Stairlift Reviews

When buying an electric stair lift for the first time, you may be overcome, if not annoyed, by terms used to describe features of the electric stair lift.  To become more knowledgeable and to concentrate more on the job at hand (that is, selecting the best electric stair lift), we will introduce you to the most commonly used terms.

The “lifting capacity” of a stair lift is the total load that it can carry when it moves up or down the staircase.  This lifting capacity should be a lot higher than the weight of the person who is going to use the electric stair lift.  Related to this, there is a “fold up dimension” and the “unfolded dimension”.  The fold up dimension refers to how much width the stair lift occupies when it is folded up against the wall, while the unfolded dimension refers to its maximum width when it is spread out and ready for use.

An electric stair lift should also have a “soft start / slow stop” feature. This means that its take off and descent are smooth.  A person riding on it won’t be jarred or surprised.  It also means that it stops gently and not the way a car screeches to a halt when the break is suddenly pulled.

The salesman will also describe to you the “drive system”, “rail” and “fpm” of the electric stair lift.  The drive system is all about the type of technology utilized by the electric stair lift.  The most commonly used drive system uses a “rack and pinion”, which is quite similar to the system of trains and railways.  The “rail” is of course the path or track on which the stair lift runs on.  The rail should be long enough to fit your staircase at home.  It should also conform to your type of staircase, that is, straight, curved, or spiral.  The FPM is an acronym for “feet for minute”.  It refers to the speed of the stair lift as it goes up and down the staircase.  The speed should not be too fast, or too slow for the person who is going to use the stair lift.

Many electric stair lifts have a “BOS” and “call sends” but vary in “operator controls”.  BOS means a battery operated system.  Check out the type of battery used and determine if it is readily available in your area so that you can easily obtain a replacement if the present battery expires.  A “call send” is the remote control that will enable a user at the top of the stairs to call or send the electric stair lift to go up.  “Operator controls” may be different with each stair lift.  Some may use buttons, others use joysticks, and still others have pendant controls.

Tags: Stair Lifts, Acorn, Chair Stairlift, A1, Concord, Elderly, , Disabled, Electric, Stairlift