Hydraulic Elevator Modernization – ESCO Elevator – River Forest, IL

This project was at a building that was built in 1967 and the building was frustrated with the inconstancy of the elevator system and the longer and longer time it took to get a shutdown repaired and parts.   We did not maintain this elevator prior to modernization and worked with a building a year and half in advance of their modernization so they had time to get out of their existing maintenance agreement and the residents had time to prepare for the 4-5 week project.  

 Existing elevator & project scope – The existing elevator was an ESCO Hydraulic Elevator from 1967 with all of its original components still servicing the building.  It is always impressive to see a 50+ year old piece of equipment that runs well for its age.  Our scope was to replace all of the electrical and mechanical components of the elevator system with new.

 New equipment providers

 Controllers – Smartrise Engineering                                                                                   Power units – MEI                                                                                                                 Door operators – GAL                                                                                                          Fixtures – Innovation Industries                                                                                          Elevator cylinder - EECO

Machine room layout – One of the big challenges we have when working with older buildings is their existing machine room.  This machine room also includes other mechanicals or storage.  The project team and electrician where able to work together and get a good spot to get all of our NEC electrical clearances.  The old disconnect was tucked behind the elevator motor starter panel.

[Old elevator machine room]

[New machine room layout]

Hydraulic elevator controller – the original controller is an ESCO relay logic system.  Historically these will have open/close relay issues and general relay issues that require an old school relay tester for proper resolution.  We replaced this with a new Smartrise hydraulic elevator controller.

[Old ESCO relay logic controller]

[New Smartrise engineering hydraulic elevator controller]

Hydraulic elevator power unit – The existing ESCO power unit was still there with a newer EECO UV5 valve that had been replaced 10+ years ago.

 

[Old dry ESCO power unit with EECO UV5 hydraulic control valve]

[New submersible power unit with Maxton UC4 valve]

Door operators – Original GAL MOD operator was replaced with a GAL MOVFR door operator and car and hatch equipment.

[Old car top and GAL MOD door operator]

[New car top top and GAL MOVFR door operator]

 Elevator car station – The old ESCO fixtures from the original installation replaced with new Innovation car and hall fixtures.  We moved the location of the elevator car station to the return because the new car station is larger than the older one to meet ADA requirements and the side wall has a brace rod running diagonal preventing us reusing this wall. 

 

[Old ESCO car station]

[New Innovation Car Station]

Elevator hall station fixtures – The new main landing car station is packed with new devices and needs to be ADA compliant.

[Old 1st floor lobby]

[New 1st floor lobby]

Take away – The elevator modernization was long overdue, most of the equipment was well worn and serviced the building for many years past its life expectancy.  We had a great leadership ground from the building to work with, a great property management team and our project teams did great on this.  14 people at Colley Elevator from the first phone call to the final inspection had touch points on this project.  At times, we forget that while we have a sales person and a project team there are many people in-between that help make this project a success.

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 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.

 

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Elevator water damage – Severe storms

Last week in the Chicago area we had severe storms that caused a lot of water damage to elevators.  Here are some pointers for the next time we get a lot of water/severe storms. 

1.    Do not run the elevator until you know that your pit/basement is clear from water

2.    If you suspect your elevator pit may be filled with water, call your elevator company to inspect prior to running the elevator

3.    If you do not have a sump pump, get one!

4.    If your elevator pit frequently gets water, you can install a pit switch to send the elevator away from the floor if the pit fills with water.

 Here are just a few photos of some of the issues we encountered from the last round of storms.

The first photo is from an elevator in Oak Park, IL that does not have a sump pump.  We are at this building many times a year pumping the elevator pit out.  It would be a wise investment to put a sump in the pit.  The damage it is doing to the elevator pit equipment can expensive to rectify.  Packing, hydraulic piping, rails, pit light, pit ladder, pit channels and everything else in the pit should be monitored. 

The next two photos are from a newer elevator installation in Melrose Park, IL.  It appears the sump pump failed and flooded their pit.  Since we are using Victaulic couplings those should all be replaced and the tail sheave got wet so we will have to keep an eye on that.

This is from an elevator from Chicago, IL and 3 elevator pits got flooded.  This is one of the items that was required to be replaced on one of the elevators.  Notice the gunk inside of the switch, water and electricity.   

The Life Jacket is the alternative to replacment of the elevator cylinder, right?  We had a complex that had a couple buildings flood that had Life Jackets.  Not only do we need to fix and clean your typical flood issues, we have the Life Jacket to replair/replace parts on.  

Take away – If you are looking at being better prepared for the next storm surge, call your elevator contractor and have them give you some ideas of what you can do for your specific building.   No one ever plans to have a flood, but we can help you prepare for when you do.  We can help you and your building(s) with elevator outage and expensive repairs. 

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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.

Hydraulic elevator oil filtration/tank cleaning/new hydraulic fluid/elevator valve

We take care of over 1600 hydraulic elevators and we spend a lot of time working on valves.  It is always a good reminder to talk about oil care from time to time as it dramatically affects the operation and longevity of the elevator’s control valve.  The valve is one of the more critical systems on your hydraulic elevator system.   

We all have driven and cared for a automobile, right? Unlike automobiles we do not change the elevator’s hydraulic fluid every 3,000 to 5,000 miles.  Often the hydraulic fluid can be in an elevator for 20-30 years unless you have a proactive contractor to educate the building and recommend oil care.  Take a look at the picture below of what your elevator valve looks like and keep that in mind all the small ports oil travels through when you get further down the page.  All of the built up sludge and grim can clog your valve and cause performance issues and consequently your elevator not leveling properly.  When your elevator does not level properly you have a potential for a trip and fall accident.

Filtering of hydraulic fluid & cleaning the tank – Elevator hydraulic fluid should be filtered every 3 to 7 years dependent on usage & environment.  High usage or dirty environment will cause a buildup of sentiment from the air and break down of the pump and/or valve.  When hydraulic fluid is filtered it should be removed, the tank cleaned oil put back in.  There will be a loss of the original composition of the oil over time which can be combated with the installation of additive to help restore some of the fluids original characteristics.  The two photos below what we find on the bottom of tanks.  

Dry power unit – Here are some before and after pictures of a dry power unit we cleaned.  Dry units are a bit easier to clean out as there are not big items in the way to work around.

Submersible power unit – Here is a before and after of a submersible power unit.  Since the pump and motor are in the thank it creates a few more challenges trying to get the entire tank clean.

New hydraulic fluid – Hydraulic fluid should be replaced every 5 to 10 years, again, dependent on usage and environment. 

New vs old fluid – Sometime in the last 10 years the way hydraulic fluid was produced has change, which means that new fluid is not the same as the fluid that was produced 30 years ago.  Just like most other advancements we make things cheaper but not necessarily better.  The oil industry also changed the way they grade the composition to compliment change in hydraulic fluid composition.

When oil gets too hot – When hydraulic fluid gets too hot it gets burnt.  Overheating or burning creates sentiment in the oil which some people consider contamination.  It is a good idea if you burn out a motor or if you hydraulic fluid has been over heated to have it replaced.  The overheating of the oil also changes the characteristics of the fluid.  Elevator's with tank heaters also have a lot of particulate created due to the oil getting too warm around the filament. 

Valves – Valves can last a very long time.  Leading valve manufactures recommend replacement of their valves after 10-15 years, again dependent on usage and environment. Manufacturers suggest that after 3 to 5 years components need to be proactively replaced.

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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 – Solid State Motor Starter – Soft Start

We take care of a wide variety of elevators.  We are beginning an initiative to introduce all of our customers that do not have soft starts on them to Siemens solid state motor starters.  It is a great recommendation that isn’t very expensive but has a huge upside.

Solid State motor starter benefits

Electrical savings

Ride quality improvement – Smoother operation
Fewer maintainable items[no physical contacts]
Advanced motor protection

Less expensive and faster resolution if you have a significant building power issue
No starter noise – no “bang” when elevator starts

Motor starter evolution - The older style mechanical starters are fairly robust and last a very long time.  But they do age and will eventually cause problems.  Elevator motor starters that where installed in the late 1960’s/early 1970’s can last 50 years and most likely will continue working well with the correct replacement parts.

1960's & 1970's

This is a 1960's motor starter that is as about robust as they get - 2 motor starters doing the job that only requires 1

1980's & 1990's

On the right side of the controller you will see we have a smaller motor starter, still a good starter but getting smaller

2000's

Right side of the controller - this is a tiny starter with tiny contacts - not much wiggle room here if you have an issue

First generation of solid state starters

This is a Furnas Nordic solid state starter, great for its time but now has limited information for mechanic and all of them are reaching their life expectancy - If you have this it is time to upgrade

Alternate solid state motor starter

Sprecher Shuh has a solid state starter - The negative on this one is that if it has an issue you have to replace the whole starter - The Siemens you can just replace a board and you are up and running.  This starter gives the elevator mechanic limited information for troubleshooting

Siemens soft start solid state motor starter

The Siemens starter you have a great LCD screen that tells you anything you would like to know about the starter and the building power.  It also has a time stamped fault log.

The newer style mechanical starters are not made as well as the older style and typically do not last very long compared to their predecessors[10-15 years compared to 20-40 years].  The biggest issue is the size of the motor starter contacts they are putting on the mechanical motor starters.

Why could you have motor starter contactor issues?

Building power electrical issues

Elevator releveling causing starter to become overworked [leaky packing, valve, Victaulic, etc]

Mechanical failure

Lack of maintenance[more quarterly visits then monthly visits]

Take away – This is a great improvement you can make to any hydraulic elevator system for a reasonable price.  No more welded contacts that can lead to motor failure, no more overtime service calls for needing a specific set of motor starter contacts that may be difficult to get after hours.  Troubleshooting any motor issue or building electrical issue becomes very simple with the time stamped fault log. It is a great investment. 

Most new elevator systems have solid state motor starters on them.  There are a few brands out there, we recommend Siemens.  

 Hey! Sign up for our mailing list!  We are doing emails once a month.

 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.

Elevator maintenance - Making machine rooms & pits great again!

During the Covid 19 pandemic we have had some interesting scheduling challenges. The last few weeks we have had someone cleaning machine rooms, hoistways, pits to assist maintenance mechanics instead of taking off.  I love the way an elevator machine room or elevator pit looks painted and cleaned up, it gives it that great finishing touch!.  When our elevator maintenance mechanics give us a list, their list is getting done.  Hats off to the Colley guys going around and making machine rooms and pits great again!

[A great paint job makes this machine room look great!]

[16 of these? No problem!]

[Back to looking like the day it was modernized

[This machine room never looked this good]

[This pit never looked this good]

Hey! Sign up for our mailing list!  We are doing emails once a month.

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.