# Elevator Controls



## HertzHound (Jan 22, 2019)

Today they need a lot more than just Panduit to hide their $h/ty work. Their workmanship has gone down hill dramatically from that picture.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

HertzHound said:


> Today they need a lot more than just Panduit to hide their $h/ty work. Their workmanship has gone down hill dramatically from that picture.


To me it looks like a life-size schematic, drawn with wire. No need for a drawing with this panel! 

I have tried making up some small controls like this - a foot of DIN rail with a few relays, terminal blocks etc. - and I can't get it this nice. If you look closely, there isn't even a clamp holding the wires in place. I am especially wondering how they got that wire so straight?!?


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## HertzHound (Jan 22, 2019)

I can’t tell from the picture, but it must be solid wire. 

Nice, not even a tywrap 

Not to hyjack the thread but, that’s what tywraps are for. Not supporting MC IMHO.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

HertzHound said:


> I can’t tell from the picture, but it must be solid wire.
> 
> Nice, not even a tywrap
> 
> Not to hyjack the thread but, that’s what tywraps are for. Not supporting MC IMHO.


It's definitely solid wire. For stuff too small to bother with a piece of panduit, I have switched to solid wire for this reason, you can make those nice 90s easily just by bending the wire around the shaft of a screwdriver. 

This stuff is way beyond that, the wire is bent like EMT with rolling offsets and kicks.


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## MikeFL (Apr 16, 2016)

That's not his first rodeo.

Any idea the year of the installation?


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## CoolWill (Jan 5, 2019)

MikeFL said:


> That's not his first rodeo.
> 
> Any idea the year of the installation?


A slightly different version of that phase reversing relay appeared in a magazine from 1923. There is a date stamp on the relay but we can't make it out from the pic. Another pic of an identical relay has a date stamp of 1952.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

MikeFL said:


> That's not his first rodeo.
> 
> Any idea the year of the installation?





CoolWill said:


> A slightly different version of that phase reversing relay appeared in a magazine from 1923. There is a date stamp on the relay but we can't make it out from the pic. Another pic of an identical relay has a date stamp of 1952.


I was guessing 1930's, ballpark - I will have another look at the thing next time I am there. The building was built around turn of the 20th century, this is in an addition built a little later.


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## HertzHound (Jan 22, 2019)

I’m sure the contacts in the relays have been changed since then. I was talking to an elevator guy that serviced this one building. This one building was pretty much a full time job. He said when they took the Asbestos out of the contacts, they didn’t last. 

I’m not even sure how you could have Asbestos in contacts?


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## stuiec (Sep 25, 2010)

I've seen work like this in controls at a mall that was built 1970 here. I love the craftmanship. Clearly done in a time where no one was worried about the electrons shooting out of those sharp turns.


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

Two pairs of lineman pliers. One to hold the solid conductor in place and the second to grasp and bend the conductor at the desired location. You can easily make control wiring look as good as the picture using this technique. Not as simple to do with stranded wire, which screams out for tie wraps. 


Holy crap, this sounds like something Telsa would post............


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

Here is some shots of an old elevator lift motor and control panel from an all girls Catholic School, I got called to last week cause the elevator company won't change a blown fuse in the feeder supply in the safety switch located in the elevator machine room. So.....$$$$$$. 





























Curiously, it didn't burn up the motor to go into single phase, the motor shuts off, but I did not volt test or touch any of the controls because it's an elevator and that means hands off in this state. I dd check the control transformer secondary- all good. I figure the pilot control is running off the same phase as the one that blew the fuse in the first place. What I was able to point out to the maintenance employee is the pilot contractor for all the rest of the contractors, is chattering but the source voltage after the controls transformer is not dropping , so I told him to have the elevator guy either check the contacts for wear or replace that contractor. And then I left and got paid...


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## LGLS (Nov 10, 2007)

macmikeman said:


> Two pairs of lineman pliers. One to hold the solid conductor in place and the second to grasp and bend the conductor at the desired location. You can easily make control wiring look as good as the picture using this technique. Not as simple to do with stranded wire, which screams out for tie wraps.
> 
> 
> Holy crap, this sounds like something Telsa would post............



No, this does:


Two pairs of linesman pliers. One to hold the solid conductor in place and the second to grasp and bend the conductor at the desired location.


No field sparky would attempt this - these were stamped out by the dozens by in house panel shops. Back in the black & white days when everyone wore hats.



Work of this precision today could only be afforded by Red China.


Yup.


&&&&&&&


Any electrician attempting to duplicate this on the boss's dime today would be summarily dismissed - post haste.


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