Elevator door restrictor - GAL mechanical

This will be the 2nd of a few posts on elevator door restrictors.  We get a lot of questions in our area about door restrictors when some of the restrictors begin failing.  Many in our area haven’t worked for years due to entrapments. We get asked; Why did it fail? What is the next step?  We say “replace it with XY or Z”.  But many building owners have no idea what a door restrictor is or the differences between the different types.

What is a door restrictor? – A door restrictor is a device that restricts the elevator car door from opening more than 4” when it is outside the landing zone.  The landing zone is typically 18” above or below the floor.   Essentially this device traps someone in the car so they cannot get out of the car and fall below the car down the hoistway.  An elevator person or emergency services should be called to get a person out safely.

Why did the door restrictor come about? – I know there are people out there that can explain or tell this more accurately than myself, but, from what I know there was a series of accidents within a short period of time with people getting out of an elevator that was out of the landing zone and they fell down the hoistway and got seriously injured or died.  I believe a few of these accidents occurred in Chicago in the 1990’s.

In the United States the GAL door operator is the most popular supplier of door equipment.  We as an independent contractor have been using GAL since the mid 1960’s.  When we install new GAL equipment or replace old GAL equipment with new we get a new clutch with a mechanical restrictor on it. 

This is the 2nd of  3 restrictors we discuss pros and cons for 

 [This particular elevator used a new clutch and changed the clutch release rollers on each floor to comply with the State of Illinois mandate requiring all passenger elevators to have door restrictors]

 [Older GAL door restrictor]

Pros

1.    Easy to install 

2.    Reliable

3.    No electronic parts

Cons

1.    Can be installed wrong and cause entrapments

2.    Wear points

3.    Cannot be installed on all elevators

Purpose of this information - We frequently see on elevator violations “Repair door restrictor” or we see entrapments due to malfunctioning door restrictors.   If a building has a door restrictor from the 1990’s, 2000’s there may be a better replacement such as a door clutch mechanical restrictor or a SEES style door restrictor or replace with a newer version of the Adam’s Hatch Latch.

As always feel free to contact us at www.colleyelevator.com, email Craigz@colleyelevator.com or call 630-766-7230.