Elevator Life Jacket sizing & City of Chicago mandates

Over the last few months we have gotten quite a few requests for the Adams Life Jacket product.  This may be due to the mandate by the City of Chicago requiring single bottom cylinders to be replaced or a safety device installed by 1/1/13. – I.E. Adams Life Jacket.  We are in the 3^rd quarter of 2015 and there are still quite a few buildings that have not addressed their elevator single bottom cylinder.  The reason this is mandated is to prevent catastrophic failure that could cause damage to the elevator equipment and riders.  There have been catastrophic failures that have caused injuries and deaths. 

At one time I was not a believer of the catastrophic failure possibility until I witnessed a catastrophic cylinder failure in Chicago after CAT 1 testing in 2009.  The mechanic indicated he couldn’t get the car up after testing, I went to the building and found he was correct the car wouldn’t go up.  We removed the cylinder and found the cylinder no longer had a bottom to it.  If there where riders on this elevator when this occurred they would have had significant injuries.  This is another reason we complete annual CAT 1 testing on elevators, I would much rather see an elevator break during testing then when there are riders using the elevator.  Any financial component associated with installing a safety device or new elevator part is far less than injury or death claims.

Chicago Building code section 18-30-100 text :
14. 8.6.5.8 (Safety Bulkhead). This section of ASME shall not go into full force and effect until 36 months after passage (Oct 7, 2009) and publication of this Ordinance (Nov 16, 2009). Provided however, that during such 36-month period, such existing installation shall be tested, at an interval of at least once every 12 months, in accordance with the requirements set forth in 8.11.3.2 (Periodic Test Requirements: Category 1) of ASME.

ANSI 17.1 2007 text referred to above:
8.6.5.8 Hydraulic cylinders installed below ground shall conform to 3.18.3.4, or the elevator shall conform to 8.6.5.8(a) pr 8.6.5.8(b):

(a) the elevator shall be provided with car safeties conforming to 3.17.1 and guide rails, guide-rail supports, and fastenings conforming to 3.23.1; or
(b) the elevator shall be provided with a plunger gripper conforming to
3.17.3. the plunger gripper shall grip the plunger when the applicable
maximum governor tripping speed in Table 2.18.2.1 is achieved.

Summation - you can do 1 of 3 things; Install a new code compliant cylinder, install a car safety device on the elevator [governor] or install a Adams Life Jacket [plunger gripper].

We are only going to talk about the Life Jacket in this posting.

                                                  [Before Life Jacket installation]

[After Life Jacket installation]

Pros of a Life Jacket[Plunger Gripper] – Less expensive & complies with code.  The installation value[compared to cylinder replacement] for compliance of the Life Jacket goes up the higher the travel is.

Cons of a Life Jacket[Plunger Gripper] – Cannot be used on all elevators, if cylinder does ever have a leak it, cylinder needs to be replaced, the new cylinder would not require the Life Jacket to be reinstalled.  The Life Jacket can be reused but it would be a secondary safety item.

I was at three buildings on Thursday and measured the items under the elevator to see if a Life Jacket could fit.  2 did not have enough strike distance and one is on the bubble.

The most important measurement is the Strike Distance when the elevator is on the lowest landing.  You will need to have 9” to be within code.  The Life Jacket device takes 6” and you should have 3” of bottom runby.  You can get a variance to reduce the runby requirement, I would not recommend this as we have seen buildings with variances have continued issues with the car setting the Life Jacket and shutting the elevator down due to lack of bottom runby.

[Look at the silver portion of the picture, that is the piston and strike distance, there are 2", not a candidate for a Life Jacket, this was measured while the car was on the lowest landing]

[Life Jacket survey form]

Cylinder flange sizes – If your cylinder flange is over 17" you cannot install a Life Jacket

Most important take away – If you are interested in installing a Life Jacket[Plunger Gripper] make sure the elevator company completes a survey and understands if it will fit or not before signing a contract.  We have encountered some building owners getting stuck working with a company on a cylinder replacement because they committed to installing a Life Jacket that would not fit and the company required them to work with them on the cylinder installation.  Get all of the information 1st before you sign a contract!

The Life Jacket device is a great remedy for complying with the code requirement but a building owner should weigh the cost of the installation versus the installation of a new cylinder. 

If you are a building owner in Chicago and have not addressed your single bottom bulk head elevator, do it now!  You will be inspected and sent to admin hearings if you do not get moving. If you are in the Chicago area we have a great video of the installation of this device you can come to our office and watch.

Adams Elevator - More information on the Life Jacket go to  http://adamselevator.com/products_life_jacket.asp

If you have any questions or would like information from Colley Elevator you can go to www.colleyelevator.com, email Craigz@colleyelevator.com or call 630-766-7230.