Car elevators
All About Car Elevators
A Car Elevator is a vertical transportation structure that carries cars between vertically situated platforms - say between floors or decks - through the use of electric motors. Car elevators are beneficial for areas with limited space, like in a parking garage of a building. The car that needs to be elevated is parked on the platform, which then carries it to the required floor. Car elevators travel at a speed lower than the speed of passenger elevators. The speed typically ranges between 15 fpm to 120 fpm. The size of a car elevator is highly customizable i.e. it depends on the needs of the customer.
Today, car elevators serve in providing the much needed elevation for ships, rocket launchers, dams and many other complex structures. A car elevator offers the customer a greater flexibility, especially when they are in a space crunch. Being a specifically designed product, car elevators are highly reliable. These are long lasting too. These usually turn out to be more cost effective than other traditional methods. Further, they allow rooftop parking options and increase the consumer’s day-to-day convenience.
There are numerous types of car elevators and the customer can choose any one of them as per their requirements. The various types are Parking Lifts, Column Lifts, Alignment Automotive Lifts, Portable Automotive Lifts, In-Ground Automotive Lifts, Automotive Scissor Lifts, Speciality Lifts, Two-Post Automotive Lifts and Four-Post Automotive Lifts. Parking Lifts are mostly used for household purposes whereas Two-Post Automotive Lifts and Four-Post Automotive Lifts are mostly used in Repair Shops. Speciality lifts are customized lifts which have some added facilities to help the consumer as per his or her needs.
Car elevators require regular maintenance and occasional repair work to work smoothly. The life of a car elevator is 20 years to 30 years for household ones and almost 10 years or less (depending on the usage) for the ones used in repair shops. For smooth operation, consumers can check for any obvious leaks or defects daily before switching the elevator on. Lubricating the chain rollers and other required parts weekly will help in providing hassle-free operations. Consumers can check the nuts and bolts monthly and lubricate all the safety mechanisms monthly to ensure prevention from any breakdown.
A car elevator, because of it’s daily use can suffer from numerous issues such as increase in power consumption, strange noises, reduced operating speed or a stuck elevator, amongst others. These problems can make your work more cumbersome and can lead to a loss in revenue. Depending on the issue, customers may need a partial or complete overhaul. And in some cases, a complete replacement. Repair costs can be minimised by proper care and regular maintenance.