Rant: The new code for elevator door force limits is making our job harder

Last week, I was working on a 20 year old hydraulic lift in a Chicago office building. The doors were sticking, and adjusting them to meet the new 30 pound max opening force felt impossible without a full rebuild. Some guys on my crew say the new rule is a good safety step, especially for older folks. Others think it's a waste of time on systems that were fine for decades. We spent three hours on that one door just to get it to pass. What's your take on these stricter door force codes?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_ruby2mo ago

Ugh, I feel your pain. Had the same fight with a bank of four old Otis units last month. The trick that saved us was a full clean and lube of the door track and rollers first, before we even touched the spring tension. That old grease turns to glue. Once it moved freely, a tiny adjustment on the clutch got us under the limit. Still took forever, but it beat a rebuild.

the_lisa2mo ago

That trick about cleaning the old grease first is smart. Did you find the clutch adjustment was super touchy after that, or was it pretty smooth?

jana_henderson5217d ago

Also that trick with the Kroil or even just WD-40 on the old crusty grease REALLY helps before you start cranking on the clutch adjustment. I remember one job at the old Harrison building downtown where we had three units that were ALL over the limit. After cleaning the tracks and rollers on all three, the clutches barely needed a quarter turn each to fall right into spec. It was actually SAD how much time we wasted wrestling with those before figuring out the grease was the real problem. Ever since then, I always hit the tracks with a wire brush and some degreaser first thing, it saves SO much headache later on.