Escalator Lubrication Systems
An escalator is a chain machine that never stops: step chains, a main drive chain and handrail drives, all needing a thin, continuous oil film to run quietly and pass inspection. We build the automatic lubrication systems that keep that film in place (timed oil pumps, volumetric distributors, chain nozzles and alarms) supplied factory-fit to escalator manufacturers in India and as retrofit kits for maintenance teams. The same system suits travelators and moving walkways, where a pallet chain takes the place of the step chains.
The lubrication points
What an escalator lubrication system feeds
A typical escalator or travelator carries between 8 and 20 oil points, spread along the truss. Each circuit needs a metered feed, not a splash.
Circuit 1
Step chains
The two roller chains that carry the steps: the longest and most loaded chains on the machine. Oil is dripped or brushed onto each chain at the return run, on a timed cycle while the escalator is moving, so the film renews without ever flooding the pin and bush.
Circuit 2
Main drive chain
The chain linking the drive machine to the main shaft. Short, fast and highly loaded, it takes a small metered dose per cycle. Too little shows up as noise and elongation; too much drips into the pit.
Circuit 3
Handrail drive chains
The chains that turn the handrail drive sheaves on both balustrades. Light duty compared to the step chain, so they sit on the smallest metered outlets of the same distributor network.
Circuit 4
Auxiliary points & lift guide rails
Bearing points and tension carriage pins where fitted, and on lifts, the guide rails and door gear, fed by the same class of pump and resist-type distributor as a separate small system. See lift guide rail lubrication for how that one is arranged.
The critical circuit
Step chain lubrication, in detail
Of everything on the machine, the step chains decide when it comes out of service. They are also the circuit an automatic system changes most.
Two chains, one on each side, run the full loop of the truss and pull every step with them. They carry the passenger load, they are the longest chains on the machine, and they run through whatever dust and grit reaches the truss. Wear happens at the pin and bush of each link: as the oil film there thins, metal-to-metal contact starts polishing the pin, each pitch grows fractionally longer, and the chain elongates. Elongation is what an inspector measures, and what eventually opens the step gaps, loads the comb plate and makes the machine noisy.
Oil goes on the return run, not the loaded one, as the diagram shows. Applying it to the loaded run wastes most of the dose to throw-off, so the drip nozzle or brush block sits at the return, where the chain is unloaded and accessible. The pump cycles while the machine is moving, on a signal from the escalator controller or from its own built-in timer, so the film renews in service with nobody in the truss and no shutdown.
The dose per outlet is small and the cycle frequent. How small depends on chain pitch, chain speed, running hours and how dusty the site is, and it is set at commissioning rather than guessed:
| Dose | What shows up | Where it ends |
|---|---|---|
| Too little | Chain noise, a dry bright pin, rising drive current | Pitch elongation, early chain replacement, an inspection finding |
| Correct | A thin film on pin and bush, no drip, no throw-off | The chain reaches its designed service life |
| Too much | Oil in the pit, oil-soaked dust on the truss floor, oil reaching the steps | A cleaning burden, a fire load, and a slip risk on the steps |
This is the argument for metering each outlet volumetrically rather than splitting flow. A 35 type volumetric distributor delivers the same fixed dose from each outlet regardless of how long the pipe run to it is or what back-pressure sits behind it, so the far end of a 30 m truss gets what the near end gets. On a flow-split arrangement it does not: the shortest, least restricted line takes the oil, and the chain at the far end is the one that wears. A TZ pump with the timer option supplies the network and holds the cycle.
The architecture
How the automatic system goes together
One pump, one distributor network, one alarm loop: sized for a machine that runs 16 hours a day.
A motor-driven gear pump with a 2 L or 4 L reservoir sits in the machine room or upper truss. On a timed cycle (from the pump's own built-in timer or from the escalator controller) it delivers oil through volumetric or resist-type distributors, which split the flow into fixed doses for each nozzle or brush regardless of pipe run length. A level indicator and pressure switch close the loop back to the controller, so a low reservoir or a blocked line raises a fault instead of running a chain dry. The result is chain lubrication that happens automatically, in service, with no shutdown and no one climbing into the truss with an oil can.
| Circuit | Feed | Metering | Herg components |
|---|---|---|---|
| Step chains | Timed oil, in service | Volumetric, fixed dose per cycle | TZ pump (timer version) + 35 type distributor |
| Main drive chain | Timed oil, in service | Volumetric, small dose | HL pump + 34 type distributor |
| Handrail drives | Timed oil, light duty | Resist type, by flow resistance | TCJ / TCZ resist distributor |
| Lift guide rails & door gear | Periodic oil or grease | Resist type or manual | GM grease pump or NKHY manual pump |
| Monitoring | N/A | N/A | Level indicator, pressure switch, filter |
The system meters whatever chain oil the escalator manufacturer's manual specifies: it is a metering system, not an oil.
What it changes
What the automatic system is actually worth
Three things, measured against a maintenance team oiling the same chains by hand on a monthly round.
Oil on the chain, not in the pit
A volumetric outlet delivers a set dose and then stops. Hand oiling has no such limit, and the oil that misses the pin and bush ends up on the truss floor, in the pit, and mixed with dust into something someone has to clean out. Metering the dose is what cuts consumption: the chain takes what it needs and the rest is never pumped in the first place.
It keeps running between services
The failure mode of a manual round is the round that gets skipped, and nothing reports it until a chain is already noisy. Here a level indicator and a pressure switch sit in the loop, so an empty reservoir or a blocked line raises a fault at the controller while the film is still intact. The system's own maintenance is a reservoir top-up and a filter check.
Every point fed, including the light ones
Handrail drives and auxiliary bearing points get missed by hand because they are awkward and small. On a distributor network they are simply the smallest outlets: a resist-type distributor meters them by flow resistance off the same pump that feeds the step chains, so the light circuits are on the same schedule as the heavy ones.
Supplied for Indian installations
Built for the supply and the duty here
Escalators in Indian metro stations, airports and malls run long hours in dusty, humid air: the conditions in which a skipped manual round shows up quickest, and the reason most of the retrofit work we quote is on machines whose chains have already elongated. The pumps are specified around what installations here actually run on:
| What | Options |
|---|---|
| Electrical supply | 12 / 24 V DC, 110 / 220 V AC, and 415 V 3-phase |
| Control | Built-in pump timer, or cycled from the escalator controller so it only runs while the machine moves |
| Reservoir | 2 L and 4 L, with level indicator and optional pressure switch |
| Mounting & fittings | Customisable to the escalator builder's drawing: mounting, tube routing and joint fittings to suit the truss |
| Documentation | Installation and operating manuals for every product, published as PDFs |
For machines already in service we supply drop-in replacement pumps and distributors, so an AMC contractor replacing a failed pump is not obliged to redesign the network around it. If a fault needs diagnosing first, the troubleshooting guide covers the usual ones: pump not delivering, a blocked distributor, air in the chamber.
Who we supply
Factory-fit for OEMs, retrofit for maintenance teams
Escalator manufacturers
OEM production-line supply
Our lubrication systems are already fitted on the production line of one of India's largest escalator manufacturers. We supply against OEM production schedules (consistent specification, batch documentation and manuals for every unit) and we have the capacity to take on additional OEM programmes. If you build escalators, travelators or elevators and need a lubrication package engineered to your machine, start with the pump and distributor range and we'll match it to your drawing.
Discuss an OEM programme →Metro stations, malls & airports
Retrofit & AMC replacement
Escalators in metro stations, airports and malls run long hours in dusty air: exactly the conditions where manual oiling gets skipped and chains wear early. An automatic system retrofits onto an existing machine: pump, distributors, tubing and nozzles, wired to the controller or run from the pump's own timer. We also supply drop-in replacement pumps and distributors for systems already in service, with installation manuals and troubleshooting guides online.
Ask about a retrofit →Common questions
Escalator lubrication, answered
What does an escalator lubrication system lubricate?
The step chains, the main drive chain and the handrail drive chains, plus auxiliary bearing points where fitted. These are the wearing chain drives on the machine; the system delivers a metered oil dose to each of them on a timed cycle while the escalator runs.
How often does an escalator step chain need lubrication?
Continuously, in small doses. Rather than a monthly manual oiling, an automatic system runs the pump for a short period on a repeating cycle set to the manufacturer's manual and the machine's duty: heavier traffic, shorter cycle. The chain always carries a fresh film and is never flooded.
How is the dose per outlet decided?
From chain pitch, chain speed, daily running hours and how dusty the site is, against the dose range the manufacturer's manual gives. It is set at commissioning by choosing the distributor outlet sizes and the pump cycle, and can be adjusted afterwards if the chain shows either dryness or drip.
Can an automatic lubrication system be retrofitted to an existing escalator?
Yes. A retrofit is a pump with reservoir, distributors, tubing and chain nozzles, mounted in the upper truss or machine room. It can run from the pump's built-in timer, or be wired to the escalator controller so it only cycles while the machine is moving.
Why is metered lubrication better than oiling chains by hand?
Hand oiling swings between too little and too much. Too little means noise, chain elongation and early replacement; too much means oil dripping through the truss, where oil-soaked dust is a cleaning burden and a fire risk. A volumetric distributor delivers the same small dose every cycle, so the chain gets exactly what the manual specifies.
Does the same system work on a travelator or moving walkway?
Yes, with the same architecture. The pallet chains take the place of the step chains and are fed the same way at the return run; the drive chain and handrail drives are unchanged. Point count is usually similar, so the pump and distributor selection carries over.
Which oil does the system use?
Whatever the escalator manufacturer specifies: the system is a metering system, not an oil. The pumps and distributors handle the standard chain oils called for in escalator manuals; tell us the specified grade and duty and we'll size the doses to it.
What maintenance does the lubrication system itself need?
Little: top the reservoir up, check the filter, and confirm the level indicator and pressure switch still report. Those two devices are what make the system self-reporting: a low reservoir or a blocked line raises a fault rather than quietly running a chain dry.
Do you supply escalator manufacturers in India?
Yes. Herg lubrication systems are factory-fitted by one of India's largest escalator manufacturers, and we supply OEMs, contractors and maintenance companies across India. For OEM programmes we work to your production schedule and specification; send us an enquiry with your requirement.
Building or maintaining escalators?
Tell us the machine, the number of oil points and the specified chain oil, and we'll come back with the pump, distributor and alarm package that fits: for one retrofit or a production line.