Inclinator Elevator Service & Repair in San Diego & Orange County
Repair, Maintenance and Recall Help
Service for Inclinator home elevators in Southern California
Inclinator Company of America, based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is one of the older names in home elevators. The company’s own history dates its origins to 1923 and its first residential electric elevator, the Elevette, to 1928. Inclinator elevators were installed in homes for decades, which means a lot of them are now old enough to need real attention. There is also a safety recall that every Inclinator owner should know about, and it is covered first below.
Advantage Elevator services Inclinator elevators in San Diego County from our Carlsbad office and in Orange County from Costa Mesa. We are a licensed California elevator contractor (CSLB C-11 #1027832), we have more than 20 years in the business, and we hold a 4.9-star Google rating across more than 300 reviews. Emergency service runs 24 hours a day.
- Recall help: we explain the gap hazard and help you get your free space guards
- Cable drum, hydraulic and chain-drive units repaired and maintained
- 24/7 emergency response for a stalled elevator or an entrapment
- Written quote first with part lead times stated plainly
Controller inspection
The Advantage Elevator team
Advantage Elevator crew and service fleet, Carlsbad
What we repair on Inclinator elevators
Drum, cable and drive wear
Doors, gates and interlocks
Controls, leveling and battery backup
Safety notice: the January 11, 2022 child-entrapment recall
On January 11, 2022, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a recall of Inclinator residential elevators because of a child-entrapment hazard. The recall covers about 39,300 units made from 1979 through 2021. The hazard is a gap between the hoistway door (the door on the floor you are standing on) and the elevator car door or gate. A young child can become trapped in that gap, and the CPSC said it can lead to serious injury or death.
The remedy is free. Inclinator provides space guards, which are fittings that close the gap. If you own an Inclinator, you should confirm whether guards are installed. Inclinator’s recall line is 833-620-2949, and the CPSC recall notice has the details. We can inspect the doors, show you the gap and explain what the guards do. The free guards themselves come through Inclinator’s recall program.
To find out whether your elevator is covered, you need the serial number. The CPSC states that it is on the elevator controller, stamped on the rails, or on the outside of the drum on winding-drum units. If you cannot find it, our technician locates it on the first visit.
This recall is one of three issued on the same day for different brands, plus a separate stop-use warning on another. If you have young children or grandchildren in the home, do not wait for a service visit to deal with it.
Inclinator drive types you may find in a Southern California home
Inclinator has built several kinds of residential elevator over the years. The CPSC lists winding-drum units rated from 450 to 1,000 pounds, hydraulic units, chain-drive units, traction-drive units and overhead cable-drum units. The company’s current literature describes a cable-drum elevator with a machine room, a hydraulic version called HydraRide, and a machine-room-less overhead cable-drum version, with capacities up to 1,000 pounds, speeds up to 40 feet per minute, travel up to 50 feet and up to six landings.
Which one you have depends on when the house was built or remodeled. Our technician identifies the drive type on the first visit and explains how it works, what to listen for and what the maintenance schedule should be.
What fails on older Inclinators
Age is the main factor. Units from the 1980s and 1990s have had decades of daily trips. Cables stretch and drum grooves wear. Brakes wear down. Older door operators and interlocks lose their adjustment. Relay and solid-state controls age, and the batteries that power emergency lowering run out of life.
The coast makes things harder. In Coronado, Del Mar, Newport Beach and Laguna Beach, salt air corrodes contacts. In Escondido, Poway and Anaheim Hills, attic and closet heat shortens the life of control boards. Wildfire-season power shutoffs make the lowering batteries more important here than in many other places.
We inspect cable condition and drum wear on drum units, fluid and seals on hydraulic units, and chain and sprocket wear on chain-drive units. A written list of what we find helps you decide what to fix now and what can wait.
Parts and what we can promise
Inclinator is an active manufacturer with a dealer network, so brand-specific parts come through the company and its dealers. We confirm availability and lead time before we quote and put it in writing. For older units, we cannot promise every part for every year is still available. If one is not, we tell you and discuss options, which can include an equivalent component or modernizing that part of the elevator.
We will not quote a part we have not confirmed. And if the elevator has to stay off while a part is on order, we make it safe and tell you how to manage in the meantime.
Modernization options
An Inclinator with sound mechanical parts can often be brought up to date without being replaced. Controller replacement, new door operators and interlocks, a fresh battery-backup system, LED lighting and cab refinishing can each be done separately. We scope the work on our modernization pages for San Diego and Orange County. If you are unsure of its condition, a residential elevator inspection gives you a written baseline. Our brand identification guide helps if you are not sure it is an Inclinator.
How to book
Call (833) 865-7887. A person answers, asks what the elevator is doing and whether anyone is inside. Entrapments go first. For routine service use the online booking page. On a maintenance plan, visits cost $550 instead of $600 and you get priority scheduling.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is my Inclinator elevator covered by the 2022 recall?
The January 11, 2022 recall covers about 39,300 Inclinator residential elevators made from 1979 through 2021. Check your serial number, which is on the controller, stamped on the rails, or on the outside of the drum on winding-drum units. Inclinator’s recall line is 833-620-2949.
What is the hazard in the recall?
A gap between the hoistway door and the elevator car door or gate can trap a young child. The fix is free space guards that close the gap.
Can you install the space guards?
The free guards come through Inclinator’s recall program. We can inspect your doors, show you the gap and help you work out whether guards are installed. Call us at (833) 865-7887 to arrange it.
Is Inclinator still in business and can I get parts?
Yes, Inclinator Company of America operates from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Parts come through the company and its dealers, and we confirm availability and lead time before we quote.
Do you service Inclinators in Orange County?
Yes. We cover San Diego County from Carlsbad and Orange County from Costa Mesa, with 24/7 emergency service.
Inclinator down, or recall questions? Call now.
Technicians dispatched 24 hours a day across San Diego and Orange County. (833) 865-7887.
