LOW PITCHED Schindler *321A* Hydraulic Elevator at Dillard's Countryside Mall in Clearwater, FL

Filmed in June 2023 with ‎‪@dea41396returns‬ .
Here is an Elevator that you guys have been BEGGING me to film for many years!!! I've been meaning to come here and film this elevator, but I haven't bothered coming here, that is, UNTIL NOW!!!
And let me tell ya, as someone who generally speaking finds mall elevators to be boring, this elevator definitely made the visit to this mall worth it!!!
This elevator is my THIRD Schindler HT with the VERY RARE LOW PITCHED Chimes, however unlike the other 2 I rode, this one is ACTUALLY A 321A!
Contrary to popular belief among many people in the elevator community, Schindler HT's having Low Pitched Chimes DOESN'T Automatically make them 321A!
Schindler 321A was the predecessor to the 330A, and they were only manufactured from 1998 until March of 2001. From 2001 and onwards, Schindler started making the 330A, which is their very popular and successful Hydraulic model they still make to this day, however the Low Pitched chimes that were introduced at some point during the production of the 321A (the earliest of which used an EVEN RARER chime!) continued to be used with the 330A until 2004. And given that the past 2 Low Pitched HTs I rode were 2002 models, they were OBVIOUSLY 330A!
THIS ELEVATOR however, is NOT a 330A and is in fact a 321A!
According to records, this elevator was installed in December of 1998, and was one of the first to use the Low Pitched chimes that Schindler used in all of their HT installations until 2004 (after only using the chimes seen in this video for only a few months: www.google.com....
However, the year isn't the ONLY thing that sets the 321A apart from the 330As. The 321As such as this one have a different capacity plate from the 330As, and the most NOTICEABLE Difference is the way the controller behaves. Sure, while going up or down, both controllers act pretty much identical, but on 330As, once you push the floor buttons inside the cab after the door opens, the directional chimes will go off. On 321A, that is not the case as seen in this video. In addition, most 321As use ACTUAL Bells for the Emergency Bells, as opposed to the Digital ones that 330As usually have.
Aside from these select few differences though, both models are pretty similar... That is, aside from the fact the 321As certainly seem to run crappier....at least this one does!
Now I will be fair and note that this elevator is located in a MALL of all places and usually malls have TERRIBLE Elevator Maintenance, but this elevator CREAKS & RATTLES the most out of ANY Schindler HT Hydro I've ridden in a LONG time!
The Motor does sound nice however, and I do still like this elevator a lot largely due to the VERY RARE Chimes and the Unique 321A features mentioned above.
As I noted in my video of the Wegman's Elevators in Williamsville, NY, Schindler has replaced the chimes via a Software Update to many of their existing elevators with these Low Pitched chimes to their current High Pitched chimes since coming out with them in 2004. Strangely, for some reason the external lantern chimes on this elevator were replaced with the High Pitched chimes, but the Low Pitches chimes inside remain untouched. I have NO IDEA why this is, but this DEFINITELY adds to the uniqueness of this elevator!
I hope you guys enjoy the video, this one being of my THIRD Schindler HT with LOW PITCHED CHIMES, this particular one being my VERY FIRST 321A!!! (At the very least one with its original chimes!)
HOPEFULLY this elevator continues to remain Low Pitched for many more years to come!
Installed in 1998.

[@mjloveselevators]

Thank you for all the background information in the description! I still don't think we have been in one...yet. 😅

[@Ih8kone]

The elevator at Boscov's in Exton used to be low-pitched.

[@FloridianElevators]

When were the chimes on that one replaced? These Low Pitched HTs are VERY hard to find!

[@Ih8kone]

@@FloridianElevators No idea. But the chimes on the one at Clearview were replaced in 2008.

[@dea41396returns]

@@FloridianElevatorsthat’s the one I sent you the snap of a few weeks ago that’s nearly a carbon copy of this.

[@johnhipp604]

​@@FloridianElevatorswhat is your name

[@davidng2336]

The door jamb on the top also lets you know whether or not it's a 321A.

[@gunnarbondank3893]

Ooh I felt that

[@user-gl5pb5ut7d]

nice 😊👍

[@LittleRockElevators]

The science building at Philander Smith College still uses the low pitched chime on its 330A but it rings like the current HT chime. I have a video of that elevator

[@srikanthchalasani5095]

Schindler 321A

[@theescalatorexplorer]

Damnit!! I missed this!!

[@SWFLElevators]

Ah yes, this thing. Yeah that motor did not sound healthy. It sounded better when I was here last in April 2022.

[@lenaa2003]

Other than the low pitch, this elevator isn’t really anything special & looks like a typical mall/department store elevator.