Traction Elevator modernization – Evanston, IL

This was a pretty great project to have completed.  Colley was originally at the building in 2009 for fireman’s recall needing to be hooked up on a Vertitron Midwest controller that was installed in 1994/95.  The company who installed the controller was still the maintenance contractor so we suggested they complete the modification with their current vendor.   In 2015 we came back to the building and for the next 4 years we quoted various items for the building.  In 2019 the building agreed to work with us on a much needed full modernization.

Existing elevator & project scope – The existing elevator was installed in the 1960’s by Westinghouse Elevator and the controller only was modernized by an independent in 1994/95.  The elevator machine was leaking, the car was showing signs of fatigue and was ready to be refreshed.

New equipment providers

Controllers – Smartrise Engineering

Machine – Hollister Whitney

Door equipment - GAL

Fixtures – Innovation Industries

Traction elevator controller – The elevator controller was state of the art in 1994 and included the VH 80 traction box by Vertitron with an older Mitsubishi motor drive that had been replaced a few times.  We replaced the elevator controller with a Smartrise C4 elevator controller which cut down our wire count from controller to car and gave us a great new programming and troubleshooting platform.

 [Old Vertitron traction elevator controller]

[New Smartrise C4 traction elevator controller]

Elevator machine– The existing machine was from the original installation a Westinghouse that was leaking from everywhere.  There was a foot print concern but with HWEC’s new motor flange machine it worked out great!

[Old Westinghouse traction elevator machine]

[New Hollister Whitney traction elevator machine]

[New Hollister Whitney traction elevator machine]

Elevator fixtures – This one was a challenge.  We had 3 panels on the return, car station, phone and fireman’s service phase II panel.  While it isn’t perfect, I think it turned out pretty good considering what we had to start with.

 

[Old Westinhouse car station - Not ADA compliant]

[New Innovation Industries car station - ADA compliant]

[Old main landing hall station layout - not ADA]

[New main landing hall station landing - ADA compliant]

Door equipment – This elevator was a great candidate to replace all of the MAC and old Westinghouse door equipment and install new GAL.  We gave the option to the building and they moved forward with it.

[A combination of MAC equipment & Westinghouse equipment]

[All new GAL door equipment - start with a fresh slate!]

Car top & Misc – All the wiring on the car top and hoistway was replaced, a new governor was installed.  The new door operator and car top layout makes it much easier to get around on the small car top.

[Small car top could have been laid out better]

[Still a small car top with a better layout]

[Old Westinghouse governor]

[New Hollister Whitney governor]

Take away – This was a total team effort on Colley’s part, we had 15 people from the company who worked on the project from the first phone call to the final inspection.   We were fortunate to have a great team from our crane company, La Grange Crane, work with our project team and supervisor to zip the new machine almost straight into the machine room.  Everyone onsite that day did a wonderful job to make sure we had a great pick, lift and set down.  We had a busy street, an interesting alley and challenging layout roof to maneuver. Team work makes the dream work!

Hey! Sign up for our mailing list!  Each month you will get some great info on Colley!  It is short and quick to run through, you’ll like it!

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 or on our web page at www.colleyelevator.com

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

Elevator hydraulic fluid/oil water contamination – Arlington Heights, IL

We have always had a challenge when we have water contaminate the hydraulic fluid in elevator systems.  It could be from a water pipe breaking in the machine room or the pit flooding or a rec pump, pumping water back into the reservoir.  What do you do?

We had 2 issues in the last 2 months of massive water contamination of hydraulic fluid in oil reservoirs. We will discuss one that occurred in Arlington Heights, IL which we just completed the process of replacing the valve and hydraulic fluid.

What happened – We got a call that pipes where breaking in the building and one of them was in the elevator machine room.  This had occurred before so there was a pan above the drop ceiling to catch the water. However the pipe break overwhelmed the pan and it sent 50+ gallons of water onto and into the hydraulic power unit.  The entire power unit should have been replaced but the building opted to do the valve and the hydraulic fluid.

 

 [This is the pan that was above drop ceiling below pipe]

 [Aftermath of pipe breaking/leaking]

What did we do? The elevator valve was replaced, oil was replaced but there was still a lot of water in the system within the hydraulic piping and cylinder. This was caused by the elevator running during the water leak.

What happens if there is still water in the system after you replace the hydraulic fluid – If there is still water in the system eventually the valve will start to build up rust/corrosion and create leveling problems. That new valve you installed will be rusty inside and you will have trip and fall potentials. You may also experience other general shut downs from the small ports in the valves getting clogged and the pistons not moving as freely as they need to for proper operation.  If not taken care of, you can have a major safety issue on your hands.

 [Take a look at the valve blow out and notice all the small ports and moving parts that are sensitive to any foreign material including rust/corrosion]

How do you get the rest of the water out of the system? There is a wonderful device from Gorman that filters and removes water from the hydraulic fluid.  Typically when we have water contamination, we remove as much hydraulic fluid as we can, replace it and run this machine for 30-60 days until the contamination is gone. No problem we move on to the next building.

Final result – The final result was clean and clear oil ahead of schedule in less than 30 days.

 [Before oil/water device was installed - milky coffee w/cream colored contaminated oil]

 [After oil/water device was installed - Clear hydraulic fluid]

Hey! Sign up for our mailing list!  Each month you will get some great info on Colley!  It is short and quick to run through, you’ll like it!

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 or on our web page at www.colleyelevator.com

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

End of Life/Obsolete elevator equipment – Virginia Controls MH 2000

This is the 4^th in our series of end of life/obsolete elevator control systems.  We have a ton of these in the Chicago market.  The MH 2000 is not that old of an elevator system platform that was installed from the mid 1990’s to early 2000’s but as we progress with technology and code requirements we see the obsolescence time line shrink.  This controller is now considered obsolete.

What’s the story?  Virginia Controls is a great control company from Richmond, VA and has been producing elevator controllers since 1967.  The MH 2000 was a strong reliable control system but the manufacturer had some issues sourcing some of the components a few years ago and with the progression of their controller line, part sourcing issues and the evolution of code requirements Virginia decided to discontinue supporting this specific platform.  Their solution is a retrofit kit with the MH 3000

Who this impacts – If you have a MH 2000 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.  We have had good luck with getting parts an stocking parts for the MH 2000.  The first time we had an issue with getting a board, we waited until Virginia restocked and bought a lot of parts. We bought a lot of spare parts because we have a lot of these in our portfolio.  As with everything, we had a rash of boards go out at the same time at different buildings, we over stocked replacement parts and we haven’t used many lately. But! When the parts are gone, they are gone and there is a significant lead time for a new controller retrofit from Virginia or a new controller from a different vendor.  Virginia offers expedited lead times but you pay a premium.

Trip counter – One specific elevator contractor in the Chicago area had a trip counter installed on these controllers that requires someone to manually reset the elevator controller every X number of days/trips.  Most of these trip counters have been removed with an upgrade but there are still some out there.   

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.  If your CPU goes out, do they have a replacement?  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. 

 Hey! Sign up for our mailing list!  Each month you will get some great info on Colley!  It is short and quick to run through, you’ll like it!

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 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.

Hey! Sign up for our mailing list!  You get an email once a month with some of our highlights from the blog and news.

 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 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. 

Hey! Sign up for our mailing list!  Each month you will get some great info on Colley!  It is short and quick to run through, you’ll like it!

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.