Dumbwaiters Through the Ages
The modern dumbwaiter, which is today usually electric, has roots that date back many hundreds of years. These early dumbwaiters laid the framework for today’s electric dumbwaiter.
These early dumbwaiters were often used in large castles and other dwellings that spanned multiple floors. They allowed the residents of the castle to quickly and easily move food or other supplies around the castle. Without them, the kings food could become cold before being brought to him and due to the large staircases that were so very common.
The dumbwaiters used were typically manual, but in some cases an animal or even water power would be used. This allowed items to be effortlessly sent between floors and allowed much more weight to be moved than a person could do on their own.
By the middle of the eighteen-hundreds, the dumbwaiter was used in many businesses throughout the country, but much of the innovation for these devices took place in New York. It was here that the first passenger elevator would be developed as well as hydraulic dumbwaiters and steam powered dumbwaiters.
The father of the elevator, Elisha Otis, was responsible for many of the advances in dumbwaiter and elevator technology. While helping to build a new production facility, Otis was subjected to several dumbwaiter failures. All it took was a broken rope and the dumbwaiter would come crashing down, potentially seriously injuring a worker or destroying supplies.
Otis set out to solve this problem and devised a spring loaded break system. In the even of a rope failure, a set of spring powered spikes would be released. The spikes would be propelled into the dumbwaiter shaft, which would keep it from falling. This solved his problem, so he went back to supervising the construction of the facility.
After the facility was complete, Otis was prepared to head to California to do some gold mining, when he was approached by someone who was interested in his dumbwaiter brake system. Being a shrewd businessman, Otis realized that his invention had great potential and he began manufacturing commercial dumbwaiters. He would be responsible for many advances in elevator and dumbwaiter technology and eventually developed the first passenger elevator.
Otis was not the only one that led innovation during this time and together with several other inventors, the electric dumbwaiter would take shape. Today, the electric dumbwaiter is very popular in homes and businesses. They can be quickly installed into a home as it is being built or into an existing home.
The electric dumbwaiter is far more common, but some people do still opt for a manual dumbwaiter. While manual dumbwaiters are still used, they do not offer the same convenience or lifting power that is offered by an electric dumbwaiter.