Wheelchair Stairlifts

You might be wondering what a wheelchair stair lift is. Well, it is basically a motorized method of carrying a sick or physically disabled person (who is seated in a wheelchair) up and down the stairs. The motor in the wheelchair stair lifts is usually an electric motor that works through rechargeable batteries. Wheelchair stair lifts are convenient for installation because they allow the stairs to still be used in the normal way, there is no call for reconstruction or any repairs, or any new buildings, the fact remains that wheelchair stair lifts are convenient, easy, and also the most affordable.

Why they're convenient

Maybe you have a physically disabled mother who cannot come down the stairs on her own. Maybe your father has had an operation, he is weak, and so he can't travel up and down stairs. In such cases, wheelchair stair lifts are ideal to make their lives easier and more convenient, they can go up and down the stairs as and when they please, with minimum assistance from others – and thus the wheelchair stair lifts allow them to live their lives with more dignity. What's more, they are easy for installation, and also quite affordable, so you don't need to worry about the prices.

The price for wheelchair stair lifts might be less than five thousand dollars. If you want something for a curved flight of stairs, it's more expensive – probably in the range of fifteen thousand dollars. There are higher and more expensive models which cost 25000 dollars or more. But don't go thinking that these prices are high, because the fact remains that with wheelchair stair lifts, you don't need to reconstruct or build anything new – thus it's a onetime cost.

Types of wheelchair stair lifts

Wheelchair stair lifts are classified by the type of drive system which they use, for movement up and down the stairs. The most common type is the rack-and-pinion system, which is most suitable for the quiet areas, and for light duty. There is also the cable-hauled wheelchair stair lift, which is pretty quiet, and the biggest benefit of this is that there is no maintenance required. However, if you are choosing to buy this one, then you should be aware that the long cable sometimes has a little play in it, thus the starting and stopping becomes a little rough.

There is another kind of wheelchair stair lift, which is driven by a set of running chains – put a thumb, this will engage the chain, and the stair lift goes up or down. However, this makes a lot of noise, and also it's expensive – so our verdict is – not worth it! Then there is also the screw-driven wheelchair stair lift- which is driven by a set of screws, this is unfortunately not suitable for individual use.

In conclusion, the rack-and-pinion wheelchair stair lift is the most suitable, its installation is reasonably cheap, no maintenance is required, and there is little or no noise. These now come with options to turn the wheelchair sideways or right around, to avoid vertigo while coming down a long flight of stairs.


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