How to measure for a stannah stairlift ?

[Aunt Maud]

Dad is unfortunately deteriorating rapidly and urgently needs a stairlift.

I've my eye on a used Stannah 600 and need to size the rail up. Does anyone know how to measure the stairs to see if the rail is long enough?

Thanks in advance.

[T42]

It's not just length they measure, but the slope of the staircase too. The rails are produced in metre-long sections with a top tube & a bottom one, the two being connected by welded-in cross-pieces, and the rack is welded to the lower one. The sections are also welded to the stanchions that stand on the steps.

When ours was measured the bloke took umpteen photos with number cards and a ruler on each step for calibration back at the factory.  Stannah would probably do that and produce an estimate for you.  If it's a dead straight staircase it shouldn't be too blenchworthy, but once they throw in a curve or two, as with ours, it gets blood-curdling. We ended up forking out 12,000 €, about 7k of which was the track, and when the Inlaw Paw died after using it just once they told us the track was scrap but they'd give us 1500 € for the chair. We kept it.

BTW, if you do get it, make sure the batteries are still OK.  Ours takes two, quite hefty items. The installer told us that if the chair stands unused for any length of time with the charger connected and they go belly-up, Stannah will charge around 100 € each, but you can get equivalents for around 50 €.

[Aunt Maud]

Thanks for the advice T42.

It's a straight stair and the rail is plenty long enough. At a push I could make new brackets if they aren't right.

I guess I'll have to suck it and see and check the batteries are OK if I puck it up.

[andytheflyer]

After my parents died, we took out the Stannah stair lift to sell the house.  There were no buyers for it.  I think my brother scrapped it in the end.

We were advised that each is a bespoke design because of the variable riser, height and length parameters.

I'd suggest that you have a very good look at it to see if you can adapt it to your requirements.

There seems to be no market for used stairlifts - IME anyway.

If you think it fits, drive a hard bargain!

Ours had very little use - dad had a fall soon after it was installed and ended up in care, mum refused to use it because it was too slow she said.  She used to go up the stairs on all 4s.

A case of money thrown over a cliff.

[hellymedic]

I strongly suspect andytheflyer has it.

I don't think the stairlift installed for my late aunt had much use or many takers after she died. I suspect few stairlifts get much use and are installed for people who live only a few weeks/moths after installation. (My aunt lived in a flat and the stairlift was put on the communal stairway outside.)

[Kim]

Somebody badly needs to standardise stairs.

[hellymedic]

Somebody badly needs to standardise stairs.

Retrofitting standard staircases in old housing stock would not be easy.

I deliberately bought a house with a non-standard staircase because I thought it was fall-friendly...

[Jurek]

Somebody badly needs to standardise stairs.

No question there.
One for the architects to consider.

[T42]

That'd be a bit like standardizing fingerprints.  I doubt if there are two identical staircases in our village.

[grams]

Somebody badly needs to standardise stairs.

We could take the Japanese approach of demolishing houses every 20 years and replacing them with the latest flatpack from a factory. Could come with standard Stannah mounting points.

[Jaded]

Isn’t that what Persimmon do anyway?

[Canardly]

These people seem to offer a rental service. There may be others in your area.

https://www.alfixstairlifts.com/is-it-worth-buying-a-reconditioned-stairlift

Also have a word with your local LA Home aid/improvement agency, they may be able to offer some advice. Any Disabled Facilities Grant funding however, is means tested e.g.

http://www.housingcare.org/downloads/services/generated-brochures/17-cambridge-home-aid-generic-.pdf

Stannah do also offer a hire service for 'reconditioned' stairlifts

https://www.stannahstairlifts.co.uk/choosing-a-stairlift/pricing-guide/renting-a-stairlift/

Age Uk also offer reconditioned units for sale.

https://www.ageukmobility.co.uk/product-group/reconditioned-stairlifts

[neilrj]

My dad had an Acorn Superglide 130 and when he left us we uninstalled it, only 4 swivel mounts (with 4 screws into stairs) and the 4 cross bolts that set pitch) and put it in a garage, stayed there until my brother needed it, reinstall took about 2 hrs, works fine although it needed a new pair of batteries (£36). Straight flight come in a standard length for 'usual' stair rise - Dad's stairs were shallow and long, my brother's I'd say are 'standard' (like mine anyway), minor extra length difference wouldn't matter (overhang at the top). Lift are handed for which side it fits - the hand usually being as you look up the stairs, some have a folding rail where the bottom (or top) will hinge to cross a doorway. Lots of interlocks so it won't run when obstructed, hinge unset, low on power etc, well made I've played!. Cheap as chips on ebay when they occasionally appear - but you'll need a hefty roofrack and long vehicle! Most lifts are snapped up by re-conditioners for pennies - they often reappear at £500-£1000, usually with new batteries, and a warranty of sorts. Spares are expensive, to force you into maintenance contracts - I wouldn't bother they seem well built and bulletproof, batteries are standard SLA.

[Aunt Maud]

An Update

I managed to get a 5 month old, barely used Stannah 600 from eBay for £275 with a straight rail long enough for the stairs. It was an easy fit as the new model brackets are fully adjustable and screw straight onto the treads and can accommodate all sorts of tread/riser combinations.

I had to fit the seat to get it going in engineer mode, as the installers had removed the factory fitted electrical lego blocks which were installed to get the motor to move without the seat being plugged in.

My niece found an installation manual on t'internet and now dad has easy access to upstairs and a new downstairs bathroom. It's been lots of work over the last three years to get the house as good as it could be to enable them to live in their family home for longer. Mum's happy, Dad's happy, so all's well for now.

[PaulF]

That’s great! A Stannah certainly changed my grandmother’s life and my father’s.

[T42]

  Well done!

It was an easy fit as the new model brackets are fully adjustable and screw straight onto the treads and can accommodate all sorts of tread/riser combinations.

Bloody hell. Ours is welded solid. "New model" obviously means post-2016.