Read an old Otis manual from 1972 that said a standard traction elevator rope has to be replaced after 3 million trips

I was cleaning out our shop's back room and found a stack of old service books. One Otis manual from 1972 had a page marked about rope life. It said a standard traction elevator's hoist ropes are designed for about 3 million trips before they need changing. I guess I never thought about it in terms of total trips before, just wear and tear. Has anyone else seen a specific trip count like that in older guides, and do you think modern ropes last longer?

3 comments

3 Comments

valgibson10d ago

My 1972 car manual said I'd get 100,000 miles too.

the_hugo9d ago

Wow, that's wild. Did you actually hit that mileage with it, or did it give up way before? I've heard those old engines could be tanks if you kept up with the oil changes, but also that they'd rust out long before the motor quit.

vera2923d ago

My buddy's dad had a 73 Impala that made it to like 98,000 before the transmission just gave up. The engine still ran fine, but the whole car was rusting apart underneath it. He said the manual was basically a work of fiction by that point. Makes you wonder if they just picked a nice round number and hoped for the best, right?