OK in this part of the country the hydronic lift is installed on the ground floor and it pushes you up. Since you are in a hurricane zone, do you want your elevator subject to flooding? I think that is what you need to check, where is the unit installed, on the top away from the water or on the ground floor, subject to being ruined in a storm. Hope that helps.

Great thought and not one I'd considered! Thank you for the heads-up!!!

FYI...the power supply, etc. are scheduled for installation on the 1st floor...above flood grade!

Hydraulic is much quieter. We had a similar set up in our former home at the beach. Worked like a charm.

The newer traction elevators that use the cables are quiet and smooth. The traction is half the maintenance costs of a hydraulic unit.

Chris you seem quite knowledgeable about elevators... do you sell or install them?

Hello, If you would like to learn some more about elevator be sure to check us out and we will try and help you with your needs! We are an elevator company based in Long Island!

We have decided to use a new traction design home elevator similar to what was used in the new World Trade Towers in NYC.

Our 3 story home here in Charleston SC is starting to smell of hydraulic fumes,

please, is there any way to mitigate this? Is the smell coming from the large container tank in the " mechanical room" or the shaft?
There is no visible oil dripping or even coating the guide rails and no signs of oil at bottom of elevator. Do they make an air tight holding tank? Can i switch to another type of oil?

Thanks so much!!

RJ

Buzzy, call your elevator company on Monday. There should not be a smell. We had a 3 story hydraulic elevator on one of the sea islands at Charleston for 16'years and never had that issue. We used ESC for installation and they were wonderful. Never had significant issues. Over the past 20 years many new vendors have moved to the area with less experience.

Just bringing this back up. We are in the same quandary and trying to decide on which type. The smell is a concern in such a small area. New thoughts ?

We are well underway with our building and stayed with the Traction type of elevator. Good luck~

We are building a new town home, we are planning to again install a hydraulic system.

Thanks, I just got with a friend who is a builder. He's installed at least a dozen elevators in the past year. He's installed one traction system and the rest hydraulic. He told me he'd never install another traction system in a house he builds again. Apparently a lot of problems. Zero issues with the hydraulic.

I think the missing element here may be who's elevator your installing. Both myself and the new house next to our chose the traction system. The company who makes it will be installing it..totally hands on once it is boxed out. My neighbor is very pleased, his house is finished....I'll know for myself in about 4 months!

How did this turn out? Do you like the traction system?

I'm happy to report I like it very much!!! We bought ours from Residential Elevator and down here in Florida they seem to do quite well... One big selling point I've neglected to mention as have others...once the traction elevator is installed it needs no maintenance or annual inspection.

We do not currently have one but are putting a hydraulic (Symmetry) in our new house.

From what I've been able to gather a well done hydraulic is overwhelmingly by a wide margin best, a well done chain/traction second, a poorly done hydraulic or poorly done chain/traction tie for worst. Put another way, if you use it often then get a good hydraulic, if use is infrequent or you don't care about increased noise and vibration then save some money, get a good chain/cable/traction, and enjoy some nice dinners and wine with the money you saved. If you're a glutton for punishment then get anything else.

We've been assured by our builder and elevator installer that we will have no problems of hydraulic smells which is the primary concern w/ hydraulic elevators. Hydraulic do have a bit more maintenance than chain/cable/traction systems but it's apparently not significant.

Curious if others actual experience matches the conclusions I've come to.

Following

Considering an electric/cable elevator instead of hydraulic, looking to see if anyone has one.