What is the difference between cable drum and hydraulic?
In years past, the biggest difference between the two machine types for the home owner was that roped hydraulic elevators offered emergency battery lowering in case of power failure and winding cable drums didn’t. That has changed. All American Crescent/Matot Elite cable drums have an emergency lowering device as a standard feature. Another difference that separated the two machines, that is also no longer a factor, is the quality of the ride. The standard VVVF drive on our Elite, smoothes out the starts and the stops, the feel is nearly identical to riding in a roped hydraulic elevator. Lastly is the size and location of the machine room required for the two types of drives. The Regal needs, roughly, a 4’x4’ room which can be located remotely from the elevator hoistway and the Elite simply needs an 18″ deep closet located on the back side of the guide rail at almost any floor. Or, if you select a drum machine overhead, the machine room takes up no space on the footprint of your home.
