Traction elevator modernization – Chicago, IL – Motion Control Engineering

 

This project was for a long time great customer of ours who gave us an opportunity to bid a building we did not currently do maintenance on.  The elevator had reliability issues and an FEO mandate component to it.

Existing elevator & project scope – The existing 14 story traction elevator was installed sometime in the 1930’s or 1940’s and has had many modernizations completed on it, the most recent modernization was the installation of the Virginia Controller in 1986

New equipment providers

Controllers – Motion Control Engineering

Machine – Hollister Whitney – New motor[Imperial Electric]

Door equipment - GAL

Fixtures – Innovation Industries

Traction elevator controller – The existing controller was a relay logic Virginia Controls relay logic with about 196 relays which each have 9 contact points for a grand total of 1,764 potential failure points just on the plug in relays not to mention the capacitors, resisitors and other electrical components within the elevator system.  The best part of the modernization was getting rid of the motor generator.  We went with the bullet proof MCE 4000 to replace it for its proven track record in reliability for midrise elevators.  

[Existing Virginia Controls elevator controller]

[Existing Virginia Controls elevator controller]

[New Motion Control Engineering [MCE] elevator controller]

Elevator machine– The machine was probably replaced in 1986 when the elevator control system was modernized and was in decent condition.  We added a new rope break, drained and cleaned the machine and addressed any leaky seals.

[Existing Hollister Whitney Machine]

[Retained machine - new motor, rope brake & paint job]

Elevator fixtures – Older historic buildings are always a challenge cosmetically to modernize because you want to keep the impact on the lobby to a minimum and still have it look good.   This lobby appears to have marble so we did our best to resuse the existing fixture boxes when size it up for the modernization while achieving ADA compliance.

[Existing elevator car station]

[New Innovation Industries car station with position indicator]

[Existing elevator 1st floor lobby with multi light P/I]

[New Innovation Industries 1st floor lobby with digital P/I]

Door equipment – The building had older GAL on it with smaller tracks which we had extensive reworking on to get the door interlocks to be in a more desirable and maintainable set up.  We replaced the door operator with another MOVFR II and refreshed all of the car and hall door equipment.

[Engineering visit - WOW]

[Finished product]

Car top & Misc – The car top was an absolute disaster upon our first visit with a lot of abandoned devices left from the last few modernizations.  With a little time and reworking we made this smaller car top look a lot better.

Take away – This was a total team effort on Colley’s part, we had 17 people from the company who worked on the project from the first phone call to the final inspection.  This project was ½ way complete when covid hit our area and was a challenge to complete during the “stay at home order”.  Everyone in that building stayed home, we had to still continue to go to work in the building that everyone was staying home in.  Something to think about. Our elevator teams persevered and landed the bird and turned over a great running elevator to service the 14 story.

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.

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 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.