Went back to the old Otis in the Park Building downtown

Had a service call in the Park Building on Elm Street last Thursday. That old Otis has been running since 1958. Noticed the door interlocks are still the original mechanical style. No micro switches, just pure metal on metal contact. Made me think about how we spend more time troubleshooting circuit boards now than actually fixing lifts. Any of you guys still work on these old traction setups?

2 comments

2 Comments

spencer_thomas41mo ago

Had a buddy who works for a different company tell me about a similar old Otis he ran into last year. Said the whole machine room still had the original oil drip pans and the motor was running smoother than anything he'd seen in a decade. He was just checking the governor and the thing started up so quietly he almost didn't notice it kicked on. The building super told him they only do basic maintenance every few years and it never gives them trouble. Meanwhile my buddy says half his day is spent rebooting computer boards on newer lifts that just brick themselves for no reason. Makes you wonder if all this fancy tech is really an upgrade.

veramartin1mo ago

And here I am just hoping my thermostat doesn't need a software update to turn on the heat. But hey, at least when the old stuff breaks you can fix it with a wrench instead of a prayer and a hard reset.