Re: Leads for a chair lift for stairs?

[Guest guest]

Anyone know a fast source for obtaining such a thing? Bob will be in Rehab for about two and a half weeks - having a sleep study done March 18 - has required oxygen each night. Holding his own, however, approved for an extra person to watch him each night - becomes agitated at about 1:00 a.m....(started this at home, actually, before the heart attack.) Again, thanks to this group, I suggested the sleep disorder possibility - they agreed!

Bill - I know you had aan electric stair chair, or whatever you call it - will you please give me the price range again and your specific suggestions for what to look for? Is it feasible to buy a used one, or am I looking for potential problems if doing so? How complicated of a thing is this?

Thanks so much.

Elaine Grimmesey

[Guest guest]

Anyone know a fast source for obtaining such a thing? Bob will be in Rehab for about two and a half weeks - having a sleep study done March 18 - has required oxygen each night. Holding his own, however, approved for an extra person to watch him each night - becomes agitated at about 1:00 a.m....(started this at home, actually, before the heart attack.) Again, thanks to this group, I suggested the sleep disorder possibility - they agreed!

Bill - I know you had aan electric stair chair, or whatever you call it - will you please give me the price range again and your specific suggestions for what to look for? Is it feasible to buy a used one, or am I looking for potential problems if doing so? How complicated of a thing is this?

Thanks so much.

Elaine Grimmesey

[Guest guest]

Elaine,

We bought our stairlift used and I had a contractor help me remove it

from the old home and install it in my house. It cost me $1000 for the

stairlift and $300 for the contractor (4 hours two men). I did the

electrical work and troubleshooting myself. Note if you buy a used one,

before taking it out - run it all the way to the top and then unplug it

from the electric. That may save some troubleshooting time as there is

less chance of the safety switches triggering and causing problems.

We looked in all the Washington and Baltimore area newspaper classified

ads (Misc) and found 3 for sale, two people wanted new prices, but this

person just wanted it out of their house. You could also check with

your local Ataxia and PD support groups to see if they know of a used

one. Finally the companies who install them often have used ones for a

little less than a new one. Used ones are usually just as good as new

ones, except for cosmetics (or if the patient weighed over 300 pounds).

At that time they were running about $3000 for the new model of the one

I got and about $1200-$2000 for installation. I don't have a feel for

the cost today. Terri Moller got a new one last fall and may have a

better feel for the price.

The installation people will fix then even if you install it, but

probably charge a lot. Anyone with some knowledge of mechanics,

carpentry and electrical knowledge can install it. Troubleshooting

would require some knowledge of safety interlocks and how they work (I

did a lot of work around X-ray machines). There is a safety switch

(mechanical but disables the power) in case the cable breaks, which can

get triggered in transit or installation, so if the cable is not tight -

you will have to find it and override it to get it working (any decent

electrician who does some equipment repair should be able to find it).

Mine is called a Silver Glide and you can get info on it at:

http://www.accessind.com/Silver-Glide.htm

Note, I have a split-foyer home and only have 7 steps up to my living

area, so I had to cut the track to fit when I installed it. It is now

too short for most homes. But one person in my area has seven steps

also and I have offered it to him for his wife. We are hoping the

length is correct. If the length is not correct, you can probably buy

new track from the maker, but that may mean professional installation as

you would have to cut a metal track fairly neatly. I did have the

metalworking tools to cut the track and a VOM to measure electric, if

you have someone around who knows what they need for that work, they may

be able to do it.

Take care, Bill Werre

[Guest guest]

Elaine,

We bought our stairlift used and I had a contractor help me remove it

from the old home and install it in my house. It cost me $1000 for the

stairlift and $300 for the contractor (4 hours two men). I did the

electrical work and troubleshooting myself. Note if you buy a used one,

before taking it out - run it all the way to the top and then unplug it

from the electric. That may save some troubleshooting time as there is

less chance of the safety switches triggering and causing problems.

We looked in all the Washington and Baltimore area newspaper classified

ads (Misc) and found 3 for sale, two people wanted new prices, but this

person just wanted it out of their house. You could also check with

your local Ataxia and PD support groups to see if they know of a used

one. Finally the companies who install them often have used ones for a

little less than a new one. Used ones are usually just as good as new

ones, except for cosmetics (or if the patient weighed over 300 pounds).

At that time they were running about $3000 for the new model of the one

I got and about $1200-$2000 for installation. I don't have a feel for

the cost today. Terri Moller got a new one last fall and may have a

better feel for the price.

The installation people will fix then even if you install it, but

probably charge a lot. Anyone with some knowledge of mechanics,

carpentry and electrical knowledge can install it. Troubleshooting

would require some knowledge of safety interlocks and how they work (I

did a lot of work around X-ray machines). There is a safety switch

(mechanical but disables the power) in case the cable breaks, which can

get triggered in transit or installation, so if the cable is not tight -

you will have to find it and override it to get it working (any decent

electrician who does some equipment repair should be able to find it).

Mine is called a Silver Glide and you can get info on it at:

http://www.accessind.com/Silver-Glide.htm

Note, I have a split-foyer home and only have 7 steps up to my living

area, so I had to cut the track to fit when I installed it. It is now

too short for most homes. But one person in my area has seven steps

also and I have offered it to him for his wife. We are hoping the

length is correct. If the length is not correct, you can probably buy

new track from the maker, but that may mean professional installation as

you would have to cut a metal track fairly neatly. I did have the

metalworking tools to cut the track and a VOM to measure electric, if

you have someone around who knows what they need for that work, they may

be able to do it.

Take care, Bill Werre

[Guest guest]

Thanks, Bill, very much. We thought we'd call the man from whom we purchased our last lift chair - he actually drove all the way to Las Vegas to get one for us (5 hours) - didn't tell us - because he knew it was an emergency. Very altruistic - maybe he has leads on chairs, too!

Thanks again,

Elaine Grimmesey