Switched from gearless to machine-room-less on a 12-stop job

I always thought gearless traction was the only way to go for a smooth ride. But we spec'd a MRL with a permanent magnet motor on a 12-stop apartment building in Nashville and the ride quality is basically identical. The difference was the install time - we knocked out the machine room build in 3 days instead of 2 weeks. Plus the building owner saved about $8,000 in construction costs. Has anyone else seen a big shift toward MRL on mid-rise jobs like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

xena9461d ago

Did you catch that article in Elevator World a few months back about the permanent magnet motors in MRLs? I read they're actually more efficient than old gearless setups because they don't lose as much energy to heat. That $8,000 savings sounds about right too, I've seen similar numbers on a couple of 8 stop jobs where they skipped the machine room build. The only thing I'd watch for is if the building has REALLY tall rises, then gearless still seems to win on torque for the high speed stuff.

drew_thomas91d ago

@xena946 brings up a solid point about the tall rise issue, but what about the wear and tear over time on those permanent magnet motors in MRLs? I have a buddy who replaced a gearless unit after 25 years and it was still running smooth, where a lot of these MRL jobs are still pretty new to see that kind of longevity. Have you noticed any chatter from the service guys about how these hold up after a decade or so?