Talked to an old-timer about packing rails and it made me rethink my whole routine

I was working a service call last Tuesday on a 20 year old Otis in a downtown office building and a retired mechanic came by to grab some stuff from his old locker. He saw me fighting with a sticky rail and just laughed. Then he told me he used to pack his guide rails with a specific mix of grease and paraffin wax instead of the expensive stuff we buy now. I thought he was messing with me but he showed me a can he still had and said it ran smoother and lasted twice as long between services. I tried it out on two cars yesterday and I swear the ride felt quieter. Anyone else ever use anything besides the standard rail lube for older elevators?

2 comments

2 Comments

hollym1220d agoMost Upvoted

Did he say what ratio he mixed them at? I've heard of guys adding wax but never as a full replacement for grease. Seems like it would depend on the rail weight and building traffic too. Was he running that in a gearless or geared setup?

the_jesse20d ago

Huh, never thought about the gearless vs. geared angle honestly. Wonder if he just eyeballed the mix based on how thick he wanted it to stay, like a pancake batter situation.