Hydraulic Elevator Modernization – Norridge, IL

 

We had the opportunity to work with a great group of condominium owners who are self-managed in Norridge, IL. The building wanted a bullet proof elevator system to replace their existing outdated Dover IBM relay-based elevator controller. TKE was the incumbent and the building gave us a shot at modernization. We knocked it out of the park!

Existing elevator & project scope – We replaced the elevator controller, fixtures, door operator and hydraulic power unit.

New equipment providers 

• Controllers – Motion Control Engineering 
• Door operators – GAL MOVFR w/Dover hatch equipment
• Fixtures – Innovation Industries
• Power unit – MEI w/Maxton valves

Machine room & pit – This was a big machine room but the existing elevator equipment wasn't laid out the best. I think we did a bit better with their new set up.

[Old machine room layout]

[New machine room layout]

[Elevator pit when we started]

[Cleaned and painted when we where done]

Elevator controller – The existing elevator had a Dover IBM relay controller which worked great for many years. The building had a capital plan to replace their elevator system so they where prepared!

 

[Old Dover elevator controller]

[New MCE hydraulic elevator controller]

Elevator fixtures – We installed Innovation Industries hall and car fixtures to replace the original Dover Impulse buttons. There where two elevators across the hall from the other and one button stack. We added an additional set of buttons to help us with transition as well as allow the building a more convenient solution.

[Old Dover car station]

[New Innovation Industries car station]

[Old Dover hall push buttons]

[New Innovation Industries main floor hall station]

Hydraulic power unit – We removed the Dover dry power unit with an older I2 valve and replaced it with an  MEI submersible power unit with a Maxton UC4 valve. It is accessible standing up instead of near the ground.

Door operator & door equipment – We replaced the Dover door operators with GAL MOVFR 2s and the hatch equipment was replaced with new Dover equipment.

[Old car top & dover door operator]

[New car top & GAL MOVFR II door operator]

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

 

[Clean electrical lay out w/always appreciated air conditioner for new equipment]

Visual communication - VAM – The building gave us an internet line to the elevator machine room and we used Towne Answering service. They do a great job for us answering our elevator emergency phone and visual calls. We passed the inspection and passed our secondary inspection during our project follow up.

[Visual communications by Rath and answered by Towne]

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.

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!

Finishing touches – The project team did a great job on the finishing touches. Machine room painted, car tops cleaned and elevator pits painted. Love seeing this!

[The last 2%(cleaning and painting) of a project makes the job look pro gear!]

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.

State of Illinois Fire Marshall Elevator Division Extends FAID[Fire Alarm Initiating Device] Requirement

We got great news from the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshall's Elevator Division this week. They have put on paper the extension of the FAID[Fire Alarm Initiating Device] requirement.  The new extension now allows hydraulic elevators until 12/31/24 to have their system tested and pass.  The previous rule required them to be compliant by 12/31/23.  While rule was passed on 12/28/23, we received a formal written correspondence on 2/13/24 which was published on the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshall's website.

What is FAID? FAID is Fire Alarm Initiating Device testing.  We will be testing the fire alarms that are hooked up to your elevator control system to make sure they recall the elevator to the proper floor.  We also have some buildings with fire recall detectors in the hoist way that will need to be checked.  Heat detectors and shunt trips do not need to be tested as part of this requirement. 

Who needs to be compliant? Any elevator that has automatic recall.  Any elevator that has fire alarms hooked up to its controller, which sends the elevator to a floor when the fire alarm is tripped, is required to be tested. 

City of Chicago - City of Chicago is exempt from this requirement.

Additional fees - Expect additional fees from your elevator contractor, inspector and fire alarm company to perform this mandated testing battery. 

Our experience from 2021-2024 – We have seen a lot of tests go well and pass. We have seen a lot of tests fail because of fire alarm programming issues, fire alarm hardware issues and in a very few cases, our elevator controller not responding correctly. Even though buildings are having their fire alarms checked every year, it appears that some of the items connected to the elevator system are not working properly and ignored.

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.

Elevator Picture Hall of Fame 2024 – Superbowl of Elevators

 

The Hall of Fame posts are typically some of the more popular blogs in the Colley blog history. We get to see a lot of elevators during the year on our initial visits for pricing or while engineering projects.  Of the hundreds of elevators, and thousands of pictures we look at, these are some of the gems we've seen this past year.

Handle with care – I don’t know if I would be excited to work on this one.  The sign says it all.  This Madison controller forgot to get on the bus from visiting the dungeon of doomed elevators.  Not too many of these left.

 

Creative electrical cover up – This one was kind of surprising; not sure how it passes any inspection but it is there and it keeps passing.  The elevator man needs to check his hair before he turns the disconnect off per NEC article 4 section 17.1.

 

Anyone see my ladder? – I would have to think there was a better place to stick the ladder.  Was the building’s electrical vault room filled up with shopping carts?

 

You can’t see me – Dear shop/warehouse – I need 12 rolls of electrical tape

 

American Dream Dusty Rhodes – I was always surprised by how Dusty Rhodes got called the American Dream.  This was his maintenance stop.  I would rather visit his son's route, his son wrestled under the name GOLD DUST.

 

Zip ties and electrical tape – Send one more roll of electrical tape and a bag of zip ties.  Do I want any hardware?  No, I got 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.

Elevator 101 – CAMICB CEU Approved Course – Morton Grove, IL

We hosted our 2nd Elevator 101 class on Tuesday January 23rd in Morton Grove, IL. The class, which is approved for continuing education credit, was attended by approximately 40 people from 17 different property management firms. In it we discussed the following:

• Types of elevators
• Governing codes & certification requirements
• Common elevator violations
• Fireman's service exercise & hoist way access
• Testing requirements
• Obsolete equipment
• Maintenance agreements
• Modernization projects

The goal of the class is to help property managers understand what is behind the elevator industry's curtain as it can sometimes be confusing, not well explained, and expensive. We want our property managers to have the ability to explain to their buildings common elevator questions, code issues and help plan for capital expenditures. After the class, they won’t be experts but will have better questions to ask and become more proactive with elevator service providers. A better educated property manager is a better building advocate and a better customer.

Elevator 101 is approved by Community Association Managers International Certification Board (CAMICB) to fulfill continuing education requirements for the CMCA® certification. This course is approved for 1 hour of continuing education credit.

Our next Elevator 101 CAMICB continuing education class will tentatively be in September. Stay tuned for more info.

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.

Cold weather elevator - Deep Freeze 2024 - Chicago

 

We have had pretty warm weather in the Chicago area up until recently, now it is cooooolllldddd!

  Symptoms

  Elevator runs sluggishly

              Elevator doesn’t level properly

              Doors move slowly and are bumpy

              Potential outcomes

              People get stuck or trapped in the elevator

              Trips and falls

              Elevator will not work to service the building

According to the NEII vertical transportation standard, the temperature of your elevator machine room should be 55 degrees to 80 degrees.  Computer manufacturers recommend an ambient temperature of 60 to 90 degrees.

The temperatures that hydraulic elevators fluid should be is:

            Operating temperature  - 80 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit

Source - Maxton Valve[www.maxtonvalve.com] - Maxton valve is one of the largest valve suppliers in North America.

Oil composition when it gets cold – When hydraulic elevator fluid gets cold it becomes thicker or has a higher viscosity.  Higher viscosity means sluggish leveling which means potential trip and falls or shut downs. 

Viscosity definition - The viscosity of a fluid is a measure of its resistance to gradual deformation by shear stressor tensile stress. For liquids, it corresponds to the informal concept of "thickness". For example, honey has a much higher viscosity than water.

How does this translate to your elevator – In our Chicago area environment we use a certain hydraulic fluid that offers more flexibility between hot and cold environment because of our seasons in the Chicago area.  Due to significant swings in temperature in our environment when it is very cold the oil gets thicker and the valve and elevator system will not operate correctly causing a potential issue with leveling or entrapment.  The reverse occurs when it gets very hot and the oil gets very hot.  Both scenarios cause safety issues for the elevator riders.  If we always had cold or warm temperatures we could use a different hydraulic fluid that would be more appropriate for a hot or cold environment.  But! We live in Chicago.

What not to do – As a building owner it is very important to have your elevator running.  Some building owners take it upon themselves to improvise to get their elevators running on cold days with space heaters.  While the installation of space heaters is a short term solution, it isn't a safe long term solution as you will see space heaters in non-occupied machinery spaces that can malfunction causing smoke and fire hazards.  The space heaters also can overload your electrical circuits causing your breakers to trip.  The electricity costs to run multiple heaters in one year would probably be significantly more than the installation of an elevator tank heater.

 

 

[This building owner was resourceful putting a heater on the valve]

[Two heaters on one elevator power unit]

 

[One heater in the elevator pit]

Recommended solution – use a tank heater.  Pay an elevator company to install a tank heater on the elevator with an on/off switch.  This is a safe alternative to space heaters. But!  Turn the tank heater off in the summer or you will smoke your oil and burn it, if you burn your oil you will have different issues.

 

Take away – If you are having winter issues, talk to your elevator company.  If you are not getting the right answers, call Colley Elevator.  I went to a building for a nuisance issue[not a Colley maintenance account], they described what was occurring, without even walking in the elevator room I told them it was cold oil, they told me they had a space heater in the machine room, when we looked, they did have a space heater and it hadn’t worked all season.  The valve was ice cold.  I’m sure they will go get a new one and when it is in the machine room their inconsistencies will go away.

Salt – When we start getting cold and start having snow we use a lot of salt on the side walk.  That salt gets on our feet and comes in the building.  Have someone vacuum out the door sills because salt loves to live there and we will come out for a overtime call and charge you a lot of money for a few pieces of salt.  If you can do prevention, that is the best, but we are also always available.

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.

Chicago Elevator Association – Alpha Elevator Control – 2/1/24 6:30pm

Come out to the next Chicago Elevator Association meeting and see Alpha Elevator present.   See your favorite elevator contractors and vendors in a new spot in Oak Brook, IL.

Alter Brewery

11 W. 22^nd Street

Oak Brook, IL

Find out why Alpha Elevator is a rising star in the elevator control space.

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.

Elevator 101 continuing education – CEUs – Morton Grove, IL

Calling all property managers.  Colley Elevator is offering continuing education credit to learn about elevators.   You can learn about one of the biggest head aches buildings have and fulfill your CEU requirement.

Join us Tuesday, January 23rd at 11:00am for Elevator 101. In this lunch and learn workshop, we'll be discussing:

•    Types of elevators
•    Governing codes & certification requirements
•    Common elevator violations
•    Fireman's service exercise & hoist way access
•    Testing requirements
•    Obsolete equipment
•    Maintenance agreements
•    Modernization projects

Elevator 101 is approved by Community Association Managers International Certification Board (CAMICB) to fulfill continuing education requirements for the CMCA® certification. This course is approved for 1 hour of continuing education credit.

Lunch will be provided.

Moretti's Ristorante & Pizzeria
6415 Dempster St
Morton Grove, IL 60053

TUESDAY JANUARY 23RD
11:00 am

 

RSVP to Cathy@colleyelevator.com – Space is limited.

 

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.