Just realized I was lubing my governor rails wrong for years

I've been an elevator mechanic for about 12 years now. Last month I was working on a traction elevator in an old building downtown when a senior guy walked past my open pit. He stopped and asked why I was putting oil on the governor rail rope instead of using a dry lubricant. I told him I always used oil because it's what I learned from my first boss. He showed me the manufacturer spec sheet right there in the maintenance manual I had been ignoring. Turns out oil actually attracts dust and grit over time which can mess with the governor's response in an overspeed situation. Has anyone else been following a bad habit they picked up early in their career?

3 comments

3 Comments

taylorc401mo ago

That's one of those things where you don't know what you don't know until someone older and wiser comes along... Reminds me of how many people just do stuff the way they were first taught and never question it, even if it's been wrong the whole time.

the_thea29d agoMost Upvoted

Three years I overtorqued pump packings, @kevin_west. Total facepalm moment.

kevin_west29d ago

Man that sucks but I feel you completely. I had almost the exact same thing happen with packing glands on pumps. First boss taught me to really crank down on them to stop leaks and I did that for like five years until a plant manager pointed out I was destroying the packing and wearing out the shafts way faster than normal. Its humbling when you realize you've been doing something wrong for that long but at least you found out before something bad happened.