I use ESI for controller , claddagh for selector and gal for door operator.
There's a satisfying feeling knowing when it's done the customer now has a reliable elevator where callbacks will be so rare that they'll probably have lookup our number each time.
And usually the performance is better so theyre happy right away. You can adjust the above combo to stop at floors like a well adjusted traction, it just slows to a perfect stop it never even runs in leveling speed.
Unfortunately the company I'm now working for installs smartrise and often sells half of your behind mods where they're reusing call buttons or door operators and traveling cables. Just doing a controller. And then after more persistent callbacks will go back and eventually finish selling the rest of the mod.
I would never ever recommend Smartrise controllers anymore. They are not reliable nor safe. Their tech-support is even worse. They are now offering 5 years warranty! and this means you will be stuck in the machine-room for 5 years changing the broken boards and updating software which fixes one issue but makes 100 new issues
That being said, I think you can't be the best at everything. I'm always wary of branch off operations of companies. In other words, in my opinion, GAL is some of the best door equipment in the industry. Their locks, operators, clutches, etc are great. So if the majority of their business is that, I'm concerned about the lack of R&D and other necessary investments in their controllers. Companies like MCE and VA controls are great at making controllers. They don't also try to branch out and make door locks and operators, they're highly focused on one goal of making excellent controllers and then supporting them.
J
There is a lot of sound advice in this thread. I would like to add that I have been disappointed with MCEs after point of sale service. With that said VA controls and after point of sale support has always been solid with me even though I haven’t purchase much from them.
Now please let me add this. Today I visited with the team out at Elevator Controls and I will say that over the years they have been my favorite. There are too many knowledgeable people there to name and I’m not willing to share! 😁 I will tell you this their willingness to support their staff, products and you in my experience has far exceeded the other control companies!
Orlando and Darrin recommended I look at HW 620L/622L Linear Rope Gripper!
I am interested in jkh's recommendation of EC. I have only had one job with an EC controller and it was a pretty old car and I was a helper back then. I wish I could see some of their newer stuff. They're just not very prevelant around here.
The innovation buttons are really nice too. We did a mod on a tac 20 where you could baaaaarely tell if the call had latched because the blue ring around the button was so dim. We put innovation buttons with blue leds in on that job and the customer and us were thrilled with them. The GAL ones are just tanks. They seem to get corroded or dirty contacts over the decades in some systems (low voltage like mce iboxs) but I never have to go replace them because a passenger broke it like I do with tac 20 and ecospace buttons. In my experience the only time ive had issues with plastic parts breaking on GAL buttons was when whoever installed it tightened the screws way too much and cracked the plastic.
NEVER SMARTRISE they are trash and if you have software issues good luck. We have spent days on the phone with tech support racking up thousands of dollars for software issues. And if you’re in NY forget about it (pun) they are on CA time so you won’t get a call back for 5-6hrs. Smartrise are cheap garbage and will never buy another!
GAL, Claddagh MCE are all good options as well. It’s all about preference but I would stay away from proprietary equipment
I've installed like 10 of them with no real issues. Everything is compact, simple and i've never had any problem with tech support (but i am in California). If you do need software changes you can get it emailed to you and upload it yourself. Also I'm pretty sure they've practically released the parameter master list (I'm pretty sure they give this out if your company spends x amount) so you can fix a lot of stuff on your own. Also despite what everyone says, the cedes camera system is just better than tape and magnets. It's much quicker to install and when it's time to adjust you'll never have to get in the hoistway and move magnets, also you'll never have tape guide issues or noise. Depending on the AHJ the tape alows you to use virtual slowdowns, finals, nts, ets, and tsrd so I've often never had to pipe anything in the hoistway beyond pit stop switch and door locks.
I like Motion too and think it's a great product but they're stuff is much larger and requires more wires. The install never looks as clean and the removable controller door is just ridiculous in 2022. The interface isn't as user friendly and not every controller is the same. Some will have ice cube relays for different functions and some will have additional i/o boards which are stacked ontop of each other which makes getting to some more difficult. If you ever need to update software you will have to get an SD card shipped to you which takes additional time and imo they're change orders takes significantly longer and cost more than Smartrise. Also unlike the Smartrise boards which have the LEDS at the wire connection, motion puts them in all in a row so you have to search for what your looking for. Also the connection point on board is ridiculously deep which doesn't allow you to land the wire with some conductor visible unless you strip a ridiculous amount. Having said that, I have known multiple organizations to insist on Motion and everything i've heard in the field and experienced leads to me to believe they are the most reliable of any controller. Also, they are more adaptable than most, Smartrise V2 does not have the capabilities of more than 10 landings or allow you to use two soft starters if you have two pump units like many large capacity hydro's.
Now if we're talking traction I think the Motion IBox is the top of the line and the only reason I can think of to install Smartrise over it would be due to cost but I don't know enough about that aspect.
As far as other equipment goes, can never go wrong with GAL door equipment and Maxton valves. All modern generic fixtures are good imo and all propriety fixtures are junk. I know the majors have good buttons but they just don't put them in on the jobs I end up getting and I get stuck with plastic junk that keeps breaking all because someone wanted to save $10 on a button, it angers me greatly.