Elevator pits hall of fame – Volume #2

Here is the 2^nd edition of some of our better pit pictures, no great pits in this one.

This one is from 2015. I believe it was from a postal facility where they wanted me to measure for a new cylinder.  I got some push back when I told them I wouldn’t go in the pit until it was drained and cleaned out.  I had to explain to the PM and building owner why I wouldn't get in this pit and send pictures. 

I got a call for a building that is relatively close.  This was a strange instance where we had some people on vacation, doing testing and on calls.  The call was the fire alarm in the pit was going off and they needed someone there now.  I took a ride over and nothing seemed out of the ordinary until I found this.  They had more than a fire alarm issue.  Worked out well, elevator guy met the plumber, then the elevator guy met the alarm guy. 

This one was from 2015, this is a wild one where the water is very clear compared some of the pits we see water in.  I want to say this was a bank up in the northshore where we had to change the pit equipment in after this occurred more than a few times.  I don’t believe the oil ever go contaminated.  Hard to believe right?

This was a eye opener when I was measuring for pit ladders in Skokie, IL I stumbled upon this.  We ended up responsibly disposing of the syringes.  I think I was at a bid walk though at a Village Hall somewhere and they where handing out syringe disposal containers.   If you are not comfortable handling these, do not handle them, call your supervisor and ask what you should do or have your supervisor handle it.  These could be a social user or medical user, can’t tell, you don’t want to find out.  This wasn’t our elevator on maintenance, it was a nice hotel which made it even more surprising that these popped up.  

The elevator pit you see is from when our Northshore/Northside got hammered with something like 12-18 inches of rain in 36 hours in July.  There is a controller from 1964 and it runs like an elevator in a haunted house.  I can think of a better use for the water rather than going in the pit. No oil contamination.

The next two pictures are also from July.  The building’s basement got flooded pretty bad.  No oil contamination during this rain.  The wild thing is that we got a good amount of rain recently and the building flooded again.  The amount of rain was significantly less but plunger must have taken on a few gallons of water.  We put new oil in and are using the a filtration device which removes water and it should do the trick.  It will take 30-60 days to get all the water out with the device.  If you are interested in how this works, email me.

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