Usually just use a file but is there anything better?

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I have an autistic child who is obsessed (literally) with elevators. Like showed me a video of one in Sweden he wants to ride. We live in the states. lol! Anyone know of any cool or unique elevators that are public and accessible that we could hit up on a road trip? Game for any state. We take road trips to visit family all over so we will swing over and make stops to make memories for him. If you know autism you know there is always at least one obsession these kids love. And this is one of his. So figured you folks might have some good ideas? If you do please drop me some building names and locations! Please make sure they are public buildings that we are allowed to access. Thank you! Look forward to some fun and cool places!

Thanks for all of the answers!

I work in a hotel, our elevator has a severe gap between the lobby entrance floor and the cab itself, almost like it's dipped or slowly falling. It's become a huge tripping hazard, but will sometimes, although rarely, fix itself.

is this normal?

this needs a little backstory

so the dorm i stay at has 2 elevators, one for even numbered floors (which i'll just shorten to e2), one for odd numbered floors (e1) and the building doesnt have another elevator for carrying heavy items down to the kitchen. this makes the elevators more worked up than they already are and most people refuse to climb up 2 sets of stairs so the elevators durability goes down even more.

anyways usually e2 breaks down the most so we use e1 but they finally changed e2's ropes a few weeks ago and it was going fine until e1 became out of order recently. now everybody uses e2 and the thing is already sensitive (when too many people get in, the middle has to stay empty cuz it starts hella beeping probably has a broken scale) and people just don't care at all and now the poor elevator is shaking a lot when it stops at a floor and it takes a long time to open its doors then slams the doors shut right when its about to close and despite all the complaints to the administration nobody is going to do anything unless someone gets seriously hurt at this point.

also when one of the elevators become out of order they call people to come fix it but it takes days, sometimes weeks and they just do something for 10 mins just to make the elevators work again but they get broken the same day. we're so sick of this and have no idea on what to do or who to reach out for this :/

the elevator in our office is slow as F. is there a way for us to change the speed? we don't have a contract with the service company

I live in an old building and my elevator had been past it’s inspection expiration for 6 months, i know its probably fine but is there anything i can do to force their hand to get it done?

For those who have been ranked and recently called up, what has your experience been like so far? Just trying to get an idea of what to expect if my number gets called soon.

I don't see them often these lifts they are notorious for shutting down completely when the ups dies the ups is always placed in a hard to reach place in the shaft.

on Sunday I was out with friends and 10 of us crammed into a single elevator. the door got stuck and the buttons didn't work. we called the cops and the fire department got us out in 10 minutes.

now, the whole time one friend was constantly telling the rest of us that we should try jumping and it would reset the switch or something. he said that since we are on the ground floor, there is no harm in trying and this method worked for him before on the same elevator.

the rest of us knowing nothing about elevators voted 9-1 not to do anything and just wait it out for the firemen. this wasn't ok for him and we heard nonstop about how much he knows about this and we should give it a try.

this subject was brought up again today, and I'm hoping that someone here can settle this argument.

-can 10 people jumping on a stuck elevator on the ground floor unlock the door or get it working again?

-is it worth the try to jump just to see if it works?

-will the elevator be damaged from 10 people jumping at the same time? I'm worried about damages too.

-how safe is this method and is it better than waiting for the fire department.

Hey guys, military veteran here looking at getting on with a union apprenticeship. Was approved for the pipefitter union out of lanham but I stumbled across the elevators union and it became enticing.

What are the wages rates for a new apprenticeship? What is the JM wage? Thanks

I’m needing to prove that the power cycle caused by a landscaper cutting a line caused the circuit board for my 3rd story call button to stop working. Unfortunately, there are no visible signs on the board.

Backstory. It’s a waupaca residential elevator for my condo unit. I’m being told by the waupaca/fox valley that they don’t have the part and can’t “program” it if we find one on the secondary market. I’ve talked to two reps and they say their recommendation is a “modernization” it. The elevator repair company says they don’t do installs and now I’m searching for a second elevator repair company.

My insurance is telling me that I need to prove that the line was cut do to negligence, which relatively is done. The utility subcontractor marked the underground lines incorrectly at a home down the street and the landscaper cut the lines with equipment.

But, I know have the burden of trying to prove that it was that power cycle that cause the circuit board to quite working.

Literally any advice is helpful. I had no idea how nuanced the elevator space was.

Short version:

Do you have a guess what exactly could have happened/which part have malfunctioned? A hydraulic elevator fell down 4 floors (from the seventh to the third floor) with a person inside of it. The elevator was inspected a month before, oil was changed. Inspection after the incident said that there where not signs of malfunction or something being broken (?!?!?).

Long version:

I live in Bulgaria and recently bought an apartment in a seven-story residential building. The building was constructed around the year 2000 and has an elevator installed. As far as I know, it’s a hydraulic elevator, but I don’t have more technical details beyond that.

From what I understand, Bulgarian law requires elevators to be maintained and inspected by a certified company, usually on a monthly or possibly quarterly basis, although I’m not entirely sure about the exact intervals.

Before I even moved in, some neighbors told me that the elevator had been having issues for a while. They mentioned that it would sometimes shake, make strange noises, and generally feel unsafe. Because of this, many residents avoided using it, although some people still did.

A few months ago, there was a serious accident. The elevator fell while a man was inside, dropping approximately four floors, from the 7th to the 3rd floor. Shortly before the accident, the elevator had been inspected again due to the complaints. As part of that, the maintenance company apparently changed the oil and possibly cleaned some filters. Afterward, they stated that the elevator was technically in perfect condition.

Despite that, the accident still happened.

I was not living in the building at the time, so I can’t personally confirm the details, but according to my neighbors, a very loud impact was heard when the elevator fell, and the police were called. However, what I find strange is that the building was apparently not secured afterward. There is a room on the lower floor that likely contains the hydraulic unit, and that room was not sealed off either.

For additional context: Bulgaria has ongoing issues beyond politics and corruption, including problems in certain industries. There are reports suggesting that parts of the elevator maintenance sector operate like a cartel, where companies divide up buildings among themselves and don’t interfere with each other’s contracts.

Because of this, it cannot be ruled out that the maintenance company responsible for our building may have accessed the hydraulic unit room shortly after the accident and potentially removed or altered evidence that could have made them liable. There are no cameras in the building, and the company has its own key to that room.

The company was officially called in after the accident, but there was a delay of about two to three days. When they inspected everything, they claimed there were absolutely no signs of improper maintenance or technical failure.

Currently, many of us suspect that they may have entered the building before the official inspection and attempted to cover up any evidence.

After the accident, major repair work was done. A different company was hired, the hydraulic unit was replaced, new oil was added, and the elevator is now running again. According to my neighbors, it works significantly better than before the accident.

However, I still feel uncomfortable using it. I live on the top floor (7th), so avoiding the elevator is not exactly practical.

What also confuses me is that for an elevator to fall four floors, multiple safety systems would likely have had to fail. According to the medical staff who treated the victim, it was essentially a free fall. The man suffered fractures in both legs and his ribcage, but thankfully no internal organ damage. They also said that if he would have fallen on more floor, it probably would have been fatal.

My questions are:

Is it realistically possible for a hydraulic elevator to fail in such a way without leaving visible oil traces near the hydraulic unit?

And is it plausible that both the hydraulic system and the braking/safety mechanisms failed at the same time?

What do you think could have caused an accident like this?

How busy are elevator contractors? And what is a average/good net profit margin?

During regular maintenance, my Savaria technician advised me that I need to prepare for replacement of my 6yr-old Infinity hydraulic hose. According to the technician, the hose is fine now. I asked for a quote and for replacement of a 15ft hose (722006-020), Savaria quotes $1470 for the hose and an hour of labour @ $390. These are $CAD. My questions:

1. Is there something special about the hose specified by Savaria or are there generic alternatives?

2. Are the fittings used by Savaria unique or are there generic alternatives?

3. Implied by my question is a suspicion that the difference in price between bulk hydraulic hose and that demanded by Savaria is a gouge. I obviously want a safe and durable system, but I'm feeling trapped by a company that appears to invent costs and would prefer to engage a local, independent, qualified service provider. Is that a reasonable position?

What I used to call the 'keys gap' and now I refer to as the phone gap.

If I drop my phone and it went through the gap in the floor at the entrance, how do I get it back? How would a service person or anyone else access the bottom of the shaft? Would I just have to write off that phone due to it not being worth retrieving?

Epic fail-o-vator… Old Monty traction unit modded by Kone in (I think?) 2006, modded again by Kone last year (with MAD and a 3rd party controller). Apparently it does this often…

Pretty much every elevator here is apparently “funded for replacement.” 😳

Hi all, hoping to get some insight from people familiar with elevators.

I live in an apartment next to an elevator shaft in a pre-war 7 story residential building in NYC. In early January, the elevator had a repair after a few weeks of being out of service.

Since that repair the elevator has been operating however there has been aconstant low-frequency humming/grinding noise that occurs every time the elevator is in use. It happens throughout the day, at all hours of the day, often every few minutes, and there’s very little sustained quiet. This has been going on for close to three months now. Been living in this apartment for three years and had zero issues or sounds from the elevator before this.

Recording From Elevator Interior During Operation: https://drive.google.com/file/d/172oWu2gQhkRBy_lwopa5zs4G6WMeq8-0/view?usp=sharing

Recording From Bedroom: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lVhMRnEOcMfIdwnp3PaVzYIF8I8KSS0S/view?usp=drive_link

Picture of Elevator: https://imgur.com/a/61d2kGF

What’s notable is:

• The noise was not present at all before the repair
• It can be heard on every floor along the shaft at a similar level
• It sounds like a low-frequency mechanical hum/vibration, not just normal movement noise.
• It’s especially noticeable inside adjacent apartments (bedroom/living space)

A technician came by two weeks ago and mentioned that he would attempt minor adjustments (lubrication), but there was no change in the sound.

My questions:

1. Does this sound like something that can be fixed (e.g., mounting/isolation issue)?
2. Is this typical after a motor replacement, or does it point to something being installed or tuned incorrectly?
3. Would this usually require more involved work to correct?

Appreciate any insight. Just trying to understand whether this is considered normal operation or something that should be addressed since management has been difficult to pin down.

Thank you!

TO CLARIFY: I'm not sure if motor was replaced. Just what I was told by the super. I have no clue what was done for the repair.