Your safety and our safety are the same.
Since day 1 our fabrication and build teams have been actively developing the safest, most reliable and best integrated lifts we can.
Standard Features
N.B. See the Operators Manual page for a Glossary of Terms
The Track
Building a safe solid lift starts with the track and the track support structures.
We build 2 different styles of track, standard and low profile or shallow, which we use for different conditions, in 20’ lengths in the shop. When ground clearance isn’t an issue we use the 13-1/4” deep standard track and legs every 20’+- but when we’re near the ground the 6" deep shallow track with legs every 10’+- makes more sense. Some lifts, like 65, 77 and 92 even use a combination of standard and shallow track.
We build each style of track in different widths, depending on the needs of the particular lift. Typical 4-person lifts ride on tracks with a 36” gauge for single pitch and just over 32” for 2-pitch. For all widths and depths, 2 pieces of 3" C-channel are fixed a constant distance apart and a dolly with custom machined wheels and heavy duty roller bearings runs up and down inside these channels.
Rock-Solid Stability – In the field each 20' section of track is raised, located, and fixed in place with an all-welded, triangular support structure that is a geometrically rigid and incredibly stable design. The loads on the legs are light, less than 500 lbs for the track itself and less than 1500 for a fully loaded car, and the geometry of the leg eliminates torque forces on the footings, so footings can then be light and less invasive while still creating a solid and steady track.
We almost never use concrete piers, they need to be under the frost line or they’ll increase the impact of heaving frost and it’s not really possible to know how deep the frost line is on some hillsides, especially if there are cracks and fissures which will allow heat to escape to the atmosphere. Not only that, the concrete pier depth is measured along the vertical but the frost line depth is measured normal to the hill: the depth of the concrete pier hole has to be the depth of the frost line divided by the cos of track angle. On a 45° hill with a frost line at 48” the concrete pier hole would need to be 67” deep. It doesn’t make sense to dig holes that deep or play with concrete on a steep hillside when there are easier better solutions.
This photo from Lift 47, a 2-pitch lift, shows our standard leg design: the legs themselves are splayed out slightly to increase track stability, the "X-braces" running between the legs create multiple inherently rigid triangles, and the downhill or Y-braces, running from the base of the legs to the track, convert forces running down the track into shear forces at the base of the legs, eliminating torque forces on the footings. All elements are arc welded together and refinished in the field. Building legs any other way just makes no sense to us.
The “Z-braces” running in the plane of the track are easy to see in this photo of Lift 38. They add left-right stability to the track for a smooth the ride.
Securely Anchored – The legs supporting the track are fixed into bedrock with sealing cement and anchor bolts where possible. On forest floor we remove a trench of organic material, fill it with pea gravel for drainage, and set 80' long 3"x2"x1/4" angle iron footplate on top. The footplate is pinned with angle iron or rebar stakes that are pounded into the ground and welded to the footplates. The legs supporting the track are then welded to the footplates. The track actually has a small but positive impact on slope stability.
2-Pitch Track – Some hillsides have flatter upper and steeper lower section and a single-pitch track will not suffice. In 2011, we developed our own 2-pitch track and car system to handle these conditions. The track has 3 sections, an upper section, then a curved section which is an arc of a circle, and finally a lower, steeper section. To keep the car level throughout it's tun we weld on 2 sections of "pipe track", a curved section, with the same arc of a circle, but displaced uphill, and a straight lower section. Above the curve an oversized chain holds the car level, in and below the curve the car, which is connected to the dolly with an oversized hinge, and has "back-riggers" with rollers, is kept level by the rollers riding under the pipe track. To date (Dec 2017) we've built nine 2-pitch lifts — lifts 41, 43, 47, 49, 50, 67, 68, 74, and 79 and one 3-pitch lift, Lift 86. (Lift 49 is also a 3-station lift.)
Precision – Our goal is to build tracks that are straighter than the raw materials we begin with, ensuring the smoothest, most comfortable ride. We use track mounted transit, a fixed target, and a traget attached to the free end of each 20-foot section to fix the location of each section of track horizontally and vertically to +/- 1/16 inch at the legs before being welded in position.
Captured Wheels
Lifts with the wheels riding on top of the track are subject to derailing, our wheels ride inside the track and cannot derail. The dolly rides on 4 main wheels, custom machined by Regent Tools from 4140 tool steel and pressed onto heavy duty industrial quality roller bearings. Because of this captured wheel system our lifts can be used in all seasons. This design also allows us to cantilever the car off the bottom end of the dolly which puts the center of gravity below the point of attachment of the cable, adding stability to the ride.
Hoist System
This is the winch system on Lift 55 inside it's nearly completed protective housing.
Variable-Speed Motors – All passenger lifts are powered by industrial-duty, 3-phase, variable-speed Nord-Gear brake-motors and reducers. The motors are controlled by a variable-frequency drive (VFD) that runs off standard single-phase 220 V input and are seamlessly coupled to the winch drum through a hollow shaft output, industrial-duty, helical bevel-gear Nord-Gear reducer running synthetic lubrication. The winch drum, reducer, and motor assembly are attached to the track through Sealmaster pillow block bearings. The winch system accelerates smoothly to about 75 feet per minute and decelerates before coming to a gentle stop.
Winch Drum – Our grooved winch drums are machined at Bracebridege Machine Shop using 10" heavy wall pipe. The 10" size and the groove offers a smoother ride and longer cable life compared to the 6" drum many other builders use.To give the same linear speed we need to spin the larger drum more slowly than the smaller one which means we need a higher gear ratio. To maintain durability we use a reducer with a larger frame size and larger gears.
Hoist Cables– Starting with Lift 62, we switched from 5/16” to 3/8” "compacted" aircraft cable hoist cables that are manufactured in North America, the quality of the off-shore cables proved to be inadequate. These new cables have breaking strengths of over 15,600 lbs and are more uniform, more durable, and more flexible than non-compacted cables. We use a compacted 5/16" cable when we periodically replace those diameter hoist cables: it has the same great uniformity, durability, and flexibility and a breaking strength of 12,400 lbs. Actual cable loads are specific to each lift and are typically under 1,000 lbs. In 2022 we starting using 10 mm cable with a breaking strength of 22,000 lbs and started using “swaged wedge anchors” rather than “friction wedge anchors” to connect the cables to the dolly as they are stronger.
It’s easy to think that cables are “static” but they are “dynamic “ in the sense that, as the cable winds and unwinds, the strands move relative to each other. When we service lifts we use a special cable lubricant that gets into the space between strands to maintain the health of the cables.
Inherently Stable Hoisting Geometry– In 2006, just as he was started Inclined Elevation, John decided that he wanted the hoisting cable needed to be attached at the top end of the dolly, not the bottom end as was the industry standard then. This change moves the lifting point from below to above the centre of gravity of the car, so the car becomes inherently stable instead of inherently unstable. This required designing a new existing emergency slack-cable braking system which turned out to fire faster, once tripped the brakes cannot be released by the hoist cable and the hoist cable cannot be pinched between the tripping mechanism and the track. It’s also safe go up the track after this brake has tripped and is straightforward to use the remote to reset this brake from cantilevered cars while in the car.
Rider Wheels – The rider wheels run on the web of the channel and keep the dolly centred. We use solid neoprene wheels and have brass bushings fitted for smoother running and longer wheel life.
Emergency Braking & Motor Shut-Off Systems
The 4140 steel brake dogs have aggressive heat-treated teeth that dig into the track and hold the car.
Slack Cable Brakes – If the car stops when being lowered (say, by a fallen branch) the suspension cable will go slack. When less than an inch of cable has gone gone slack, the automatic slack-cable emergency brake will release the trigger arm, which uses both gravity and a coil spring to drive 2 flame-hardened 4140 steel brake dogs into the track with progressively increasing force so the car stops within a fraction of an inch. The slack trigger arm also acts as a back-up brake, preventing the car from sliding any more than five feet down the track.
Over-Speed Brakes – The typical running speed of an inclined elevator is 60 feet per minute or 0.3 meters per second. If the car exceeds 0.5 meters per second, the over-speed braking system fires, driving the brake dogs into the track. The heart of this system is beautifully designed German elevator overspeed governor. The clever design of this governor makes the tripping speed decrease if the governor pivots stiffen from a lack of lubrication. Typical over-speed governors have their tripping speed increase as their pivots stiffen, making them useless.
When the Over-Speed Brake trips the Slack-Cable Brake will also trip.
Slack Cable Motor Shut-Off – All our lifts have a fail-safe mechanism that immediately stops the hoist motor when the suspension cable goes slack.
After either brake is tripped the car can still be safely raised to the top stations so the riders aren't trapped.
PLC-Based Lift Control System
Intelligent Control – Safety and convenience are further enhanced because our lifts are controlled by a
Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), running our proprietary Lift Control System (LCS) programs. These are the brains of the lift, receiving information from user controlled buttons, track mounted proximity switches, and station gate limit switches and controlling the motor through the VFD and the station gates. There is no better system on the market for controlling your lift.
Customized For You – The lift is turned on and off using by entering the correct sequence with the the STOP and station buttons on the station button boxes or with an (optional) remote controller. We can also program your lift to turn itself off after a chosen period of inactivity (from minutes to days to never). An optional PARK button moves the lift from either station a programmed time and then stops the car. The lift controls can optionally be used to control dock and garden lighting.
Customized Button Plates
The button plates are custom etched for each lift so you can choose custom names for the stations and even for the lift itself.
Other Standard Features
Electrical – We only use top-of-the-line electrical and electro-mechanical components. Major electrical components are manufactured by Telemecanique and Schneider Electric. Our CSA approved panels are built in Midland Ontario by Walker Panels.
Fold-Up Seats – Passenger seats fold up to stay drier and increase space for cargo.
Quality Materials – Durable red cedar seats, floors, walls, and top rails on passenger cars are held in place with rust-proof brass screws and blind nuts. A quality stain is used to finish the cedar. We typically finish the cedar on the car and on the machinery housing with Sansin SDF stains in a colour of your choosing. We can also discuss finishing them to match the cottage.
Optional Features
Station Gate Interlocks
Interlocked station gates make sense when a station is high off the ground so there's a fall hazard or to protect riders getting on or off the car from the lift being carelessly moved. We offer the following interlocked access gate options, these systems can often be retrofitted to existing lifts.
Electro-mechanical Interlocked Gates – When access platforms have safe railings and a solid self-closing self-latching access gates, preferably all in metal, we can use an electro-mechanical interlock to prevent the station gate from opening unless the car is in the station and to prevent the car from moving unless the gate is closed and latched. We will work with you and/or your rail and gate installers to ensure that they work properly.
Rotating and Sliding Gate Systems: These automatic access gates are run by the lift control system and, as well as interlocking the gate with the lift, also automatically open and close the access gates as the car arrives at or prepares to leave the station.
Photocell Interlocks - New in 2018, these are useful when there's no fall-hazard in the station but you want to protect riders getting on or off a car from being surprised and hurt if someone at another station tries to move the car.
Other Options
Wireless Remote Controllers – A wireless remote turns the lift on or off, controls optional track or dock lighting, and stops the lift and changes your destination. It can be operated from your car, boat, or wherever.
Built-In Cargo Platform – On cantilevered cars where the car attaches to the bottom end of the dolly, we can add a storage area behind the seat that's ideal for cargo.
Flatbed Truck-Style Lift – Lifts 27 and 28 have a "flatbed" car which is simpler and is less expensive than the standard 4-person car. They're built to transport people and materials and is often used during cottage or boathouse construction to lower costs. Lift 27 was used to carry an old cottage up the hill and a new one down the hill.
A Wheelbarrow Lift: We also built a cargo lift with a cargo bucket that tips loads of seaweeds into a garden tractor at the top station.
Plus:
Third and even fourth stations
Ice scrapers to clear ice from the top of the track during winter operations
Integrated track, garden, dock lighting
Higher-capacity motors
Emergency backup generators
Stairs running alongside the track
Safety fences on the car for steep lifts
Wood fittings on the car and machinery covers to match your cottage
42-inch car walls
PARK buttons
Note: We are always open to developing other custom options, depending on your needs.
Warranties
5 Years - All static components (including the track and car) are guaranteed for five years.
2 Years - All dynamic components (including the motor, gearbox, and electrical control systems) and the paint are guaranteed for two years.
These warranties assume that all prescribed maintenance and repairs have been performed by Inclined Elevation Inc. or by a qualified company or individual approved by us. Our warranty excludes damage caused by neglect, misuse, or acts of nature.