This guy must have been 70 years old, watched me struggle with a sticky leveling valve on an Otis for like 20 minutes before he walked over. He didn't say a word, just handed me a can of WD-40 and pointed at a specific pivot point I'd been ignoring. Anyone else ever get schooled by a retired mechanic who barely talked?
Everyone raved about the new lockout procedure they demoed, but I've been running the same old system for 12 years with zero incidents. They spent 45 minutes on a scenario that happens maybe once in a career. Has anyone else found these 'mandatory updates' more about ticking boxes than actual floor work?
Had to choose between these two machine-room-less models for a low-rise office building. Went with the Kone because the delivery timeline was 4 weeks shorter and the controller layout was way easier for my guys to work on. Installation went smooth except for one headache with the door operator alignment that cost me an extra half day. The Otis would have had better parts availability locally, but saving 4 weeks on the schedule made it worth it. Anyone else run into alignment issues with Kone doors on new installs?
Was working on a 12-stop Otis at Mercy Hospital in Denver last Tuesday and the door lock relay just sparked out of nowhere. Had to manually bypass it with a spare I keep in my bag just to get the car back to the lobby for the night. Anyone else carry spares for random relays or just me?
Been to 3 different sites this month where guys just eyeballed the alignment on the sheave and called it good. Then wonder why the bearings are shot after 6 months. I spent 20 minutes with a laser alignment tool on a service elevator downtown last Tuesday and the difference was night and day. Smooth as butter going up and down. Anyone else notice shops just skip this step to save time?
Had a call at the old county courthouse in Salem, car kept skipping floors. I spent almost 4 hours chasing a phantom fault, checked the encoder, the brake, even redid the leveling. Turned out it was a worn down door lock roller switch that only acted up when the temperature dropped below 50. Has anyone else had a simple limit switch turn into a whole day ordeal?
I was out on a job last month re-leveling a set of door rails on an Otis 211 and this 50 year veteran stopped me cold. He pointed out I was shimming from the bottom up instead of checking the whole bracket plane first, which just passes the problem down the line. Has anyone else run into that mistake or am I the only one who learned this late in the game?
Back when I started out in Denver, I was dumping grease on the guide rails every 3 months like clockwork. A 25-year vet named Rick watched me do it on a hot August afternoon and just shook his head. He showed me how I was over-lubing by a ton (like 3 times the amount needed) and it was actually causing buildup that made the lift ride bumpier. Has anyone else had a basic habit that a older mechanic just set straight for you?
Used to rely on fiber core rope hitches for every job, but after a door lock jammed on a 2012 Schindler in downtown Austin last spring, I switched to wire rope clips for better holding power. Anyone else find clips easier to inspect during annual load tests?
Kept getting false signals and couldn't figure out why the door wouldn't close clean. Turns out the previous guy had wired the sensor backwards from the original print. Anyone else run into phantom wiring gremlins that eat up half your day?
I had three straight days of calls where every single thing went wrong, starting with a stuck car at a mall in Phoenix where the ropes were so frayed I had to call for backup. Then the next day a controller board caught fire from a bad capacitor, not even a big one just a little 47uf thing that somehow took out the whole panel. Has anyone else had a run of bad luck like that where you just question if you even picked the right trade?
I was working on an old Otis elevator in a downtown St. Louis office building last Thursday, and the main door relay just gave out mid-cycle. Had to spend two hours scavenging through a dusty storage room to find a replacement because nobody stocks those 24V DC relays anymore. The building manager was pacing around asking how long it would take, and I just told him, 'well, depends on how much 1980s junk is in your basement.' Has anyone else had to dig through old parts bins to keep an ancient setup running?
Was working on a 1970s Otis in a hospital basement in Milwaukee last Wednesday. Hit the leveling valve and the whole thing dropped about 8 inches before the safeties caught. Scared the crap out of me. Turns out the guide rails had a ton of buildup that was messing with the gripper engagement. Spent 2 hours cleaning and adjusting them before it was safe again. Anyone else run into rail gunk like that on older units?
The conversation was short but it stuck with me. He had 30 years in the trade and didn't even pull out his level for the door he was hanging. Just eyeballed it and moved on. Meanwhile I'm back there with a feeler gauge trying to get a 1/16th tolerance on a guide rail that's been out of plumb since the 70s. Part of me thinks he's right that I need to relax a little. But the other part worries that one loose fit turns into a call back and a pissed off building manager. How do you guys know when close enough is actually good enough?
I was working on a 1990 Otis in a 12 story building downtown last Tuesday and this guy who used to work for Otis back in the 80s walked up. He saw my can of WD-40 on the cart and basically said I was ruining the guides by using that stuff long term because it gums up after a while. Said I should switch to a dry silicone lube instead. I never really thought about it before, I just grabbed whatever was in the truck. Any of you guys run into issues with WD-40 leaving buildup on the rails over time?
I had this elevator door that kept catching on the sill every third or fourth cycle, driving me nuts. After messing with the hanger bolts for an hour, I realized the track had a tiny burr right at the 2-foot mark from the header. Hit it with a jeweler's file and the door glides perfect now. Anyone else run into weird sill issues on old hydraulic setups?
For years I stuck with mineral oil because that's what the old timers said to use. Finally got pushed into trying a synthetic blend on a 1970s Otis unit near Pike Place Market when the mineral oil was causing too much sludge buildup. After 6 months the valves were cleaner and the oil temp ran about 8 degrees cooler. Has anyone else switched and seen the same results or had problems with seals leaking on older equipment?
I was doing a mod on a MCE controller in a 20-story building downtown, and this inspector walks in and watches me set the door lock gap by eye like I always did. He told me I was leaving too much slack and that it would cause nuisance trips within a month. I argued back at first, but he pulled out a feeler gauge and showed me the spec was 3/16 of an inch exactly. I went back and redid every lock on the car that afternoon using that gauge, and I haven't had a single callback on that job since. Has anyone else had to swallow their pride and adjust their whole method after an inspection?
I was on a service call for an Otis in a 12 story building near Niagara Square and this guy who had been doing it since the 70s showed up to help. He said "stop spraying that canned crap and feel the rail yourself" so I got a handful of lithium grease and did it by feel for the first time. The car rode way smoother after that and I never went back to the spray can method. Has anyone else had an old hand show them something that seems simple but nobody teaches anymore?
I was checking a 2003 machine last Thursday and found 18 volts AC leaking through a corroded ground lug that got me wondering how many of us are walking around thinking everything is safe just because the disconnect is off.
I was working on this old Otis in a downtown Austin office building and the manager came down yelling about how I was taking too long. He said I cost them $500 in lost tenant access fees. But I was just following the manual for the brake adjustment, you know? I mean it's not my fault the old rails were so worn they needed shimming. Now I always ask for the building's service history before I even start a job out there. Has anyone else run into managers who don't get why some repairs just take longer?
I was out in Denver last month fixing a stuck elevator at the Hilton downtown, and I noticed the door sensor had a real quirky delay that most people would miss. It took me three tries to figure out it was a loose wire in the hall call station, not the motor. Any of you run into weird intermittent problems that turn out to be something simple like that?
He told me, 'It keeps opening on 14 when I press 12... the ghost wants me to see something.' I checked the selector tape and found a tiny piece of packing foam stuck in the reader head from the install. Anyone else had a 'ghost' turn out to be a simple piece of junk?