Dumbwaiter

Small service lifts for food, linen and documents — never for passengers.

Typically 50 to 300 kg, serving kitchens, hotels, hospitals and offices through a counter-height or floor-level hatch. Cheap to run, and it removes a great many trips up and down the service stair.

Small service lifts for kitchens, hotels and offices, never rated or used for passengers. Stainless car and landing doors wipe down for kitchen and clinical use, and simple gear with stocked parts means a stopped dumbwaiter is usually back the same day.

A dumbwaiter carries food, linen and documents between floors in kitchens, hotels, clinics and offices. It is never rated or used for passengers, and we will say so plainly at the survey if somebody is hoping otherwise, because that is a safety line rather than a preference.

The shaft requirement is small and the builders work minimal, which is why a dumbwaiter often fits where nothing else will. Stainless car and landing doors wipe down for kitchen and clinical use, the gear is deliberately simple, and because spares are stocked a stopped dumbwaiter is usually running again the same day.