Hospital job changed my mind about MRL elevators

I used to swear by hydraulic elevators for low-rise buildings, but after working a night shift at County General last week and seeing their MRLs run silent for 6 hours straight, I'm reconsidering. Has anyone else here had good luck with them in healthcare settings?

2 comments

2 Comments

rowan_hunt82mo ago

Hang on though, I've gotta push back a little on the MRL hype for hospitals. I've seen those things go down hard during a power flicker and getting them back up is a nightmare compared to a hydraulic. For a night shift with light traffic, sure, they're quiet, but in a busy ER or surgery wing where people are constantly moving beds and equipment, that silence doesn't matter when the thing is stuck between floors. Hydraulics might be clunky and noisy, but they're bulletproof for low-rise stuff and mechanics can fix them blindfolded. I'd trade a little noise for reliability any day when it's 2am and a patient needs to get to the OR.

shane_perry292mo ago

Man I feel like you're making this sound way more dramatic than it really is. Power flickers happen maybe once a year if that, and most modern MRLs have battery backups that can handle a full cycle easy. I've worked in a big hospital for 5 years now and we've had exactly zero times where an elevator got stuck mid floor during a real emergency. Plus hydraulics leak oil over time and that smell gets into everything, especially in an OR suite where you're trying to keep things sterile. You're acting like mechanics can't fix MRLs blindfolded too, they just need a laptop and 10 minutes instead of a wrench and a bucket. I'd take quiet operation and no oil puddles over the tiny chance of a power glitch any day.