I was reading an old Otis manual from 1978 and it said a standard traction elevator motor from that era could pull 3000 pounds with just a 15 horsepower unit. That seems crazy low by today's standards.

2 comments

2 Comments

That old tech was surprisingly efficient with gearing and direct drive. Found a similar manual for a Montgomery unit that explained the whole mechanical advantage setup. Makes you wonder what we traded for raw power today.

rayc387d ago

Yeah that "what we traded for raw power" line really hit me. I used to just want the fastest new stuff, but seeing how clever those old systems were changed my mind. They got so much done with simple gears and good design.