Saturday, February 28, 2009

What is a stair lift used for?

By Brinkmann Hamer

In houses that have more than one storey, and where there are old people or those who maybe have some medical problems, and thus have trouble climbing up and down stairs, are where stair lifts are of great assistance. Stair lifts are a very useful invention. It was an American from Pennsylvania who designed and built the first stair lift in 1920. His plan was to have a chair that could bring his ailing friends up and down stairs.

Nowadays, stair lifts have become much more common. There are two varieties of fundamental stair lifts that are made and present on the market. One stair lift is a platform on which a person can stand, or place a chair on it for a person to sit, and the platform goes up a rail that is fixed on the stairs. The other, and more popular type, is a chair that is fixed on a carriage that moves up and down the stairs on a rail.

The stair lift uses electricity, and there are cables that are pulled and released by a motor that pulls the stair lift up the stairs. The stair lift has wheels that travel on a rail. Stair lifts run on AC or DC current. The DC-type stair lifts cost more as they use batteries to provide power to the motors of the stair lift, and thus require a charger to charge the batteries. The normal electricity that is supplied in homes operates the motors of an AC-type stair lifts.

Picture a winch attached to a platform that rests on wheels, and the wheels in turn are located on a rail. The rail is fixed on an incline. When the winch is activated, the motor pulls the cable, which in turn pulls the platform up the rail. To get the platform to go down the rail the cable is released slowly. This is the primary principle by which a stair lift works.

Stairs in homes don't usually go straight up to the next floor. There might be a landing, and then the stairs go up to the upper floor. The staircase can also have a curve in it. Nowadays, stair lifts are made to cater for all these requirements.

All that is needed is to tell the company from whom the stairs lift is going to be purchased about the kind of stairs in the house. They will then assign a worker who will measure the stairs, and then tell you what the stair lift is going to cost. Once the deal is decided upon, they will arrive and fit the stair lift. Stair lifts have warranties and after sale service.

Stair lifts are a helpful aid, mainly in buildings where there are ill people who have problem in going up and down the stairs. In cases where moving or extending the house to make another room for the sick person is not an option, then the convenient alternative is to get a stair lift.

Stair lifts today have become very advanced. The seat on the stair lift can be moved around, and they also have sensors. All these have been developed to give convenience and safety for the user. It simply takes a push of a button to run them, and they are really safe and easy to use. They can also be used to carry things up and down stairs, just like carrying a laundry basket.

Stair lifts are easily available. At times stair lifts are a necessity and not a luxury.

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