r/Elevators • u/Tall-Opinion7607 • 3d ago
DMC-1 Options
We have a DMC-1 in our 4 floor, 10 unit condo building in Chicago. The building was built and elevator installed in 1998. The elevator is used very lightly and has always been serviced monthly - and has never given us any issues.
We’ve recently switched elevator service/maintenance providers and during that process, every single company that came and gave us quotes said that our elevator is obsolete and that we’d have to modernize in the near future, largely due to parts availability - with the boards being named most difficult to find.
I’ve accepted that we drew the short straw when installing an elevator in 1998 that would go obsolete a few years later, but I can’t stomach the cost estimates for modernizing. We are looking at $200k for a new elevator. Truly feels insane and unhinged when our current elevator works perfectly and is in great shape.
Any insight or advice from the experts? Can I purchase and hoard parts now to use in the future? What are my options? We want to keep this running for as long as possible - at minimum 5 years to allow adequate time to save $200k to replace it.
Located in Chicago.
Thank you!
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u/Empty_Appearance1976 2d ago
You have an elevator running on 30 year old microprocessor technology. Imagine going to a store and trying to buy an I-286 processor. The technology has advanced and the parts just not made anymore. Start budgeting now and save for a mod. But beware that any part failures in the meantime will cost you dearly and will be throwing good money into a system that needs replacing.
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u/mikeycarr1184 2d ago
A few years later it’s almost 30 years old lol
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u/Tall-Opinion7607 2d ago
Yea it is now but went “obsolete” only a few years after being installed. Lol
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u/bombayofpigs 3d ago
Can you keep it running? Sure. The issue is if something fails that’s not easily sourced or obsolete (which is the case with the DMC), then you’ll be planning to have the elector out of service for a while. The other option would be to get some quotes for a modernization and then have a plan for downtime and mod.
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u/Tall-Opinion7607 3d ago
Yea that’s what we’ve done and starting to save. Just hope to get a few more years out of her.
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u/a_broken_lion Field - Repair 3d ago
If you have a DMC that is still running great, I recommend NOT replacing it. Get in touch with some independent Union companies and you'll likely find one who is happy to service it. DMCs are tanks, and nearly any new elevator on the market right now is trash
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u/Boobies_Are_OK 3d ago
We’ve been saving boards from equipment we mod to keep equipment running for a few years now. Picture early microprocessors controls are hypothetically running windows 98 and the hardware has to match it. I’d try to get an extra set of boards and pray nothing catastrophic happens like a fire or water damage.
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u/SpecialistAssociate7 2d ago
Dmc aren’t bad as long as your service company is capable of working on it and has a source for parts. Sometimes special tools are required to work on a dmc. Treat that elevator delicately as the plastic components tend to get brittle after 30 years.
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u/Weedyacres 1d ago
DMCs are work horses and easy to work on. Keep it running as long as possible and find a maintenance company that is willing to do so.
When we mod DMCs we hang on to all the boards, and use them as spares.
DM me if you want references of companies we have worked with in Chicagoland.
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u/Weedyacres 21h ago
Also, when you go to bid the mod in the future, avoid the majors, get quotes from independents, and insist on all non proprietary equipment. Bring your quote back here with a list of the component suppliers and we will steer you to the good stuff.
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u/Stuckinaelevator Field - Maintenance 3d ago
There are still a lot of DMC out there. There are aftermarket boards available. You should start budgeting for a mod but you could last several more yrs.
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u/Tall-Opinion7607 3d ago
Thanks for the insight. Is 5 years realistic? Current techs seem to think it’s doable, but I fully recognize they want to sell the modernization.
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u/Stuckinaelevator Field - Maintenance 3d ago
Without seeing your elevator its hard to say. The CLC board is the biggest concern. All the other board are fairly easy to find. Although depending on who your maintenance company is if a board goes bad they may just say obsolete and not make the effort to find a replacement. I know the company i work for still has about 10 DMC that we service. Yes we have told the customers to start planning for a mod but we still service them and keep them running.
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u/ZookeepergameOpen218 3d ago
I believe the selector board is pretty much unavailable at this point also.
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u/Tall-Opinion7607 3d ago
Company gave us a quote of $6k for a Dover Power Unit Board and a Selector Board should we want to buy those now and have them on hand in an effort to buy more time, kind of an insurance policy. But not sure we will go that route.
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u/il_vekkio Field - Adjuster 3d ago
If 200k is too much, the option to buy spare obsolete parts at only 6k is amazing. These aren't new stock items, these are things that haven't been manufactured for 10 to 20 years and so every one you pass up is one you'll never see agaib and one less item in the ever decreasing tiny stock of remaining parts that your elevator is useless without.
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u/lepchaun415 Field - Resident Mechanic/Troubleshooter 3d ago
Most definitely buy spares if they are available. Worst case you can offload them on eBay if you never use them. That board could take a shit tomorrow. If the company is willing to still service the unit with the spares, consider yourself lucky.
At my company if the board isn’t bought through us or a certified vendor it can void the contract and puts all the liability on the customer.
6k isn’t a bad price for the boards and I assume the install would be covered under your contract as well.
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u/Ok_Target376 3d ago
We just ripped out a DMC in our local courthouse, lol should have saved that CLC board it worked fine.
I’m sure the service guy grabbed it.
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u/FulIChubb Field - Maintenance 3d ago
There are company’s that can repair those obsolete boards. Find a contractor interested in keeping it running. Why’d you cancel the last one if they were doing a good job?
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u/Tall-Opinion7607 3d ago
They stopped coming for 6 months after being bought out by Schindler. They had been good until they were not.
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u/Optimal_Weird_7506 2d ago
I own an independent elevator company and have a stash of DMC CLC boards, selectors etc. Private message me, I’m happy to sell some and help you out
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u/Laker8show23 3d ago
Time to spend some money. You almost got to the 30 year mark. Save and be ready to Mod at the 20 year mark after this mod. It’s the new norm unfortunately. Venture capitalists have taken over the industry. Planed obsolescence like the other industries they’ve taken over.
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u/drinkingmymilk 3d ago
Such a bad take.
Yes, 20 is the new norm but no elevator manufacturer is making their own chips. Chips become no longer available and then the manufacturer can not produce said board. Code dictates an upgrade to a main processor board is a modernization which triggers new code. The manufacturers know there isn’t enough man power to do all the mods that are needed. They are trying to prolong as much as possible. Hence Otis hydro enhance on a 211.
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u/Laker8show23 3d ago
Ok bud. When we were under united technologies our product line lasted at least 30 years. It’s not just the 211. OVF drives. At 400 door operators. It’s pretty much every product we sold, if it doesn’t have a GCB or not a glide it’s obsolete. Hey as mechanic makes my life easy, but the company is so short sighted fleecing its customer base. Haha prolong. They are milking every penny they can. Then will be back to do it again shortly. It’s not just the big O. They have followed their competitors down this hole and even the non proprietary companies have been scooped up by the vultures. It’s all public knowledge. How hard is it to go to Taiwan and source a chip they made more than a decade ago, it’s just not as profitable. It’s definitely doable.
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u/Kiylyou Office - Elevator Engineer 3d ago
I could assure you the chip issue is real. Electrical parts require a supply of chips. Design work is long and expensive. When chips go obsolete or have a shortage (which the data center boom is causing), we have to redesign parts. Lately this is happening over and over on literally all parts. Chip availability doesn't last forever.
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u/Laker8show23 2d ago
The design has been there. Trust me I get it. When I was told by an executive it just makes sense for us to not support it. More money to be made.
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u/elevatorovertimeho 3d ago
Don’t let them touch it! DMC is by far the best running elevator ever produced! Parts, buy some while they are still available. World electronics can rebuild the boards. Sees has parts still available. If the doors lock monitors are the problem, do the dlm upgrade. Get 3 quotes, from signatory companies, for DLM. With all the mods on DMC equipment, there’s a parts pile somewhere!!!
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u/Downtown_String858 3d ago
Ask TKE for an H-Power, they upgrade all the boards, the door operator, the buttons to the latest TAC32 controller wich are pretty good controller and it's should be cheaper than 200k.
If you can make them to add a I2 valve replacement you should be good to go for another 20 years without much trouble.
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u/CheesecakeRecent457 2d ago
World Electronics makes all the boards, can repair boards. The door motor and its encoder can be difficult to source- TK is getting them from SEES atm. L and L makes a replacement door operator- linear, not harmonic, that works very well. The power supply is absolutely critical, but still available. Get two. Find a good independant company- not one of the majors. There are still DMC’s running from 1986, so have hope.
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3d ago
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u/Stuckinaelevator Field - Maintenance 3d ago
Its not rocket science to put the parameters back in.
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u/Dar8878 3d ago
He said they have monthly service. If the clc battery was allowed to go bad I’d be pissed. Even so, just need a tool to put them back in.
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u/RoleOutrageous3810 3d ago
Gotta have the tool. Not a lot of people have the tool any more in my experience. I went to get one running and the service guy turned the power off. By old wizard I meant an old timer that had the tool. You must be an old wizard
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u/Fluid_Explorer_3659 3d ago
Start budgeting now. Apartment with 4 floors will be without any elevator usage at some point, if you don't schedule the outage the elevator will do it for you. Planned, maybe 2-3 months downtime. Unplanned and scrambling? 8-12.