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Hydraulic vs Traction Home Elevators: A Buyer's Decision Guide
September 19, 2026
Drive selection · residential elevators
Hydraulic or traction: three questions settle it before anyone argues about price
Most hydraulic-versus-traction articles compare comfort and cost, then leave the reader with the same question. The drive type is not decided by preference: it is decided by how far the lift travels, how much it carries, and what the building can accept.
- This guide answers those three questions with published figures from our own hydraulic and gearless traction home elevator lines. Travel heights, stops, rated loads, speeds, pit and overhead requirements, power supply and published price bands are set out side by side.
- It ends with a decision table you can take into a design meeting, and a reverse check for the cases where each drive is the wrong answer.
- The final section lists what we need to turn an indicative figure into a specific quotation.
Two limits apply throughout. Every number belongs to a specified model rather than to a drive family, and the building gets the final vote. Where a model does not publish a figure, we say so instead of estimating it.
1. What actually separates a hydraulic home elevator from a traction one
Hydraulic: a power unit pushes oil into a cylinder, and the cylinder lifts the cabin from below.
Traction: a gearless machine turns a sheave, ropes run over it, and a counterweight balances the cabin so the cabin is pulled from above.
Why the mechanism decides the rest
Everything else in this guide follows from those two sentences. When force is applied from below, the machine sits at the bottom of the run and the travel is limited by how far a cylinder can lift its load.
When force is applied from above, the machine sits at the top of the run and the travel is limited by the shaft and the rope system rather than by a piston.
What each drive package contains
That single difference explains why a pitless hydraulic model can be installed on a finished deck floor with no excavation.
It also explains why a gearless traction model can be specified to 30 m of travel with a rated load of up to 1000 kg. The two families are therefore quoted with different site requirements.
The hydraulic package is built around a power unit, a cylinder set and a floor-level fixing arrangement. The traction package is built around a shaft structure, a machine position at the head of the shaft, guide rails and a counterweight path.
Power unit
The published pitless hydraulic models use a 220 V, 50 Hz single-phase supply. Two ratings appear in the current range: a 2.2 kW power unit on the single-phase pitless model and a 4.7 kW motor on the 14.5 m pitless model.
The unit is part of the equipment package, which is why the hydraulic conversation usually starts with the electrical supply rather than with the shaft.
Cylinder set
The 14.5 m pitless range is published with 2.9 m hydraulic cylinders, arranged so that no excavation is needed at the lowest landing. Cylinder length is one practical reason the family tops out at 14.5 m across five stops.
Gearless machine
Gearless traction uses a machine without a reduction gearbox, driven by VVVF control. The published figure for this family is 0.6 m/s with a noise level under 60 dB, and the machine sits at the head of the shaft rather than in a separate room, which is why the models are described as machine-room-less.
Ropes and counterweight
The counterweight balances the cabin, so the machine moves less mass than the cabin alone. That is the mechanical reason traction models are published with higher travel and loads than the hydraulic line.
Shaft structure
Traction models in the current range use self-supporting steel frames or aluminium well shafts, which turns the civil work from casting a concrete shaft into assembling a structure. Hydraulic pitless models use aluminium well shafts on a deck-floor arrangement.
Hydraulic pitless models are installed with aluminium well shafts and a deck-floor arrangement. In both cases the structure, not the machine, is usually the item that decides the installation date.
The mechanism decides four things before the quotation starts
- Where the machine stands. Hydraulic equipment sits at floor level with the cylinder set under the cabin; traction equipment sits at the head of the shaft. That changes the room you have to leave free, and the work that happens at the top landing.
- Whether the lowest landing has to be opened up. The published pitless hydraulic models are specified with a 0 m pit, so the finished slab at the lowest landing stays intact. Traction models are specified around a shaft structure and a pit arrangement, which is why retrofit projects with tight floor construction usually start with the hydraulic question.
- How much travel and load the family can be pushed to. The published ceilings are 14.5 m and five stops for the pitless hydraulic models, and 30 m with 400–1000 kg for the gearless traction models.
- What the electrical supply has to deliver. Single-phase 220 V on the hydraulic side, 220 V or 380 V on the traction side. This item is routinely discovered late, usually after the shaft position is already fixed.
Read in that order, the comparison stops being a question of taste. The drive type is a consequence of three measurable inputs: travel, load and building condition. The rest of this guide works through each input and finishes with the table that combines them.
2. The three questions that decide the drive
The order below matters, because the first two questions can eliminate one drive family before anybody looks at finishes, and the third question often eliminates the other.
Travel first: how far, and how many stops does that mean?
Travel is measured from the lowest landing to the highest landing. The current hydraulic pitless range is published at a maximum of 14.5 m across five stops.
The gearless traction range is published at up to 30 m, which the specification describes as roughly eight to ten stops. If your building sits inside the hydraulic envelope, both families can be quoted and the decision moves to load and site conditions. If it sits above it, the answer is already made.
Load second: what has to travel, and how often?
Published rated loads run from a 200 kg hydraulic platform model, sized around one occupant with a walking aid or two adults travelling together, up to 1000 kg on the gearless traction side in 400, 630, 800 and 1000 kg steps.
A villa lift that carries two people occasionally is a different brief from a clinic lift that carries a wheelchair plus a carer every hour, even when the travel is identical. Duty affects the drive recommendation as much as load does.
Site third: what can the building accept where the lift stands?
This is where most projects are actually decided. Three conditions matter: whether the lowest landing can be opened for a pit, how much clear height exists above the top landing, and what supply is available at the lift position.
The pitless hydraulic models are published with a 0 m pit and 3 m of overhead clearance. Traction models are published without a machine room, using a self-supporting steel frame or an aluminium well shaft, and accept 220 V or 380 V.
Whichever way the answers fall, they are site facts rather than preferences, and they are the reason two identical-looking houses can be quoted with two different drive types.
Indicative answer
Choose the three values above to see which published family fits the brief first.
Preliminary guidance only, based on the published figures in this article. It is not a site assessment, a structural judgement or a quotation. Final selection follows a review of your drawings and the supply at the lift position.
3. Travel height and stops: where the hydraulic advantage ends
- 14.5 mPitless hydraulic ceiling
- 5 stopsServed on that travel
- 30 mGearless traction ceiling
The published travel figure is a ceiling, not a target. Two numbers decide whether a project stays inside the hydraulic envelope: the distance from the lowest to the highest landing, and the number of landings the lift has to serve.
The arithmetic of the published limits
The pitless hydraulic range is published at 14.5 m across five stops. Averaged over the published figures, that is 2.9 m of travel per stop.
The gearless traction range is published at up to 30 m and described as roughly eight to ten stops, which averages between 3.0 m and 3.75 m per stop.
Those averages are arithmetic on published values, not a design rule: real floor-to-floor heights vary, and the figure that matters is the sum from the lowest landing to the highest.
Two consequences for a five-landing house
Two consequences follow. First, a house with five landings and ordinary floor-to-floor heights usually sits inside the hydraulic envelope, and both drives can be quoted. Second, once the sixth landing appears, the project has to be measured rather than assumed, because 14.5 m is no longer a comfortable margin and traction becomes the more realistic family.
What happens above the published hydraulic ceiling
Above 14.5 m the practical options narrow to two. The first is a gearless traction model, published at up to 30 m with a rated load of 400–1000 kg and a speed of 0.6 m/s.
The second is to reshape the project: serve fewer landings, split the run, or accept a different product family such as the screw-driven range, which is published at up to 15 m, 500–5000 kg and 0.15 m/s.
That third option is a different conversation about speed and use, and it is covered on the screw-driven elevator range page rather than here.
Why five stops is often the right answer for a retrofit
In an existing house the binding constraint is rarely the building height. It is the finished floor at the lowest landing, the ceiling height at the top landing, and the electrical supply already terminating in the house.
A 0 m pit removes the excavation, a 3 m overhead clearance is checked with a tape measure rather than a structural survey, and a 220 V single-phase supply removes an application to the utility.
Between them, those three published conditions decide whether a five-stop pitless hydraulic lift can be installed in a house that is already occupied, which is precisely the case where a traction design usually needs more civil work.
How to measure travel before you ask for a price. Take the finished floor level at the lowest landing and the finished floor level at the highest landing, and measure the vertical distance between them along the shaft line.
That single figure is the travel a manufacturer quotes against. Send the floor-to-floor height of every level as well, because the overhead requirement at the top landing is checked against the highest level in the run, not against the average.
4. Capacity: what each class carries in daily use
Rated load is the figure buyers quote back most often and understand least. It is a ceiling that assumes the platform, the load and the user behave normally, not a target to plan against. Two published examples show how differently the two families are sized.
The compact end: a 200 kg hydraulic platform
Our compact hydraulic platform model is published with a 200 kg rated load, a 1,000 × 1,000 mm platform and travel up to 12 ft (3.6 m).
The page states the limit plainly: it is sized for one or two people travelling together, it is not a goods lift, and an occupant plus a carer can exceed 200 kg, in which case the wheelchair user should travel alone.
Planning daily use at 150–170 kg rather than at the rating leaves room for a heavier coat, a shopping bag or a passenger heavier than the household average.
Where the compact class stops
That is a legitimate specification for the case it was designed for: a single occupant moving between floors of a compact home, with occasional company.
It is the wrong specification for a household where two adults travel together every morning, and the published answer is a higher-capacity model in the same family rather than a lighter duty cycle.
The traction end: 400–1000 kg in four steps
The gearless traction range is published with rated loads of 400, 630, 800 and 1000 kg. The self-supporting steel-frame model is published at 400 kg, described as three to five passengers.
At the top of the range, 1000 kg covers a wheelchair plus a carer with room to spare, a family carrying luggage, or light goods moving between floors in a clinic or a small commercial building.
Frequency matters as much as weight here: the published duty assumptions behind a 0.6 m/s traction model suit a lift that runs many times a day, which is the case in villas with several residents, clinics and boutique hotels.
How to choose a capacity without oversizing the project
- Write down the worst realistic trip. Not the average trip: the heaviest combination of people and objects that will genuinely travel together, plus a margin for a coat and a bag.
- Check whether two people travel at the same time. If a carer accompanies a wheelchair user on every trip, a 200 kg platform is published as unsuitable for that pattern and the brief belongs in the 400 kg class or above.
- Separate passengers from goods. If the lift will move cartons, laundry or stock, say so at the enquiry stage. Rated load is one input; the platform size and the door opening are the others, and they are quoted together.
- Treat a higher rating as a different project, not a bigger sticker. Above the compact class you are usually moving from a platform arrangement to a cabin with a shaft structure, which changes the civil work.
One figure to send: the load you need, and the number of people who travel together on an ordinary day. Those two answers move a brief from the compact class to the 400–1000 kg class more often than building height does.
5. Building conditions: pit, overhead, shaft and machine room
- 0 mPit depth, deck-floor install
- 3 mOverhead clearance on the single-phase model
- Machine-room-lessTraction layout, machine at the shaft head
This section decides the majority of real projects. The published site requirements for the two families differ on four items, and each of them is measurable before a quotation is issued.
Pit depth
The pitless hydraulic models are published with a 0 m pit depth and a deck-floor installation. Nothing is excavated at the lowest landing, which is what makes the family relevant to finished houses and to floors where cutting the slab is impractical.
Traction models are specified around a shaft with guide rails and a counterweight path, and their published applications include retrofits where pit depth is limited rather than absent.
If the lowest landing cannot be opened at all, that single condition usually ends the traction conversation before it starts.
Overhead clearance
The single-phase pitless hydraulic model is published with a 3 m overhead clearance.
The traction models are published without a machine room, with the machine at the head of the shaft, so the height above the top landing has to house the machine and the rope arrangement rather than a separate plant room.
Overhead is the requirement most often mis-measured, because the figure that counts is the clear height above the highest landing along the shaft line, measured with the final floor and ceiling finishes already decided.
Shaft structure and civil work
Two construction routes appear in the current range. The pitless hydraulic models use aluminium well shafts, assembled on site, which suits additions and retrofits where a concrete shaft would be a building project of its own.
Traction models use self-supporting steel frames or aluminium well shafts, and the frame carries the loads of the machine and the guide system.
The practical difference is sequence: a self-supporting frame can be erected in a finished building without masonry, while a concrete shaft changes the sequence of the whole floor it passes through.
Machine room
The traction models in this range are published as machine-room-less: the gearless machine sits at the head of the shaft, so no separate room is planned, heated or ventilated for the drive.
On the hydraulic side, the equipment package centres on the power unit at floor level and the cylinder set under the cabin; the published model pages describe the cylinder and unit arrangement rather than a separate machine room.
Four measurements to take before the first call. Clear height above the top landing; distance from the lowest to the highest finished floor level; the footprint available where the lift will stand, including door swing and landing space; and the electrical supply already terminating in the building. With those four numbers, a drive recommendation stops being a guess.
6. Power supply and control: the question that arrives late
- 220 VSingle phase, 50 Hz on the hydraulic line
- 2.2 / 4.7 kWPublished power unit ratings
- 220 / 380 VAccepted by the traction range
In retrofit projects the supply question is usually raised after the shaft position has been agreed, and it is the item most likely to move a project from one drive family to the other. The published figures make the difference easy to state.
The pitless hydraulic models run on a 220 V, 50 Hz single-phase AC supply, published with a 2.2 kW power unit on the single-phase model and a 4.7 kW motor on the 14.5 m pitless model. The gearless traction models accept 220 V or 380 V at 50 Hz or 60 Hz, with a microprocessor control system and VVVF drive on the 30 m models.
What each supply actually allows
Two practical points follow. A single-phase supply is normally already present in a house, so the hydraulic route usually avoids an application to the utility, a new three-phase connection or a longer cable run.
A three-phase supply is common in new-build villas, clinics and small commercial buildings, and where it exists the traction route has no electrical penalty.
Sites running at 60 Hz or with only 110–120 V available are quoted with the configuration agreed before the order rather than assumed.
Control matters as much as supply
Control is the quieter half of the same question. Both published families use microprocessor control.
The traction models add VVVF control, which shapes acceleration and deceleration and is the reason a 0.6 m/s traction lift is published at under 60 dB rather than being described in qualitative terms.
For the buyer, the practical difference is what happens at the start and the end of a trip. A frequency-controlled drive ramps in and out of the run; a hydraulic unit starts the pump and the cabin follows the fluid.
Ask the electrician first: what supply already terminates within reach of the lift position, and is there a spare way on the distribution board? Those two answers settle more drive decisions than any discussion of ride quality.
7. Noise, ride quality and what residents actually notice
What the published noise figures cover
The published noise figure belongs to the traction range: under 60 dB on the 30 m gearless models, which the specification pairs with VVVF control and automatic sliding doors. The hydraulic pages describe quiet, low-vibration movement with microprocessor levelling rather than publishing a dB figure, so we do not put a number against them here.
Three moments residents notice
For a house, three moments decide whether a lift feels intrusive. The first is the start of a trip, where a frequency-controlled traction drive ramps smoothly while a hydraulic unit starts its pump.
The second is levelling at a landing: the published hydraulic models use microprocessor levelling, and the published traction models use VVVF with a microprocessor control system, both aimed at stopping level with the floor.
The third is the door: automatic sliding doors are published across both families, with safety curtains and overload sensors listed on the traction models and an emergency stop button on the hydraulic models.
Where the equipment sits
Where the lift sits in a building does more to determine what residents hear than the drive itself.
A machine at the head of a shaft in a stairwell, a power unit in a cupboard under a stair, or a shaft against a bedroom wall will all behave differently in an occupied house.
That is why the same published drive can be described as quiet in one project and audible in another, and why the position of the equipment, not the drive family, is the item worth arguing about at the design stage.
Speed: 0.4 m/s or 0.6 m/s
Speed is the last part of ride quality, and it is worth being realistic about it. The compact hydraulic platform model is published at 0.4 m/s, which is a comfortable speed for two or three floors.
The traction models are published at 0.6 m/s, adjustable through the VVVF drive.
On a two-storey house the difference is a matter of seconds; on a run of eight or ten landings it becomes the difference between a lift that people use casually and one they avoid at busy times.
8. Maintenance, wear parts and service life
Maintenance is the part of the comparison where suppliers are least precise and buyers most often accept a verbal assurance.
The published data gives us the equipment list; the service interval has to come from the maintenance schedule attached to the model you buy, and any supplier who quotes a number without a schedule behind it is guessing.
Wear items on a hydraulic lift
- A hydraulic lift has fewer moving parts in the drive path and a different set of wear items.
- The published equipment list for the pitless range includes the power unit, the 2.9 m cylinder set, microprocessor control, automatic doors and an emergency stop button.
- In service, the items that receive attention are the cylinder and its seals, the hydraulic oil, the power unit and the door mechanism.
- Cylinder and oil work is why hydraulic maintenance is often described as periodic rather than continuous, and it is also why the position of the power unit matters: routine service is easier when the unit is accessible without dismantling anything.
Wear items on a traction lift
- A gearless traction lift concentrates its wear in the rope and machine path.
- The published specification for the self-supporting steel-frame model lists emergency stop, overload sensor and dual brakes, with a gearless machine at the head of the shaft and a microprocessor control system.
- Over a service life, attention goes to the ropes, the sheave, the brake and the door operator.
- Frequency of use drives this list more than age does: a villa lift that makes twenty trips a day and a clinic lift that makes several hundred are not on the same maintenance cycle even when the model is identical.
What the published warranty and service cover say
Both families are published with a one-year warranty. The traction model pages add that local service partners in 17 countries keep the running cost predictable.
That claim is worth verifying for your own market: ask who attends a call-out, how far away they are, and which spare parts they hold.
For a lift, the second question is not how reliable the drive is but how long the building waits when something needs attention.
Three questions that separate a real service offer from a promise
- Which parts are consumable on this model, and what do they cost? A maintenance schedule should name the parts, not describe them as normal wear.
- What is the response commitment, and who delivers it? Ask for the party that attends, not the party that sells.
- What does the first year of servicing include? Warranty terms cover defects; scheduled servicing is a separate item and should appear in the quotation.
9. Cost structure: what actually moves the number
Published price bands exist for both families, and they are a useful starting point precisely because they are published rather than whispered in a sales meeting.
- Our single-phase pitless hydraulic model is listed at USD 4,000–10,000 per set, and the 30 m gearless traction model at USD 10,000–20,000 per set.
- Both are quoted at a minimum order quantity of one set, with T/T or L/C payment terms and an export non-fumigation wood box.
- Published delivery times are 45 working days for those two models and 20 working days for the compact 200 kg platform model.
What the published bands cover
Those bands are useful, but the difference between two quotations for the same house is rarely the drive. It is what the supplier has included. Six items move the total more than the machine does:
- Civil work and structure. A shaft built in masonry or concrete is a different budget line from an aluminium well shaft or a self-supporting steel frame assembled on site.
- Number of landings. Doors, landing finishes and call stations multiply with stops, and the published hydraulic family tops out at five stops while the traction family is described at roughly eight to ten.
- Cabin and finish. Published options include 304 stainless steel and aluminium alloy on the hydraulic side, and glass, brushed steel, timber veneer or custom laminate on the traction side, with stone, SPC vinyl or tile flooring options.
- Electrical work. A single-phase supply that already exists is cheaper to connect than a new three-phase connection, a longer cable route or a distribution board upgrade.
- Site conditions at the top and bottom of the run. Overhead clearance work, landing protection and access for equipment are quoted per project, not per model.
- Installation scope. Equipment, delivery and installation are quoted as a package on our model pages, with an answer within 48 hours of receiving the drawings. Confirm the same scope when you compare offers.
The cheapest way to compare offers: ask every supplier for the same schedule of items and mark which are included. Two prices that differ by half usually differ in the scope sheet, not in the drive family.
10. Decision table: three dimensions, one answer
The table below puts the published figures side by side. Click a row to pin it while you read across, and use the paragraph underneath to see which figure decides the recommendation in each case.
| Decision input | Pitless hydraulic | Gearless traction | Screw-driven |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum travel published | 14.5 m | 30 m | 15 m |
| Stops published | 5 stops | 8–10 stops (description) | 2–5 stops; up to 2–10 on the customizable model |
| Rated load published | 200 kg platform model; higher-capacity models in the same family | 400, 630, 800, 1000 kg | 500–5000 kg |
| Speed published | 0.4 m/s on the compact platform model; not published on the 14.5 m model | 0.6 m/s, VVVF adjustable | 0.15 m/s |
| Pit | 0 m; deck-floor installation | Shaft structure and pit arrangement; retrofits quoted where pit depth is limited | Compacts into a small footprint; no excavation claim published |
| Overhead | 3 m clear above the top landing on the single-phase pitless model | Machine at the head of the shaft; figure not published per model | Not published per model |
| Machine room | Power unit at floor level plus cylinder set | None required: machine-room-less design | Drive integrated with the structure |
| Power supply | 220 V, 50 Hz single phase; 2.2 kW and 4.7 kW published | 220 V or 380 V, 50 or 60 Hz | Confirmed per project at enquiry |
| Noise | Described as quiet with low vibration; no dB figure published | Under 60 dB | Described as quiet operation |
| Published price band | USD 4,000–10,000 per set (single-phase pitless model) | USD 10,000–20,000 per set (30 m model) | Quoted per capacity and stops |
| Warranty published | 1 year | 12 months | Stated per model page |
| Clearest fit | Finished houses, deck floors, five stops or fewer, single-phase supply, no excavation possible | Villas and duplexes with six or more landings, 400–1000 kg loads, frequent trips, three-phase available | Higher capacities with low speed: 500–5000 kg, up to 15 m |
How the table resolves itself
Read down the columns in this order and the answer usually appears on its own. Travel first: above 14.5 m the hydraulic column stops, and the project belongs to traction or to a different family.
- Load second: above the compact class, the traction column is published in 400–1000 kg steps and the platform arrangement no longer applies.
- Building condition third: if the lowest landing cannot be opened, the traction column needs a shaft structure that the site may not accept.
- If three-phase power is unavailable, the electrical route on the traction side has to be checked before the shaft position is fixed. Whatever remains standing after those three cuts is the drive to brief.
11. Where each drive is the wrong answer
Honest limits are more useful than advantages. These are the conditions under which we would not recommend each family, drawn from the published figures rather than from a preference for one drive.
The building is finished and the lowest landing cannot be opened; travel is within 14.5 m across no more than five stops; the supply is 220 V single phase; and the loads are one or two people, with occasional luggage.
The run needs six or more landings, or travel beyond 14.5 m; or the rated load has to sit in the 800–1000 kg class; or the lift has to run continuously through the day for a clinic, hotel or shop.
Clear height above the top landing; supply type and spare capacity at the lift position; the structure that will carry the machine; and where a carer will stand while a wheelchair user boards.
The building has a shaft position available, six or more landings, a 400–1000 kg load requirement, and 220 V or 380 V already present. Machine-room-less design removes the plant room from the plan.
No shaft structure can be built or assembled, or the lowest landing has to stay intact with no excavation and no frame footprint; or the site is single-phase only and no supply change is possible.
Published bands are per set and cover equipment, delivery and installation. Shaft structure, civil work, landing finishes and the electrical connection are the items that decide which of two apparently similar offers is actually cheaper.
One case deserves its own line. Where a lift is expected to carry a wheelchair plus a carer on most trips, the published 200 kg platform model is not the right answer even if the house is compact.
The brief should move to the 400 kg class on the traction side before any discussion of finishes. Oversizing the building is not the goal; sizing the load correctly is.
12. Brief checklist before you request a quotation
Every item below changes the answer, and every item can be measured or looked up without a supplier present. With these eight answers, the first reply is a specific configuration rather than a request for more information.
Two items decide most briefs on their own: the lowest landing rules hydraulic or traction in or out, and the supply rules the electrical route in or out. A photograph of the intended position with a tape measure in frame is often faster than a description.
13. What happens after the brief arrives
Our model pages publish a 48-hour answer on the drawing stage, with equipment, delivery and installation quoted as one package. In practice the sequence looks like this.
- Within 48 hours
You receive a configuration proposal with the drive recommendation, the published figures it is based on, and the price band that applies. If the site raises a question the drawings cannot answer, that question comes back to you in the same reply instead of being left for installation week.
- Confirmation round
Supply type, overhead clearance, stops and load are confirmed against your drawings. Any item that falls outside the published envelope is identified here, before an order is placed.
- Production
Published delivery time is 45 working days for the single-phase pitless hydraulic and 30 m gearless traction models, and 20 working days for the compact 200 kg platform model. Payment terms are T/T or L/C at a minimum order quantity of one set, packed in export non-fumigation wood boxes.
- Site readiness
Shaft or frame position, landing protection, the electrical connection and access for the equipment are agreed. This is the stage where a project loses time when the four site measurements were not taken at the start.
- Installation and handover
The model pages quote installation inside the package price. Handover should include the maintenance schedule and the spare parts list, and both should name the service partner who attends in your market.
14. Glossary of the terms in this guide
These are the words that cause the most confusion between a drawing and a quotation. Each definition is the one we use when quoting.
- Travel
- The vertical distance between the lowest and the highest landing the lift serves, measured between finished floor levels. Published ceilings in this article: 14.5 m hydraulic, 30 m traction, 15 m screw-driven.
- Stop
- One landing served by the lift, with its own door and call station. Published figures: five stops on the pitless hydraulic model, eight to ten described for the 30 m traction model.
- Rated load
- The maximum load the cabin or platform is built to carry. It is a ceiling, not a target: the compact platform model is published at 200 kg, and the traction range at 400–1000 kg.
- Pit depth
- The depth of the floor opening below the lowest landing. The pitless hydraulic models are published at 0 m, which is why a finished deck floor does not have to be cut.
- Overhead clearance
- The clear height above the top landing available for the machine, the rope arrangement and the cabin travel. The single-phase pitless hydraulic model is published with 3 m.
- Machine-room-less (MRL)
- A traction arrangement in which the gearless machine sits at the head of the shaft instead of in a separate plant room. All traction models in this range are published as machine-room-less.
- VVVF
- Variable voltage variable frequency control, used on the 0.6 m/s traction models. It ramps acceleration and deceleration instead of starting and stopping the drive in one step.
- Cylinder set
- The hydraulic ram that raises the cabin, published as 2.9 m cylinders on the 14.5 m pitless model.
- Self-supporting frame
- A steel frame that carries the machine, the guide rails and the cabin loads without masonry or a concrete shaft, published on the gearless steel-frame model.
- Deck-floor installation
- An installation where the lift stands on an existing floor without excavation underneath, used with the 0 m pit models.
15. Questions buyers ask before they commit
Can a hydraulic home elevator be installed without a pit?
Yes. Our pitless hydraulic models are published with a 0 m pit depth and a deck-floor installation, so the finished slab at the lowest landing stays intact. Two conditions still apply: 3 m of clear height above the top landing, and 220 V single-phase supply at the lift position.
Which drive is cheaper to buy, hydraulic or traction?
The published bands point in the hydraulic direction: USD 4,000–10,000 per set for the single-phase pitless hydraulic model against USD 10,000–20,000 per set for the 30 m gearless traction model. The comparison only holds for the same scope.
Shaft structure, civil work, landing finishes and electrical connection are quoted per project and often outweigh the difference between the two sets.
How many stops can each drive serve?
The pitless hydraulic model is published at 14.5 m across five stops. The 30 m gearless traction model is described as roughly eight to ten stops. Divide the published travel by the published stops and you get 2.9 m per stop on the hydraulic side.
That is why a sixth landing usually moves a project into the traction family, or into a different product line such as the screw-driven range.
Is a traction elevator quieter than a hydraulic one?
We can only answer with published figures. The 30 m gearless traction models are published at under 60 dB with VVVF control.
The hydraulic model pages describe quiet, low-vibration movement with microprocessor levelling but do not publish a dB figure, so we do not put a number on them.
In practice, where the equipment sits matters as much as the drive: a power unit in a cupboard under a stair and a machine at the head of a shaft in a stairwell behave very differently in an occupied house.
Does a traction home elevator need a machine room?
No. The traction models in this range are published as machine-room-less, with the gearless machine at the head of the shaft.
That removes the plant room from the plan, but it does not remove the requirement to check clear height above the top landing, which is where the machine and the rope arrangement have to fit.
What power supply does each drive need?
The pitless hydraulic models run on 220 V, 50 Hz single phase, published with a 2.2 kW power unit on the single-phase model and a 4.7 kW motor on the 14.5 m pitless model. The gearless traction models accept 220 V or 380 V at 50 Hz or 60 Hz.
Sites on 60 Hz or with only 110–120 V available are quoted with the configuration agreed before the order rather than assumed.
Which drive suits a six-storey villa?
Once the run needs six landings, the five-stop hydraulic envelope is behind you and the brief belongs to the gearless traction family, published at up to 30 m with 400–1000 kg and 0.6 m/s.
Two site conditions have to be confirmed before the shaft position is fixed: the structure that will carry the machine, and whether 220 V or 380 V is available at the lift position.
Can a lift be added to a house that is already decorated?
That is the case the pitless hydraulic family was specified for: 0 m pit, deck-floor installation, 220 V single-phase supply and aluminium well shafts assembled on site.
The limits are equally clear: five stops, 14.5 m of travel, and an overhead clearance of 3 m on the single-phase model.
If the house needs more landings than that, the project moves to a traction design and the civil work has to be planned rather than avoided.
16. The short version
Travel decides whether the hydraulic family is still in the room: 14.5 m and five stops is the published ceiling, 30 m and eight to ten stops is where traction takes over.
Load decides the class: a 200 kg platform for one or two people, 400–1000 kg for a wheelchair plus carer, frequent trips or light goods. The building decides the rest, and it is the only voice that cannot be negotiated with.
- If the lowest landing cannot be opened and the supply is single phase, the pitless hydraulic models are the shortest route to a working lift in a finished house.
- If the run is longer, the loads are heavier, or the lift has to run all day, the gearless traction range is the honest answer, with the shaft and the electrical route planned from the first drawing.
Where these figures come from. The figures above are published on our hydraulic home elevator, residential traction elevator and screw-driven elevator range pages, on the single-phase pitless model page and the 30 m gearless traction page. A traction project case shows how the load and speed question is handled on site.
Send the travel, the load and the supply, and we will confirm the drive
Our model pages publish a 48-hour answer on submitted drawings, with equipment, delivery and installation quoted as one package. Send the section 5 measurements with the heaviest realistic trip.
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