3
Showerthought: I was sure the governor rope on that 1980s Dover in the old library was fine until it snapped during my test drop.
I was in the basement in Toledo last month, heard that crack, and had to manually engage the safety gear with a pry bar before the car hit the pit, so has anyone else had a governor rope let go on them out of nowhere?
4 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In4 Comments
xenam842mo ago
Man, what makes a rope look fine but actually be ready to go? I always figured if it wasn't frayed it was good, but your story proves that wrong. Hearing it snap in Toledo must have been a real heart-stopper. Now I check dates and service tags way more closely, because that quiet failure is the scary kind.
4
joseph_green132mo ago
What's the point of checking tags if they're often wrong too?
4
joseph_bailey6d ago
Tags can be a total mess sometimes, I swear. Read somewhere that a lot of older elevators still have tags from the 90s that were never updated after repairs. The maintenance guys just leave the old ones on because nobody's checking. That freight cable story is terrifying though, shows how even the tag can't save you if the inspection was half-assed. Honestly, I'd trust the visual check and a date stamp more than the tag color or condition.
2
blairm772mo ago
Tell me about it. Had a main cable on a freight elevator look perfect, no rust or broken strands. It was just old, the grease inside had dried out and turned to dust. The core was basically gone. Found it during a routine inspection, but it was a real wake-up call. You just can't trust the outside look anymore.
1