Always thought hydraulic elevator modernization was overhyped until I did one in a 1970s building downtown

Was dead set on keeping the old jack because 'if it ain't broke' but the cylinder had micro-cracks we missed until we pulled it. Three months later the new setup is way smoother and the building manager told me the tenants haven't complained once. Anyone else had a job where replacing everything was actually the smarter call?

2 comments

2 Comments

ben_fisher6d ago

Fair enough, but I've seen plenty of old jacks run fine for decades after a cleanup.

nathan_kim6d ago

Man, you're speaking my language. I picked up a 1970s walk behind from a guy's barn that looked like it had been sitting for fifteen years, and after pulling the carb and clearing the fuel lines, it fired up on the third pull... still my go-to mower for the steep parts of my yard. There's just something about the cast iron decks and the simplicity of those older engines, you know? No electronics to fry, no plastic parts to crack in the sun. I swear they built them with thicker metal back then, because my newer stuff is already showing its age while that old beast just keeps chugging along.