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.