Bringing a 1919 antique elevator back to life Pt. 4

[@82ndairbornevet]

“So, Bones can you bring this thing back to life?”…” Damnit Jim, I’m an electrician not a magician!” 😂🤣 just thinking if this was a Star Trek episode…lol! Too bad you guys weren’t able to get the Neil-A-Vator running this time, hopefully next time! Keep on Truckin’ 😎

[@bobrobert9413]

We are determined. Go forth and prosper! Bob

[@brickandsole]

I got the force on my side. Wrong show? Yeah, we are very close. I feel like we will get it on the next attempt.

[@sparks869]

Wanted to post a congrats message so bad. SOOO close on the elevator. Bob is going to be an Antique Elevator Repair Man soon. 😁

[@bobrobert9413]

I'm not so sure about that. Lol Bob

[@mcgjohn22]

wow that is so cool. Had to be something to see the stand alone motor spin when controlled by the panel.

[@brickandsole]

Yeah, I wasn't sure I would ever see that. there were no guarantees.

[@teresaclark5465]

OMG!!! I would love to pick the mature gentleman's brain, he's got what I call horse sense, what a treasure he is!!!!

[@brickandsole]

Certainly true, and he is really generous with his knowledge too.

[@Jennifermcintyre]

What a team you’ve been able to gather to figure it out!! This is so exciting!! What an angel you have there to bless you all with his immense knowledge!! ❤️🙏

[@brickandsole]

thanks, I am so much in agreement. I mean doesn't it seem like I am the luckiest guy ever? I should buy a lottery ticket.

[@michaelpairidis7382]

I felt like we were preparing to go to the moon with this series. One team up top in the cockpit and another down at the thrusters. Up Up and away is what we are waiting for. 😂

[@brickandsole]

It kind of felt like that in the moment too!

[@justnana2256]

You are getting there. Keep it up. Great bunch of guys that make a great team. It's wonderful Neil is passing passing on valuable knowledge.

[@brickandsole]

Totally agree. So kind of him.

[@bennetfox]

It's so nice to see some sparks fly but man that three phase voltage and that janky wiring scares the hell out of me!!!

[@brickandsole]

Me too haha. Good thing those guys know what they are doing.

[@sharlettedavidson81]

Wow…well done Neil and team…💪👍🏻

[@DawgGoneOutside]

It moves! Hope the progress keeps coming for you!

[@brickandsole]

We will eventually get it. it's just a wiring issue now. We have tested the actual physical parts and miraculously they all still work!

[@Riverwalker44]

Still great progress fellas.. keep on cracking!!

[@cindybanks6844]

Soooo close... my fingers are stuck crossed. 😊 awesome to hear the moter trying. You need screw drivers with rubber grips.

[@brickandsole]

Yeah, I just uploaded a video about cleaning out a new space for tools, now I just need to fill the room with stuff.

[@philiptissington2872]

Amazing!! one leap for man one giant leap for elevator 🎉

[@brickandsole]

that sounds appropriate for this epic journey!

[@kevinstewart8]

Ya’ll are having too much fun haha This is a big win! Looking forward to seeing what can be accomplished for the rest of 2024!

[@brickandsole]

I think it will be in late Oct/early Nov and we should get it fully sorted at that point. We'll try!

[@kevinstewart8]

@@brickandsole You’re in a better position to make that happen now that ya’ll got that tool room started! Historically I’ve always been a pretty disorganized person, but I found out recently that just getting stuff organized makes projects go so much faster not having to expend energy trying to find that one tool that you need. Keep up the good work!

[@treesofcarolinianontario]

That's an awesome win, even though a bit to go yet! Could you add a handle and move the elevator manually? Not terribly convenient but better than nothing!

[@brickandsole]

Yes that could be done for sure, but let's hope it doesn't come to that.

[@unixtensor]

Loving this series

[@brickandsole]

Thanks it has been really fun. And I have learned so much.

[@terismith3279]

So much knowledge in this group of men!

[@brickandsole]

Isn't it great? I agree.

[@kevinganje3356]

So cool, Chris! I'd bet you would have never thought you'd have a team like this assembled way back when you'd posted that first video! Continued good luck and best wishes, and everyone always remember to stay safe.

[@brickandsole]

For sure, I couldn't have imagined it. I am so grateful.

[@kidnurse1970]

That's amazing! Neal is a wealth of information! It's incredible that he has the diagrams you need!

[@brickandsole]

we called the manufacturer, they are still in business today.

[@marilynhemingway5219]

Keep on working guys. Your getting closer. Love these video's.

[@brickandsole]

Thanks Miss Marilyn.

[@bearhardcorepicker]

So close!

[@Militarycollector07]

cant wait till it fully works

[@brickandsole]

So close now. Me too. Back at it in OCT/NOV.

[@Militarycollector07]

@@brickandsole quite a waiting time but its worth it

[@jefflarsen29]

Ok, great job so far!!! I think your in over your head but, great job. Once you finish your current task do yourself a favor and put together a tool room with a bench. It's painful watching you search for tools all the time. Lol 👍

[@brickandsole]

There is absolutely no doubt that I am in over my head. haha. But yeah the tool room video is one of the very next ones to go up.

[@ptqt25sussex5]

I love this, whilst I am so ignorant on electronics, I love the fact 4 guys, working logic and using knowledge to fix an old electronic elevator. ❤

[@brickandsole]

That is really exactly right. We have a wiring diagram but it doesn't answer all the questions we have so it is up to those guys to figure out a solution.

[@sharonadams270]

All you guys are making progress. 😊😊

[@brickandsole]

Slow but sure! it will be amazing for the whole project once we get it sorted!

[@fozziebare2676]

Getting so close. It's probably already been mentioned, but you really need to get a few copies of that diagram that Neil has. Along with any other troubleshooting tips he could share for future reference. So cool that there's still that hands-on knowledge and experience of that particular lift. That is slowly disappearing.

[@brickandsole]

We have the original, and a friend re-drew a technical diagram with more legible and color coded way to understand it.

[@pskully57]

Wow! You're getting so close now, This elevator is so obsess-able. It's just fascinating. It was always questionable if would ever work, but it seems within the realm of possibility at this point. Don't worry if you can't reply to comments right away. I don't always have time to watch the videos right away. But I always do when I get a chance. This one I had to watch right away. It's going to be fun to watch it work after these years! It will be great to watch all the stuff from the 3rd floor come down to the ground floor on it.

[@brickandsole]

thats so true, there were no guarantees but now we know it is mechanically sound!

[@andyvitz]

I think you guys will have us running on the next video that'll be cool to see

[@brickandsole]

sadly it will be late OCt. Early Nov before the next push.

[@wingerfan1]

Thank you very much for delaying my sleep Chris lol I was going to bed and then I looked and said oh an elevator video and a immediately clicked on it lol either way you've made some tremendous progress thanks to the old school genius of Neal. Can't wait to see this baby move some junk out of the place.

[@brickandsole]

haha, I programmed it to go live at 8 am Chicago time, but for some reason It came on like 10 hours too early. Sorry about that. =)

[@wingerfan1]

@@brickandsole never apologize. Pretty awesome updates. I can't wait to see that baby. Go up and down so you can finally get some debris out.

[@claudeross126]

Amazing progress guys

[@brickandsole]

Thanks, we will eventually get it going perfect now that we know all the components work. just have to figure out the wiring.

[@tbirdracefan]

My first thought about that old disconnected motor was that it was simply left behind after being replaced. When Neil mentioned the odd specs of the connected motor, I started thinking that that motor could have been rebuilt and put back up as a spare.

[@brickandsole]

They had a contract to upgrade in the early 40s. We were even able to get a copy of the work order. So it worked fine and was just replaced, they left it as a spare.

[@jerryfield5815]

In situations like this I would have modernized all the soft start resistors and wires thru out also controls contacts now that you know the components are working.

[@brickandsole]

yeah, we are dialed in on the resistors as one of the main tasks, we actually found a completely original perfect match to the broken glued one. what are the chances? no it is just a matter of deciding what to keep original and what to upgrade.

[@Ham549]

I would hook up the spare three-phase motor for testing. And did you also map out the safety circuit. If any doors are open it will interrupt the circuit and not allow it to energize which is probably one of those relays does.

[@brickandsole]

we bypassed the safety circuits, tested on the old motor, and we will be installing a new modernized safety switch at top and bottom of shaft.

[@Ham549]

@@brickandsole Yeah but I would't hook up the actual motor until you're sure that the brake will lift that way if the brake doesn't lift you don't stress the main motor and draw too much current. I'm pretty sure that the safety circuit connects in series is all the door latches the upper and lower final limit switches as well as the car's emergency stop button and a pit emergency stop button. Even if you don't get it working you can still use it to bring stuff down just hold the break open let it drift to the top, fill it up until the cars heavier than the counterweight and then let it drift down again unload the car and repeat.

[@Leed216]

Neal: “Well there’s no smoke”. Oh gosh. So close…….

[@brickandsole]

all the physical mechanical parts are working, so thats a win in my book, now just figure out the wiring and relays.

[@TheShootinStar]

My question is, how many of you did it take to get Bob up after he sat in that position for so long?

[@bobrobert9413]

That's why we need the fork lift going, to lift me back on my feet! Bob

[@brickandsole]

Not going to touch that one. LOL.

[@Ham549]

The counter weight is heavier than the car in most cases, so yeah the car would tend to drift up.

[@brickandsole]

yeah, thats exactly what happened, but I Think with the car toward the bottom it equalizes a bit, or is it the other way around?

[@Ham549]

@@brickandsole No the counterweight side will only get heavier that goes further down unless you have a comp chain That's more cable and I'll be on that side of the sheave.

[@kubastachu9860]

Isn't the case now some built-in car protection from breaking the ropes? Seems like the car might somehow detached from proper amount of movement and some tension disconnects the safety so the brake kicks in.

[@brickandsole]

There is a lmit switch at each floor, top and bottom. We are going to bypass the ones on each floor and modernize the upper and lower ones.

[@thethirdrail8397]

The Question at 41:48 of if they make something still was about which product ??? I am sure, if there is a need it might be able to still be made or found. I Usually use 3 n 1 or close to 3 n 1 oil's to clean things up. WD 40 is not my G2 as it is a spray. something that would never have been used in its time.. or at least used much!

[@brickandsole]

he actually found a replacement original resistor on eBay can you believe that?

[@BIGD-lg1qd]

You know that’s where they got the term plugging away.

[@brickandsole]

Are you pulling my leg? Now I am going to look it up.

[@BIGD-lg1qd]

Ha I was Chris but it could be true! Przepraszam najmocniej!

[@christophersielski1388]

Hi Chris, We're you ever able to acquire a wiring diagram for this old beast? With all of the resistor banks there, an improper hookup could toast something not easily replaced. The 5 second tests may work fine, but will it go for minutes at a time. What are the contactor coil voltages, etc. A lot of questions keep popping into my mind. I hope you can successfully sort it out.

[@brickandsole]

I do have one, and I also have a more cleaned up version that was re-done based on the old graphic. If you email at the email address in video description I can even send to over to you if you are interested in checking it out.

[@bobrobert9413]

We are getting no voltage to the resistors. All of the control line voltage is not present. There was a phase detector on the board that went bad and was removed long ago. We believe this is why we have no control voltage. We didn't have a diagram at the time so we were unable to bypass it. Hopefully that's clear as mud. Lol Bob

[@christophersielski1388]

@@bobrobert9413 Greetings, both the old diagram and the updated one Chris sent show what I always called a control circuit transformer that tap two of the 3 phase legs on the primary side and outputs (most likely) 120 vac on the secondary side to power all of the push buttons and contactor coils. I would start there and see if the control transformer is present. Without it, the control circuit is dead.

[@michiganjfrog5714]

♥

[@ROADIEZ824]

What voltage does the Brake need? Just wondering. Can you run a jumper from board to elevator panel to brake feed? Low voltage start-up to motor. *Motor Winds up to high voltage after so long. Congrats on your progress thus far!🎉

[@brickandsole]

yeah, there is a slow start functionality to it. And I am not sure about the voltage I do know that it somehow splits high and low voltage, but I think the low voltage is for the button panel and limit switches, though I am totally not sure about that.

[@bobrobert9413]

The brake needs full 230 at start up to release. It comes off of the motor contactors at start up. For some unknown reason it is not sending voltage to the brake. I have all of the diagrams now and we will tackle it again soon. Bob

[@snowman3630]

GETTING CLOSE IT'LL BE COOL TO SEE IT UP AND RUNNING AGAIN , LOL MAYBE INVEST IN A TOOL BELT CHRIS TO KEEP BASIC TOOLS AND SUCH ON YA SAVE YOU TRIPS LOOKING FOR TOOLS AND A TAPE MEASURE , MAYBE THE EXTRA MOTOR WAS THE ORIGINAL AND THE ONE THAT'S HOOKED UP A NEWER VERSION OF IT , DID YOU SEE ANY MFG DATES ON THE MOTORS , TAKE CARE BROTHER 🤘🤘

[@brickandsole]

yeah, I am so slowly (kicking and screaming) trying to adopt better habits like tools and safety equipment.

[@brickandsole]

Yes to your question, the original motor was turn of the century, the replacement (or actually upgrade since the other one still works) was 1940.

[@Vintagesmokealarmsmedia]

2nd

[@Boga217]

You're actually 3rd

[@Vintagesmokealarmsmedia]

@@Boga217 cap

[@Boga217]

@@Vintagesmokealarmsmedia wth is cap?

[@Vintagesmokealarmsmedia]

@@Boga217 cap

[@Boga217]

@@Vintagesmokealarmsmedia you keep repeating yourself but not showing a glint of intelligence by explaining "cap" when asked. You are third because there was a second comment before yours.

[@MrBUYaLOT]

1st

[@brickandsole]

Hey man you are the first on this one. You should be asleep. Haven't found any collections but I haven't been going through stuff lately. I'll eventually get back to it once the serious cleanout phase starts.

[@MrBUYaLOT]

@@brickandsole sounds great. Keep up the great videos!

[@Boga217]

Id just buy a 18000lb winch and build a head frame. Its only for moving junk not people he said...you can hook up 4 remotes with longer wires and put 1 on each floor and 1 on the elevator..it has an automatic brake and that elevator and a load shouldn't exceed a few thousand pounds ever.

[@brickandsole]

thats always a worst case scenario if we can't get it fully operational. The good thing is that all the mechanical stuff works, we just need to sort the wiring out now.

[@Boga217]

@@brickandsole I wonder if worst case there's a newer but vintage not brand new control board that could be integrated...nothing wrong with old at all just for reliability and serviceability with parts and a younger generation of elevator techs that could work on it in a pinch if needed instead of having him drive all the way there every time it goes down.

[@juliedeterman6925]

I will NEVER take an elevator ride for granted again! I know much of the controls are circuit boards now, but now I will think twice on that 34 floor elevator ride!

[@sparks869]

@@Boga217 This elevator is only seeing limited use for moving garbage on the third floor out of the building and maybe for hauling repair equipment/parts for the building. No reason to spend extra money due to the very limited use case since it won't be used for people.

[@airplaneengine]

That's an option, but there is definitely a "cool" factor there to seeing the original equipment being used. It's all early analog controls, so it's not terribly complicated, just needs to be traced out.

[@flolot]

everything in your videos is going sooooo sloooowww.