Shoutout to the guy who talked me into buying a proper elevator door force gauge

I was working on a hospital job in Tacoma last year and kept getting callbacks about a door reopening issue. An old timer on site told me to stop guessing and get a real force gauge, so I dropped about $350 on a digital one. Setting it up showed the closing force was way over code by like 15 pounds, which explained everything. Adjusted the springs and haven't had a single callback on that bank since. What other tools have you guys bought that seemed pricey but ended a recurring headache?

2 comments

2 Comments

parker_bailey1mo agoMost Upvoted

Different strokes I guess, but I have been down that road and had mixed results. Those digital gauges are nice and all, but I have seen guys chasing perfect numbers on paper when the real world elevator just acts different with temperature changes or a heavy person leaning on it. Spent $200 on a simple mechanical one years ago and it still gets the job done, never had a callback I could trace back to a bad reading from it. Your mileage may vary, but throwing money at a tool does not always fix the headache.

wade_hall1mo agoTop Commenter

My own setup cost me about $350 for a decent digital and I have not looked back once. The thing is, I work on older residential lifts mostly built in the 70s and 80s where tolerances are already loose. Having that digital readout lets me spot a 0.01 inch drift in the leveling before it turns into a call back two weeks later. Mechanical gauges are tough and reliable, sure, but when I have to match left and right rail gaps within a few thousandths they just do not give me that confidence. Temperature and weight shifts are always going to mess with things, but the digital helps me understand how much they mess with things so I can adjust for it. I would rather have too much info than guess and hope my mechanical gauge is still accurate after three years in a dusty shaft.