The Magnolia Hotel
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- čas přidán 8. 09. 2024
- Y'all are in for a treat! We paid a quick visit to The Magnolia Hotel in downtown Denver, where I was able to shoot a video of their 113-year-old* triplex of traction elevators. This might be the last time we will see these historic antiques in operation, as they are scheduled to be modernized very soon. :-( Enjoy!
*A viewer corrected me on the installation date. It was actually 1911, not 1903. I was eight years off. :-P
Beautiful machine, amazing. I can't wait to see more.
Very interesting. I like to film elevators too. Thanks for uploading
I’d love for you to upload more videos when you can! This is a great video
So glad you enjoyed! And, that's the plan as soon as I get more time. I have a TON of footage from many buildings throughout Colorado. I just need to find the time to edit them together and upload them. Just been so busy fixing the darn things! lol :-/
@@UncleOtis_Colorado take your time! Don’t worry
120 years old gear-less DC traction machines they were built to last 2 out 3 still in operation is very good! If only the armature could be rebuilt. I saw a 1914 Otis winding drum (basement install) in an historic mansion which is now a museum. Still in find working condition 4 levels, DC motor floor selector, doors are manually operated. DC rectifier within in floor relay controller.
I am certain the armature can be "re-worked;" however, Unit 1 is also on borrowed time. They are also quite inefficient and waste a great deal of electricity by today's standards. The hotel made the decision to simply do a full replacement mod. As Marriott has made a point to be as "carbon neutral" as possible, it made more financial sense to them to invest in a fully rebuilt system, instead of continuing to absorb the financial burden to maintain/repair the old units. That would be my guess, at least...
Very true they are not energy efficient especially with the MG sets running often 24/7 if the timer has worn out. And the issue of carbon dust from the brushes of the machine and generator communicator. I held a brief position as a maintenance engineer at a hotel some years back. Which had two DC geared traction elevators, MG sets. The controllers were recent technology. A year before I signed on, I was meeting a guest staying there from out of town, I could hear the MG in one elevator make a terrible grinding noise. Later I found out the bearings were shot. I would have take the elevator out of service, shut down the secondary disconnect until it was repaired. @@UncleOtis_Colorado
I hear you there. I hung out with a mechanic when I was a kid back in the late 1980's. I helped him clean and replace brushes in many a machine and genset. My mother finally demanded I change in the garage when I got home from it as it looked like I had just crawled-out of a coal mine. :-P Believe-it-or-not, I have spent the last three months replacing sheaves on the Gen2 belted MRL's because of bad bearings. The damn things were only 10 years old! Coming up, my MiC and I will be replacing 3 Gen2 MRL drive machines and several more sheaves for the same reason. So, I wouldn't feel too bad about an ancient genset that ate up its bearings, lol.
Funny, because Otis just took over the contract for a downtown high rise (that shall remain nameless) with a gaggle of 40-year-old Westinghouses. The previous contractor never greased the bearings in the machines. Our resident mechanic has spent the last year greasing several dry bearings. Remarkably, only a couple of machines have bad bearings. I guess they just don't build them like they used to... :-P
Wow, this is a really fascinating and unique set of lifts! Thank you for showing around. I have never seen such huge DC traction machines installed in a basement, that's really impressive. We do have a lot of bottom drive installations around here but none of that size in any building.
This is incredible! I’ve always wondered what this motor room looked like, I had a suspicion that they were basement drive gearless. Such a shame these are getting modernized, these are an amazing system. Also, I had no idea Elevonic 411 was even still around in the 80s, I’d have sworn that was a 90s mod. As for the machines, those specific machine are Otis 17 machines. I’ve seen that type once before at the Burnham Center in Chicago. A (now retired) elevator mechanic gave me a full tour there, place had a set of high and low rise (each with 8 cars) banks with those machines, but they were modernized by Montgomery in the 90s with Ultron controllers. According to him there’s a good amount of those machines still running in Chicago, and it doesn’t surprise me. Seems like they’re built to last.
Absolutely! Also: Stay tuned! I was able to scamper across the street to 621 17th Street and do an in-depth filming of all the units INCLUDING THE HIGH-RISE MACHINE ROOM in 1080p! I need to edit it in Davinci Resolve and get it up on the air. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks! ;-)
@@UncleOtis_Colorado oh wow! I can’t wait to see it!
It's up there - a full tour with an intro by me and a shoutout to you guys! ;-)
@@UncleOtis_Colorado I watched it last night! Great video, loved the in depth view of all the equipment up there, such an incredible system.
Question: Did you ever lay eyes on the shuttle car machines rooms at the orig WTC? And this is a really interesting video, thanks for posting.
I'm so glad you liked it! And, to answer your question: No. Unfortunately, I never did get to see any of the WTC equipment before the building was destroyed. I have been to NYC many times. The last time I visited WTC was in 1992 as a teenager. Never did get access to the machine rooms. However, I have viewed several videos here on YT that depict the units - machines and selectors. They were absolutely MASSIVE! I would loved to have seen them in person. :-(
These elevators likely date from c. 1911 (from research, this building is from 1911, not 1903). Still an early example of Otis gearless traction machines. The modernization was most likely done in 1993-1995, as this is when the building was converted to a hotel.
Very interesting to see a basement gearless machine. i think that may be pretty rare.
I'm assuming the lack of parts for the machines is a major reason (if not the main reason) these are being modernized?
Well, mercy sakes - looks like I was 8 years off! Thanks for the correction. As far as the year of the last mod, I was able to find one of the old City of Denver permits in the machine room - it listed the date of the mod as AUG 1986. That would be consistent. The Elevonic Series debuted in 1984. Whether-or-not the controllers were done on that date, or in the 1990's - I have no way to be certain. I could not find a date of manufacture on the controllers. That's why I sated "we believe" the date to be 1986.
To answer your question: Yes. The reason for the mod is the lack of parts for the drive machines. I am certain the armature can be "re-worked;" however, Unit 1 is also on borrowed time. They are also quite inefficient and waste a great deal of electricity by today's standards. The hotel made the decision to simply do a full replacement mod. As Marriott has made a point to be as "carbon neutral" as possible, it made more financial sense to them to invest in a fully rebuilt system, instead of continuing to absorb the financial burden to maintain/repair the old units. That would be my guess, at least...
@@UncleOtis_Coloradowasn’t the Elevonic 401 released in 1981? I’ve been on some Elevonic 401 elevators that were installed at that time
Those machines are big! These are really cool. Do you perchance know what the MV in Elevonic 411MV stands for
I believe it stands for Elevonic 411, Modernization Version
Glad you enjoyed it! Sorry it took so long to get back, but I've been so busy… Anyway, we don't have very many basement machines unless they're in lower rise buildings. See them in a lot of hospitals and low rise apartment buildings.
I just had to re-rope one a couple months ago up at a casino in the mountains. All of them except these three machines were geared. These are the only gearless machines I've ever seen under slung like this.
The general consensus is that when they built the hotel they weren't certain if they want to add floors to it or not so the machines were installed in the basement.
Unfortunately, all of that is about to be ripped out and replaced with a GEN 3 Otis MRL .
Updating to an MRL system with the traditional counterweight frame and guide rails am I correct all that will be torn out and replaced with the frame work supporting the weight of the elevator cab, machine, ropes, counterweight compensating chains on the cab and weight?
Not certain: I am not assigned to the MOD Division - I am in Repair. My understanding is that Marriott (they bought this hotel) wants to eliminate the old machines. There are only two ways to do it: remove them through the hoistway to the first floor or knock a huge hole into the concrete wall of the machine room in the basement. Either method would entail complete disassembly of those machines, piece-by-piece. I *THINK* the plan is to reuse the cars and counterweight. The way that building is designed, an MRL would make a great deal of sense. However, it would make even more sense to replace EVERYTHING in that case, cars and counterweight included. Not certain the full plan. If and when I find out, I will let y'all know.@@TheTheo58