Hydraulic Elevator Modernization – Montgomery MiProm – Des Plaines, IL

This is another building we did an incredible modernization project on that improved the reliability of the elevator system.  We had been talking to the building about equipment replacement since we took over the account 2012 to start giving them a chance to budget for this major project.

Existing elevator & project scope – The existing equipment in the building where Montgomery Mi Prom 7 story hydraulic elevators.  In Des Plaines, IL there are a lot of MiProms and a lot of US Elevators.  Neither MiProm or the US Elevator are user friendly controller, unless you are a Montgomery or US elevator mechanic that grew up on these. The good news is that a lot of the existing control systems are to a point where they are getting replaced.

 

New equipment providers

 

Controllers – Smartrise Engineering

Power units – MEI

Door operators – GAL MOVFR II w/MAC car and hatch door equipment

Fixtures – Innovation Industries

 

Hydraulic elevator controller – The original controllers have been through a lot including undersized original mainline disconnect wiring and very hot machine rooms.  Look at the difference in how many wires and boards from the old Miprom control system to the new Smartrise system.

 

[Old Montgomery MiProm Elevator Controller]

[New Smartrise Elevator Controls]

Hydraulic elevator power unit – The old Montgomery power unit was wearing and experiencing fatigue.  It also was leaking a decent amount.  This replacement was part of phase I which occurred a few years prior.

 

[Old Machine room layout]

[New machine room layout - after phase I]

Door operators – The elevator had MAC operator and equipment.  We replaced the operator with a GAL MOVFR and replaced the existing MAC equipment with new to reduce some of the expense with replacing with all GAL.

[Old MAC door operator]

[New GAL MOVFR door operator]

Elevator fixtures – The old Montgomery fixtures went away and new Innovation flush mount fixtures to meet ADA and elevator code requirements were installed.  Originally there was only 1 button stack so we put the new button stack on the other elevator to eliminate any downtime.  We also combined the directional arrow with a position indicator because the original man lobby fixture was already busy with all the devices, when adding the emergency communication, it became challenging to make everything fit.

[Old first floor fixture layout]

[New first floor fixture layout]

Take away – The big take away for this project was that a building planned for many years to do the project.  We started working with the building in 2015 on budgets and phasing.  We broke this project up into 3 phases many years ago; power units & soft starts, door operators and finally the control and operating system.  Eventually we decided to wait to complete phase 2 and 3 together and kept the cars running an additional year so it could all be done at the same time.

 

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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 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.