Types
of Stairlifts? AC Electric DC Battery
Until
5 years ago stairlifts were promently AC Electric stairlifts!
All required some type of electric trailing cable to supply the
power (electric) to drive the machine up and down the stairs.
Each stairlift company devised their own elaborate moving mechanism
to deal with the high voltage trailing cable (flex)
AC
Electric Stairlifts
I must
admit to being old school and until very recently i was not a
keen fan of DC Battery powered stairlifts. Electric Ac stairlifts
are slowly being replaced! All stairlift manufactures are now
producing and installing battery powered stairlifts. If you need
require a curved stairlift then the only option will be a DC Battery
powered stairlift! No matter which stairlift manufacturer you
choose all of them now only produce and supply DC curved stairlifts.
The only electrical AC curved stairlift was made by Stannah (Model
229) which is now obsolete. To be honest i don't think AC electrical
stairlifts need to be discussed in great length due to the fact
many stairlift manufactures will now only supply and install straight
and curved DC stairlifts
Advantages
of DC Battery Stairlifts
Battery
stairlifts have come a long way in the technology department over
the last 5 years! As explained above to the extent that all stairlift
manufactures now produce and install them. Main advantage of the
DC stairlift! Very easy to install and maintain
Basically
Plug-n-Play some stairlifts don't even need their own dedicated
power supply (Fused spur) You just plug the charger unit into
a spare convenient socket outlet. The charger unit transforms
the 240V supply down to 24-38V and converts it to DC to feed the
stairlift when the unit is on charge etc.
Buy Stairlift Batteries Online >>
Stairlift
Batteries
All
DC battery stairlifts will continue to operate even in the event
of a power-cut. This alone is a god send and is reassuring to
know that you will not get stuck in the middle of the stairs should
such a thing happen. Battery stairlifts can make around 24 full
runs Up/Down before the batteries are exhausted and require a
full recharge, Allowing ample time for the power supply company
to reinstate the power to your area
Stairlift
Battery Charger Units
Once
again each stairlift manufacturer has devised their own elaborate
way of charging the stairlift batteries the most common approach
is to have a fixed copper charging strip located at the top and
bottom of the stairlift track. When the stairlift is driven to
the top or bottom of the track the moving charger pick-up points
located under the stairlift carriage make contact with the fixed
copper charging strip and automatically charge the batteries
Fixed
Charger contact strip ( Curved Acorn 80 stairlift )
If
the stairlift is not driven fully onto the charger contact strip
the stairlift normally emits a siren or bleeping noise to make
the stairlift user aware of the fact that the stairlift is not
on charge or the Charger unit has been accidentally switched off?
(Home-Help and Grandchildren are the biggest cause of the charger
unit being switched off) If the stairlift is fully at the bottom
or top and the charger unit is switched on and the stairlift still
emits an audible sound you need to contact your stairlift installer
straight away so they can come out and inspect your stairlift
for faults etc.
Some
stairlift manufacturers have kept the AC electrical trailing flex
cable design, though the cable is now only carrying low voltage
DC 24-38V so the stairlift will constantly be charged and no need
for charger contact strips or pick-up points. The obvious advantage
is that it doesn't matter where you leave / park the stairlift!
its permanently being charged at all times
Both
systems have there advantages and disadvantages. The system using
the copper strip charging contacts requires more parts in the
making of the stairlift, and periodic adjustment cleaning of the
charger pick-up assembly unit. It also rely's on the stairlift
user to ensure the stairlift is correctly parked in the charging
position
The
stairlift using the constantly charged trailing cable system has
more moving parts so more chance of something going wrong? Common
faults are trailing cable getting jammed or broken wires in the
cable itself. To be fair both do the job equally well and both
systems will require adjustment or repair at sometime in the life
of the stairlift
Remote
landing call push buttons
Stairlift
landing push units are now Infra Red battery operated. Calling
the stairlift from a landing is as easy as switching the TV over.
The old system used hard wiring where each landing push unit was
screwed to the wall and white plastic trunking was used to hide
and protect the hard wiring cable connections. See photos below
Landing
Push's / Remotes are not a gimmick! If the household contains
more than one stairlift user, once the first stairlift user has
got to the top or bottom of the stairs the other user then can
call the stairlift back down or up whichever the case may be to
allow him / her access to the stairlift
A lot
of stairlift owners tend to switch off their stairlift when they
go on holiday? There really is no need and chances are on your
return you will find that the stairlift will not operate due to
flat batteries. Even switching the charger unit back on and leaving
the batteries to charge for a few hours still fails to get the
stairlift to operate
Once
rechargeable batteries sink to a certain low level they fail to
pick-up and charge. If this is the case then you will need to
contact your stairlift dealer / installer so they can come and
fit / replace your stairlift batteries. If you had left your stairlift
switched on? Chances are all would have been fine and dandy on
your return
Stairlift
Batteries
Most
stairlift manufactures use the standard 12V 7Ah rechargeable batteries
that can be source from many local UK electrical suppliers. The
average life span for this type of battery is 2-3 years? Obviously
the life span depends on the amount of stairlift usage etc.
Stairlift
batteries should only be replaced by qualified stairlift engineers!
Some stairlifts require the removal of the carriage cover and
safety edges. Should these items not be replaced correctly and
checked for correct operation there is a high risk that the safety
features incorporated into the stairlift will fail to operate
when needed. Most stairlifts require 3 X batteries should you
get the battery polarity wrong you will damage the main circuit
board for sure, expect a repair
bill of £400.00+ (Nuff said)
Main
Advantages of DC Stairlifts
•
Very easy to install! Normally less than 2 hours for a
straight stairlift
• No messy wiring or high voltage
trailing cables
• Stairlift will still operate
in the event of a power-cut
• Batteries are easy to source
and reasonably priced
• Stairlift has a smoother
ride
• DC Stairlifts have a much
smoother soft start and stop action
• Stairlifts have infra red
/ wireless remote call send units (No unsightly wiring)
• Easy to service and maintain
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