually wearing down the guides faster. Been 6 months since I cut back to quarterly and my cars are running smoother with less buildup in the pits. Anyone else get similar advice from a veteran mechanic?

2 comments

paul251•22d ago

The time I tried to swap out a door operator solo and ended up on the roof for 2 hours

Used to always bring a second guy for those big MCP jobs, but last month in Cleveland I got cocky and thought I could handle a 34-inch slide door by myself. Ended up stuck on the machine room roof with the old operator hanging half off the bracket, no cell service, and a busted safety clip. Now I always pack a backup harness and at least text my buddy to check in every 45 minutes. Anyone else ever got themselves into a jam trying to save a helper?

2 comments

kai_park•24d ago

A mechanic in Detroit told me my door hanger alignment was off

I was working on a Schindler 3300 last month and a old timer I was jobbing with just looked at my work and said 'those hangers are gonna drift in 6 months.' He showed me I was setting them too tight against the rail. I always thought tighter was better for leveling. Turns out leaving a 1/16 inch gap on the roller side stops the sway over time. I went back and re-did three doors I had finished the week before. Has anyone else had to unlearn something they thought was standard?

3 comments

zaram97•27d ago

That old controller swap in Nashville that ate my whole Saturday

Last month I took on a controller swap for a Mowrey in a 12 story office building downtown. I figured it would be a 4 hour job tops, but the new board kept throwing a phase reversal fault even though I triple checked the wiring. Turned out the old unit had a factory mislabel on the main line connector that I never would have caught without digging through a 1992 service manual. Took me from 8 AM to nearly 6 PM before I had it running smooth. Has anyone else run into miswired factory harnesses on vintage models?

2 comments

lunakim•27d ago

Just noticed a weird cable setup on an old Otis in a Denver hotel lobby

Was fixing a door lock at the Brown Palace in Denver last Tuesday and saw they had the governor ropes running through what looked like a repurposed conduit clamp, anyone else run into hacky field mods on historic lifts?

3 comments

adam_lewis•28d ago

Ran into an older Kone firmware bug that kept dropping the car at floor 3

Spent 4 hours troubleshooting a Kone MonoSpace 3000 that kept parking at the lobby every time it hit floor 3. Turned out the door zone board had a firmware version from 2015 that didn't play nice with the new controller. Anyone else run into weird firmware conflicts on older Kone units?

3 comments