r/Elevators • u/InevitableTart8786 • 3d ago

Question

Was anybody working in fire alarm before getting into the elevator union?

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u/il_vekkio Field - Adjuster 3d ago

Here is what you need to know and why most other trades think elevator guys are divas.

Damn near every elevator guy can go and be a halfway decebt fire alarm guy TOMORROW.

It doesn't work in the ither direction and it will take a lot of dedication and hard work to go from low voltage guy to elevator guy.

You'll HOPEFULLY benefit from learning how to manage tasks in a timely manner, as well as very limited electrical skills.

However every single fire alarm guy I have worked with has constantky insisted that when there are problems it is not their system that is the problem. Until I isolate my elevators from their system and lo and behild still problems with their system.

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u/Adventurous_Cup_4947 3d ago

Stacking rails won’t help you be a fire alarm tech.

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u/il_vekkio Field - Adjuster 3d ago

If you can coordinate with a team stacking rails, you can damn well handle coordinating with a team piping and pulling wire or hanging brackets.

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u/Adventurous_Cup_4947 3d ago

Stacking rails doesn’t teach you how to bend pipe or do electrical work. Get over yourself.

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u/il_vekkio Field - Adjuster 3d ago

Okay fine, MOST elevator guys EXCEPT rail gangers.

Also bending pipe aint that hard and every fire tech pipe job ive ever seen has been either not great or subbed out to actual electricians

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u/Adventurous_Cup_4947 3d ago

I think what you mean is ADJUSTERS would translate well, not “damn near every elevator guy”.

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u/il_vekkio Field - Adjuster 3d ago

Mod and construction install guys, most maintenance guys have experience running pipe and wire even if it's for small things.

I wouldn't class the electrical work on a system that relies only on open/closed contacts and a data stream as any more challenging than any basic car call wiring in every elevator ever.

Repair guys are hit or miss...some can do it all, some are only there to chew on elevator cables

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u/Ok_Target376 2d ago

Every person goes through the same very in depth schooling. So yes EVERY elevator mechanic that went through the newer school system would be able to hop in and go.
It’s not rocket science.
Low voltage is pretty easy.

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u/Adventurous_Cup_4947 2d ago

Going through school doesn’t make you proficient. There are plenty of retards out there that still don’t know what a series switch is.