Hydraulic Elevator Modernization – Highland Park, IL

We visited a building in the height of Covid in 2020 that was part of a group of buildings where we did the other 2 buildings.  They wanted to work with a new company for a years and start thinking about modernization of their old Otis Elevator system.  We got to meet a good group of board members and was awarded maintenance in the beginning of 2021 and modernized in 2025 after working with them on a capital plan.

Existing elevator & project scope – We replaced the elevator controller, fixtures, door equipment, doors and cylinder.

New equipment providers 

Controllers – Alpha Elevator 

Door operators – GAL MOVFR[retained] – replaced Otis car and hatch equipment with GAL.

Fixtures – Innovation Industries

Power unit – MEI w/Maxton valve[retained]

Doors – Peelle

Visual communication – Kings III & KTECH

[Existing Otis Slim line relay controller]

[New Alpha Elevator controller]

Elevator controller – The existing elevator had a Otis slim line relay controller from 1970 which worked great for many years. The building had a capital plan to replace their elevator system so they where prepared!  You can see the difference in technology from 1970 to 2025.  No we have about 4 different things hooked up to our elevator controller for different code requirements. 

[Old Otis Car station]

[New Innovation Industries car station]

[Old 1st floor hall station]

[New Hall station & new hatch doors]

Elevator fixtures – We installed Innovation Industries hall and car fixtures to replace the original Otis buttons.  We had to move the hall stack to the left side of the elevator for 2 reasons, one the building put framing around the frame which shrank our usable area in the door frame for hall stations and the building had a door that swings right into where the new button would be.

 

[Old knife switch disconnect - good to get rid of]

[New mainline and 110vac car lighting elevator disconnects]

[Building had replaced their fire panel recently so we worked with their company for new controller]

Turnkey – The building wanted a turnkey project and we had great partners to complete our fire alarm, air conditioner and electrical components.

Visual communication - VAM – We worked with Kings III and provided cellular service for their phone and visual.  The building ended up with a net savings versus their existing phone line.

Take away – We encourage building owners to take a proactive approach to equipment replacement. When equipment gets 20-30 years old, and a building’s expectations are that the elevators are to run reliably, it is a good idea to start planning when it should be replaced.  We had some challenges with the elevator cylinder hole, we had a well driller come in and clear the hole to the depth we needed and we where back on track.

Team work– The sales person and the project team who finishes, typically get the glory on a project. In between the initial contract sale and the final acceptance are many other people who work on the project to make it successful. From the truck driver to the engineer to the billing department to the assist when needed, 11 Colley Elevator employees where involved in the project and we had tremendous team work on it. Thank you everyone. Without you we would not have had such a successful delivery! Let’s not forget our great material supplier participation!

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.

End Of Life/Obsolete Elevator Equipment – TAC 20/TAC 22

 

This is big news for buildings with Thyssen Krupp/TKE or TK TAC 20 or TAC 22 controller platforms.  In a letter dated 1/6/25 sent to buildings with this elevator installed indicating the CPU board has been officially discontinued.  These are not old elevators, they where installed in the 2000’s and 2010’s

 

What’s the story?  Thyssen Krupp/TKE now TK is retiring their TAC 20 & TAC 22 product line.

Who this impacts – If you have a Thyssen Krupp/TKE/TK TAC 20 or TAC 22 control system you should begin putting money away for a control modernization.  There are still parts available, we have parts, but when they are gone, they are gone. 

Are parts still available? – Yes and no.  There are 3^rd party manufacturers that stock some of the boards.  There are a few elevator solid state board repair shops that will repair the boards.  The warning with any board repair is that while the intention is to be successful, sometimes board repairs are not successful or take a few tries.  If you don’t want these challenges, replace the elevator controller prior to going down this painful road. 

Is software available once your replace boards? – Yes and No.  We have ordered software for elevators and it has taken 4-8 weeks to get.  Why does this matter?  Sometimes when you are switching boards you will need updated software or the original software to load on the control board.

Take away – If you have one of these controllers in your building get a plan together with your elevator contractor.  See if they have replacement parts and how many.  When it rains it pours, be aware that there are a lot of these out there and if a few have issues at the same time and require spare parts, you are pulling from the same spare part pool which is finite.  

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. 

State of Illinois Fire Marshal Elevator Safety Review Board Meeting 3/9/25 – Door Lock Monitoring DLM

 

The State of Illinois Fire Marshall Elevator Safety Review Board met on Thursday 3/6/25. The main item that was addressed was to adopt the new elevator code A17.1 2022. This code adoption has large implications on new/modernized elevators and even larger implications on existing elevators. The largest item is existing elevators and the requirement of door lock monitoring. THIS CODE HAS NOT BEEN 100% ADOPTED YET AND IS GOING TO SPRINGFIELD TO COMPLETE THE FULL ADOPTION PROCESS.

 

41 ILLINOIS ADMINISTRATIVE CODE 1000 1000.30 - TITLE 41: FIRE PROTECTION CHAPTER II: ELEVATOR SAFETY REVIEW BOARD - PART 1000

ILLINOIS ELEVATOR SAFETY RULES

iii. Modification: Door Lock Monitoring. System to Monitor and Prevent Automatic Operation of an Elevator with Faulty Door Contact Circuits.

a) Automatic passenger and freight elevators installed or permitted for installation prior to effective date of the adoption of ASME A17.1 (2022) shall comply with Section 2.26.5 by January 1, 2029.

b) Automatic passenger and freight elevators permitted for installation on or after the effective date of the adoption of ASME A17.1 (2022) shall comply with Section 2.26.5.


What does this mean for you? If you have an elevator that was installed prior to between 2000 to 2004, you most likely do not have door lock monitoring. This means the elevator will need to have it. If you do not have door lock monitoring you can get door lock monitoring 2 ways:

1. Replace the elevator controller – Replacing the elevator controller and door operator will ensure you have door lock monitoring and is the most reliable way to complete the requirement. This is also the most expensive way to get door lock monitoring because you will trigger other code requirements on the elevator and with the building. 

• Expense – High
• Reliability and chances of compliance - High

2. Install an auxiliary DLM panel on an existing controller– This is the quickest and least expensive option. Older elevator controllers and door operators are not recommended to have this completed because it may make your elevator system less reliable due to the additional devices that need to be added. You may also have issues with the wiring of a new door lock monitoring system to an elevator that has had wiring changes over the years (and may not have them documented correctly with wiring diagrams). Older elevators or elevators without accurate wiring diagrams will be challenging, if not impossible, to have a door lock monitoring system added.

• Expense – Lower
• Reliability and chances of compliance - Lower

There are other more typical code updates coming with A17.1 2022 which will have additional impact on new construction and modernization projects.

Moving forward - Code adoption will move to the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (J-Car) next and then needs to get on the state agenda. Possible date for adoption would be around the third quarter. 

Does my elevator have door lock monitoring? Call your elevator maintenance provider and ask them. For buildings that need to prepare for a project, it will be expensive and you will have an elevator outage for a significant period of time, so start planning! January 2029 will come quick. 

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.