Yep, classic Merlin I am afraid.
Maybe the fact it's broken more than it operates and is 23 years old now? How long do you expect rides to last?
That's the best post of the year if you ask me. Incredible information!I mean the ride system is fairly simple. The main mechanical parts consist of a some rather large slewing rings, 4 hydraulic rams and some hydraulic drive tires. Along with the hydraulic systems to power them. That is pretty much it, mechanically speaking.
It is a safe bet to assume the structural integrity of the drum and swing is OK, because they have sat protected from the elements and are painted for an extra level of protection. Unless the drum is warped everything should be fine. But even with a warped drum, it can be fixed, through many different methods depending on how badly it is warped. But, the huge rings (not slewing ones) that circle the hexagon shaped drum and the braces, keep the thing quite rigid.
There is not much to really reach 'end of life' in the sense of the whole thing. All the mechanical parts are very much and relatively easy to replace I would have thought. They are pretty simple attractions mechanically speaking, the older ones can be a bit awkward at times to maintain. Things which have been addressed somewhat in newer models.
Given that, I would argue the ride is a long way off reaching it's end of life. Just an unfortunate set of circumstances.
Specific Vekoma Madhouses, of which Hex is one. Did have potential cracking issues identified with the slewing rings. Requiring regular inspections and non destructive testing. I believe that was the previous issue though? Which was fixed.
For those that are interested. This construction photo of Hex, nicely shows the slewing rings location on Hex and madhouses (circled in red). This photo is taken from outside the exit doors of the vault. You can see some hydraulic equipment inside the opening in the bottom of the drum mast. The pumps and reservoirs which power the two hydraulic rams (not shown) that are located that side, that help power the controlled swinging of the swing (the bit you sit on). Usually, when exiting the vault you can hear this equipment humming away, hidden behind a themed door. There is an identical setup on the entrance side. Credit to you guys at Towers Street for the excellent photo.
The hydraulic equipment inside the drum mast can be seen more closely in this next photo. By the way, these next four pictures are from Houdini at Bellewaerde Park and are from dark ride data base. So credit to those guys.
I couldn't find these photos of Hex. But I've specifically chosen this ride because it is exactly the same revision as Hex, being built a year before in 1999. All of the mechanical systems and setup is identical.
These power two hydraulic rams which are seen below, which swing the actual swing. There is an identical setup on the opposite side. The rams are hidden by the themed pieces either end of the vault..one of which is shown in a concept drawing further down. These hydraulic rams give the swing a total swing angle of 15 degrees in each direction for a total of 30 degrees of movement. I see this reported alot as 30 degrees in each direction. I am sure it is 15 degrees. The 40 seat model has a swing angle of 7.5 degrees in either direction, for a total movement of 30 degrees. I could be wrong but it is one of the two. With the smaller being half of the larger model. I am sure I've seem a Vekoma technical document listing the latter. Albeit a long time ago. You can just about make out a mirror as a piece of theming. That is approximately where the pivot point for the drum and swing is.
The hydraulic equipment specifically, and the slewing ring beneft from access to fresh air. They are enclosed inside the drum mast, hidden behind scenery with no access to any air. They would over heat very quickly. This is why you can see a ventilation duct in the next photo going into one of the top of the drum mast. In the Hex photo above. The one with the red circle. You can see the hole at the top of the mast, where this ventilation duct pictured here, goes. This photo also nicely shows the pivot point for both the vault and swing. Which, as mentioned, are connected via the slewing ring setup onto the drum mast.
The final major bit of mechanical equipment are the drive motors to rotate the drum. There are 8 in total. All situated at one end of the drum, with four either side of the one end of the drum. In contact with a giant ring that circles and also helps to brace the drum.
While on the subject of rotation. The drum of these older revision of madhouses such as Hex and Houdini, can rotate a maximum of 2 full rotations in either direction from the drums 'home' postion, before having to come back. This is because there is a power cable that supply's power onto thr swing itself for security cameras, which are usually atop of the swing arm scenery cover, for scenery fx and for a smaller hydraulics system for the lap bars. It unravels with the rotation of the drum, meaning how many rotations it can do before needing to come back is limited. This needs to be taken into account when designing the show, in reality, most of these revisions do about one and a half rotations before rotating back. If the drum is fully rotated by two rotations, the drum can then do 4 full rotations before it hits the limit of its rotations, as it will have rotated to rotations back to its home postion, then two in the other direction to the end of the other way.
The newer models have a sort of bus bar setup, thus they can rotate in any direction an unlimited amount of times. This change was standard on the ride model design by 2002. The first Mad House installed that had this updated desgin was Feng Ju Palace at Phantasialand. This change doesn't mean that the show will be designed to rotate more than 2 times in each direction. That is upto the park and show designers to decide. But all models from 2022 onwards, have this capability.
The newest revisions of this ride model, can hold heavier theming inside the drum (vault), use the very latest in control and mechanical engineering technology and they also ride much smoother. The design changes were so signifigant, Vekoma internally call the model by the name Mad House 2.0. The first Mad House 2.0 model to be installed by Vekoma was in Legoland Windsor in 2019. The second Mad House 2.0 will open this year in another Merlin owned park, Legoland California.
Finally, it seems fitting to share these excellent original drawings of the vault and vault exit side, swing arm / slewing ring cover. These may have been shared before. In any case they are a treat for the eyes, enjoy...
Then two final images show the concept for the octagon generator and I believe one part of one of the vault walls.
These drawings are by Drew Wilson if memory serves me right. His website is no longer online and wayback machine refuses to load up the images. He drew alot of concept / semi technical drawing for Tussauds, Merlin and Alton Towers. Specifically for relevance to Hex, he was responsible for the dark forest concept art. Which is why Thirteen has a very similar aesthetic and feel to Hex.
My understanding is that it is not 3 different parts that have broken, but the same issue re-occurring each time Hex has gone down. Hopefully they are going to get a proper fix sorted this time round.
Same here, but then again, rides don't break until they break.....
There are very often signs that the end is nigh. Not saying this is the case with HeX however.
Same with Sub-Terra if it is here to stay when Nemesis reopens and regarding the Dungeons building which I have no doubt will be utilised for a new dark ride of some kind some years after Horizon opens, the park do seem keen on more indoor attractions so keeping Hex going would be ideal but alas it is are they willing to splash out cash to give it the overhaul it needs?
