Elevator shunt trip disconnecting means

The requirements for elevator electrical “work by others” is a fairly simple scope but many times it is confusing for the electrician because they do not do this type of work on a regular basis. Recently we have been getting a lot of questions of how or when a shunt trip should be installed.

1.    A shunt trip shall be installed if there are heat detectors

2.    A heat detector shall be installed if there are sprinklers

3.    A smoke detector shall be installed if there is a heat detector

4.    A heat detector shall trip the breaker disconnecting the power from the elevator machine room.

5.    A shunt trip device does not necessarily need to be in the elevator machine room

6.    The shunt trip needs to be monitored by the fire panel

7.    The fire recall detector provider and electrician need to work together for heat detector/shunt installation

8.  There is an elevator control feature where the heat is wired to the elevator controller and it will let the car down on FEO prior to shunting the disconnect.  We do not want to trap people when the car is shunted.  This is not a popular feature yet but may gain traction.

[Sprinkler & heat = shunt]

[Shunt/disconnect in one]

[Shunt and disconnect separate]

If you have any questions or would like additional information feel free to contact me at CraigZ@colleyelevator.com or 630-766-7230 ext. 107.

Also check us out on Instagram @Colleyelevator see what we have been up to.

Importance of elevator data tags

When we are doing elevator modernization there is a very large reliance on the existing elevator data tags.  It is important that we pay attention to these tags as they are most likely the only piece of information that is left to help us understand the original engineering as most of the final engineering documents from construction are long gone.  When we do not pay attention to the data tags or the data tags are gone, or someone else in the past hasn’t paid attention to the tags it can provide challenges when engineering or installing the elevator system with assumed information.

Issue #1 – We were awarded a modernization project at a municipal building and when it got to engineering, we found this on top the elevator. 

Significance – Low

Outcome – All the information was cross referenced but whomever the knucklehead who painted over the data tag should get a dunce cap.

Issue #2 - The biggest issue we ran into recently was when one vendor replaced a motor when they changed the controller.  Another vendor replaced a machine less motor but did not check the motor that was installed to see if it was correct.  Another vendor replaced the controller again years later with a machine that matched the crosshead data tag but the motor that was installed with the first modernization was not engineered correctly.  In this situation we have these nice new flexible drives that could be challenging to work with in this scenario.  By the time we realized what had occurred it was too late.  What should have taken place was to take car speed measurements prior to engineering.  The car said it went 100fpm, it seemed like it went 100fpm.  It really went 75-80fpm with the existing motor.  The engineering data went to the control manufacturer and popped out a motor to match the old motor.

Significance – High

Outcome – We worked this out and made the corrections and the building go their 100fpm car but this was after mystery, headaches and a lot of wasted time.

Issue #3 – We went out to engineer a modernization project and found this.  Painted then someone had attempted to scratch off the paint to find that nothing was ever etched or stamped into the data tag.

Significance – Low - Medium

Outcome – This was a US Elevator and we have modernized many of them so we have a lot of data on similar elevators.  There was no issue here but could been if the car weight was abnormal or we didn’t check the car speed.

Take away – We as elevator professionals should be leaving the correct data on projects for the next person.  If we do not have the correct data we should be getting identification that is permanently marked so it will forever be with that piece of equipment. 

If you have any questions or would like additional information feel free to contact me at CraigZ@colleyelevator.com or 630-766-7230 ext. 107.

Also check us out on Instagram @Colleyelevator see what we have been up to.

Traction elevator control modernization – Chicago, IL – Historic building

We had the opportunity to work at the historic South Shore Cultural Center at 7059 S. Shore – Chicago, IL for the Chicago Park District.  The building was built in 1905 and a theatre was added in 1909.  In 1916 the building was redesigned in the Mediterranean Revival style. This is the building that still stands there today.  Originally it was built as a Protestant only club, later, Irish Catholics were admitted.  Besides the main clubhouse the South Shore Country Club also had stables, 9 hole golf course, tennis courts, a bowling green and a private beach on Lake Michigan.  The once private club was sold to the Chicago Park District in 1975 as the club was forced to liquidate its assets.  Today the Cultural Center is fully integrated into the neighborhood and houses a School for the Arts, Theater, Fine Arts Gallery, two dance studios, music practice rooms, visual arts studio with a kiln.  There are facilities for weddings, receptions and meetings.  The golf course is still in operation, as is the beach, picnic areas, gardens and nature center.  The horse stables are used by the Chicago Police Department’s mounted unit.  It is a really cool beautiful old facility with a wonderful state of the art kitchen for events.

This project has been on our radar for a number of years and finally it got legs about a year ago.  It was an interesting project in that the control area was being moved from being by the machine at the top level to the 2^nd landing.  The building had been plagued with water issues on the lower landing so it was challenging to work with the older building structure, shallow pit and water.

Material providers

Control system – MCE
Motor drive - KEB

Fixtures – Innovation

Cab – H & B

Door equipment – GAL

Buffers – OLEO

Roller guides - ELSCO

Door protection - Adams Gatekeeper 3000

Elevator interior - The elevator interior was interesting.  This most likely was a manual elevator at one time and looked like it had been modernized a few times.  We had a two speed door on the car with single speed doors on the hatch.  The dimensions of the elevator front was atypical which made it a more challenging to engineer correctly with the position of the hatch frames compared with a typical elevator cab.  The cab was provided H & B from Minneapolis, MN.

 Before 

  After 

Elevator control system - The elevator control system at one time was next to the elevator machine which had limited space and electrical clearance issues.  Not sure how many times the controller had been changed prior to this modernization but the new controller was outside the machine area in a general mechanical area with height restrictions from duct work and outside the sight line of the machine.  The control system was moved from the 7th floor to the 2nd floor in its own control room.  The control system provider was Motion Control Engineering.

 Before

 After  

Elevator machine - The elevator machine room was in a penthouse that was very small.  The machine and motor appears to have been changed in the late 1980's and perhaps the motor changed to AC when the last control system was replaced.  Machine was retained, motor retained.  The machine is a Hollister Whitney OH53 in good condition.  We put some covers on and gave it a new coat of paint.

 Before

 After 

Elevator fixtures/push buttons - The previous COP was on the strike side of the jamb.  Since this was such a odd interior layout with the hatch doors we moved it to the return side and used Innovation Industries.  Lots of unique building requirements to work with and Innovation was great with all of our back and forth changes. 

  Before

After 

Elevator car top/door operator - The entire car top had to be reworked as we got a new cab.  Over time the car top was exposed to the elements and everything that goes along with a 100+ year old building.  GAL door equipment and Ktech load weighing was installed here.

 Before

 Before

After 

Elevator lobby set up - The building had some interesting architecture which included angled door frames.  Part of the challenge here was to minimize adding too many extra holes in the frames as they where going to be retained and didn't want plates on them.  With the new requirement of emergency communication failure we came up with a creative way to comply with the new code requirements and reduce the utilize the existing holes in the door frames. In Chicago we are required to put the FEO phase I in the top left side of the door frame.

  Before

 After 

Elevator pit - This was the most concerning issue for the building water in a shallow pit.  The building is located steps away from Lake Michigan and had a shallow pit that constantly was getting water it it.  We worked with the design team on a very shall sump hole, a deeper one could not be dug due to footings.  We had an issue with the specified buffers so we went with a lower profile buffer made by OLEO.  At first the OLEO buffer seemed like a toy compared to the more robust Hollister Buffer we are used to but during testing they held up and allowed us to get the under travel we needed.

 Before

 After 

It was a great project to work on, a lot of work on the front end and a lot of hard work on the execution by the installers. Working in older buildings always is a challenge because the existing conditions challenge you to think outside the box for material provider solutions.  New elevator equipment is designed for today's conditions, not conditions of elevators installed 100 years ago. All together 14 people from Colley Elevator played a roll on the project from the bid to the consultant walk through.  Not only is it the sales person and the installation team but everyone in between that does engineering, delivery, certified payroll, billing, etc.  A true team effort here!  Thank you to everyone on team Colley and our material providers for so much help to make this project a success!

If you have any questions or would like additional information feel free to contact me at CraigZ@colleyelevator.com or 630-766-7230 ext. 107.

Also check us out on Instagram @Colleyelevator see what we have been up to.

Hydraulic elevator service work – Oak Park, IL

Many years ago we went to a building and met a lot of very nice people that all were in agreement they wanted to move elevator maintenance contractors.  Unfortunately, they were in a contract with a large multinational firm and couldn’t get out.  Years passed, they got in touch again and kicked the tires, still stuck with OEM maintenance, but wanted to know if we knew any property managers, I gave them a few names of great people in the area we work with.  Years pass and one of the property managers we work with called us and said “they are ready!, get over here!”. 

By the time we got to the building it was in need of a lot of work.  The first step to getting this specific elevator back to shape was to address the oil line.  The elevator maintenance mechanic recommended the pit oil line be changed because a compression fitting was leaking and filling up a small container every visit.  We looked at the whole oil line run and a lot of it was kept after the power unit was replaced man years ago and had an old clean out, shut off and original piping.  We gave the building the option of changing just the pit or both the pit and machine room.  They took the recommendation of doing the entire oil line.

[Elevator pit before]

[Elevator pit - Leaky compression fitting]

[New piping with pit shut off - Oil dry soaking up the years of oil saturated in the ground]

[Machine room - Old muffler & shut off]

[Machine room - New MEI noise reducing muffler & shut off]

This project came together nicely from a maintenance recommendation to a sale to engineering to shop/prep to the installation team.  7 people were involved from the start to finish of this small elevator service job.  Without everyone working together this would not have gone so well. 

If you have any questions or would like additional information feel free to contact me at CraigZ@colleyelevator.com or 630-766-7230 ext. 107.

Also check us out on Instagram @Colleyelevator see what we have been up to.

ACTHA – Oak Brook, IL – Condominium Show

A few times a year we get the opportunity to participate in a trade show for condominium board members and property managers.  Today was ACTHA’s home owner spring trade conference.

ACTHA’s Mission is to provide information and education to boards, owners and professionals involved with community associations, to help their organizations run more effectively and efficiently

The trade show was a group of service providers; accountants, lawyers, property management firms, pavers, painters, restoration services, concrete, etc.   There was education, seminars and lunch provided.  Colley Elevator participated in the trade show.

We met many great people at the show, some current customers, some had general questions, some had a need for a proposal.  It was a great opportunity to get out and see familiar faces and see some new faces.

If you have any questions or would like additional information feel free to contact me at CraigZ@colleyelevator.com or 630-766-7230 ext. 107.

Also check us out on Instagram @Colleyelevator see what we have been up to.

I have an old elevator system, what do I do? – Oak Park, IL

We recently went to a building in Oak Park, IL to revisit an elevator Colley installed in 1966.  We had maintained the account for 40 years then they went to OEM for the last 10 years and wanted a second opinion on their elevator maintenance after frustration built up.   In 2004 we were encouraging the building to consider elevator modernization upon my return in 2019 I had a similar conversation with the Board President.  The building is a small building with a small budget and concerned with raising their assessments, they are also concerned with having a reliable elevator.  The story of older elevator systems in working class/fixed income buildings is a common one.  Now, what to do with it?

Elevator system

Control system – A 50+ year old ERM elevator controller with an electronic stepper replacement, capacitors falling off panel, starter replaced.

Door operator – GAL MOD the old work horse of the GAL family of door operators

Fixtures – EPCO fixtures, we installed hundreds of these and they stand up

Power unit – This is a dry unit manufactured by Colley Elevator which most likely had an old EECO spider valve that was replaced in 1989 with a Maxton UC4.

Cylinder – This is an Atlas cylinder head that requires hose packing or split ring autopak.  This is a head that was popular in the West Coast, I believe one of the Colley Family members bought a bunch of them in the 1960’s and we manufactured the cylinders in house.  Not a popular elevator cylinder head in the Midwest.

Maintenance  

Current maintenance - The building is currently getting 4 visits a year, poor communication, service call response issues and doesn’t look like much maintenance.  The building has a full maintenance contract.

Future maintenance – It will be difficult for the building to get a new full maintenance contract due to the age and condition of the elevator equipment.  The elevator needs a good cleaning and the oil replaced at minimum.

Modernization

The challenge with older smaller buildings is how to make a modernization happen?  The building has a high reliance on the elevator, their expectations to have it running is high but the age and condition of the elevator doesn’t lend itself to being a reality.

Plan on the capital expenditure of modernization – A building needs to plan for this for the following reasons.

Elevator controller – Parts are few and far between.  What is even fewer and further between is finding elevator mechanics who are familiar with this equipment.  As the years go on the elevator mechanics who worked on these, who know these, are retiring.

Elevator door operator – This door operator is 20 years passed its useful life.  You can rebuild these door operators, they still sell the parts, but you need to find someone who will do this for you.

Elevator power unit – The oil is burned from a tank heater being left on.  I opened the tank and smoke came out of the power unit from the tank heaters heating filament being dirty and attracting particulate.  When a filament is covered in “gunk”, it will smoke and create more particulate.  The new valve is 30 years old and pump and motor are still serviceable and can be replaced.   A valve is scheduled to service a building for 15-20 years.

Elevator cylinder – This cylinder has been in the ground for 53 years.  The cylinder could last another 53 or go at any time.  There would also be the requirement to replace it due to the single bulk head that is most likely lurking beneath the ground.

Take away – Plan plan plan.  There is always a building project; drive ways, windows, roofs, boilers, etc that are hot or priorities.  If a building doesn’t have a reserve study or budget for all of their capital expenses, start today!  Call your elevator company and ask them how much?  And what should I do?  Can I do this in phases?  We as elevator professionals should be able to help you begin your planning process.

If you have any questions or would like additional information feel free to contact me at CraigZ@colleyelevator.com or 630-766-7230 ext. 107.

Also check us out on Instagram @Colleyelevator see what we have been up to.

Hydraulic Elevator control modernization - Montgomery Elevator

I cringe when I see some control systems on existing elevators and the person who surveyed the job says “I got a XYZ here that is having issues”.   In this case it was a “I got a Montgomery here that is having issues”.  In some cases we can work on the elevators in some cases we recommend replacement.  In most Montgomery Elevator cases we recommend replacement.  This controller wasn't that old but domain knowledge is few and far between.

Situation – The building was frustrated with the elevator not being reliable.  Repairs where short lived and parts where expensive and took time to get.  Service call after service call. 

Initial recommendation – We recommended the building replace all of the equipment; controller, fixtures, door operators & power unit.  

What occurred - The building could not afford to do everything so we settled on a control & fixture upgrade to get rid of the existing control platform.  The power unit and door operators where retained. 

Elevator machine room - The old controller was mounted on the power unit.  In order to work on the controller you have to squat.  In order to work on the valve you have to lean over the controller.  We like to mount it on a wall so it is at eye level and you can work on the valve easier.

[Before]

[After]

Elevator controller - The old controller was a Montgomery/Kone product, it had reliability issues that was frustrating the building owner.  Kone probably can work on this just fine but the building did not have Kone nor did they want to call Kone.  The independent company that was working on it was having issues.  A new Smartrise controller was installed.  Now if they do not like Colley Elevator, they can call one of the 25-30 contractors in the Chicago area and anyone can work on it, no problem. 

[Before]

[After]

Car station - The car station has to be replaced for new elevator safety code accommodations.  Innovation Industries made/makes car stations for Montgomery/Kone so we had them duplicate car station with the up to date code requirements. New fire cabinet, new P/I, etc.

[Before]

[After]

1st floor hall fixture - New hall fixtures needed to be furnished, the most important one is the main lobby that includes the FEO and phone monitoring code required feature.  The building also got a nice P/I in the hall station.

[Before]

[After]

Take away – The building had issues with a not so old elevator controller.  The building was frustrated.  The building spent a decent amount of money on the upgrade and now will have a non-proprietary elevator control system that they can have serviced for 20-30 years in the future.

If you have any questions or would like additional information feel free to contact me at CraigZ@colleyelevator.com or 630-766-7230 ext. 107.

Also check us out on Instagram @Colleyelevator see what we have been up to.