Stairlift stopped working!

Our customer in Manchester returned to their holiday home to discover that his stair lift wasn’t working anymore. A case of poor stair lift battery care. He had unplugged it when he left for the winter, thinking that would preserve the batteries. But he’d forgotten to turn it off

Most stair lifts run on batteries housed under the seat. The batteries are charged by a charger which is plugged into a standard wall socket. The life of the batteries is usually several years. Good stair lift battery care can make a difference

Since our customer in from Manchester hadn’t turned off his stair lift (with the on/off switch on the downstairs side of the undercarriage) it continued to draw a little power off the batteries (to light the LED display). Since he unplugged the unit, the battery charger wasn’t working – the batteries went dead and had to be replaced. In other words, while the stair lift is on, the charger must remain plugged in or the batteries will die. On many stair lift models, the unit will beep if the batteries aren’t charging, reminding you to either plug the charger in or turn the stair lift off.

When leaving for more than a few days, Manchester Stairlifts recommend turning your unit off and unplugging it. This way, if there’s a power outage while you’re gone, your battery won’t be killed.

If you have a power outage while you’re home, we recommend turning your stair lift off after every use. This will maximize battery life while the power is being restored. Unfortunately, if the batteries are drained before power is restored, they will have to be replaced.

One final note – It’s a lot more difficult to change the batteries on a stair lift than it sounds. We don’t recommend trying to do it yourself. It’s tricky and there are too many things you could mess up – lots of wires, etc. . So please call Manchester Stair lifts.

Are Stair Lifts Safe?

A common question among people shopping for a stair lift is, “Are they safe?”. Stair lifts that are installed properly by an experienced provider and used correctly are extremely safe. A quality installer such as Manchester Stairlifts go to great lengths to make sure their stair lifts meet rigorous safety standards.

Some of these design considerations include:

Footplate and motor sensors that will detect an obstruction on the stairs and stop the lift
Seats fitted with seatbelts that will keep a rider secured while the lift is in motion
Swivel seats that will turn away from the top of the stairs while off loading
Batteries that are constantly charging so that a lift can be used during a power outage
Optional folding rail at the bottom of the stairs to avoid a tripping hazard
Enclosed motor to prevent clothing or hair from becoming caught

While these design features go a long way to ensure safe use of a stair lift, there are things that the user should keep in mind to maximize safety.

Make sure the user is able to stand, bear weight, and pivot
Make sure wheelchair users have ample strength to safely transfer from wheelchair to stair lift
Adhere to the stated weight capacity of your lift. Typically, between 300 and 400 lbs.
Use safety features like the seat belt and swivel seat when riding and offloading the stair lift
Use an experienced and licensed company to install your stair lift
Schedule yearly preventive maintenance appointments with your provider

Final Thoughts

After buying a stair lift from us you will have little to worry We will be able to confirm various safety features on individual stair lift models and give proper instruction for use.

Stairlift stopped working!

Are Stair Lifts Safe?

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