Son Gets His Disabled Dad a Nearly-Free Stairlift For Christmas

One evening, an elderly stairlift user's son sent an urgent message. His dad's stairlift could no longer get past midway going down, and was "come off alignment". He sent several photos with problems that have never been seen in stairlift repair forums. These included a bent connector bolt; a gap between rails; and scuff marks on particular spots on the joints. When I got there, the son said that he was mechanically adept, and had installed the stairlift himself. He acquired the used stairlift for next-to-nothing. Cosmetically, the stairlift looked almost brand new. It was a straight Acorn 130 T700, flat-sided rail variant. It had an "E" error on the display. Kintai thermal-imaging revealed stressed parts. Several screws were 5 Celsius degrees warmer than the others. The motor cover was loose at the back, causing snagging. The end bump sensor was damaged and was only partially repaired. (I brought a plastic welder to fix that.)
Also, the control cable was disconnected between the chair and the motor.

During discussions, I learned that someobe there was nearly at the manufacturer's weight limit specification. In such instances, one experienced technician's tiktok video says to use up to 5 screws per baseplate.

Furthermore, with carpeted wooden stairs, I use 5 inch industrial screws. Unfortunately, the very-opinionated son was too busy attempting his own repairs during the first 90 minutes. He did not repair the damaged sensor strike mechanism, which causes stoppage, as we'll get to later.

After the son finally gave up, I was able to execute my planned repairs. After my repairs, the stairlift was able to go up and down, without any errorcodes.

Its most-serious problems stemmed from one warped rail section and a protruding, damaged, lower flange. The previous owner probably did not know how to fix it, and that's why it was barely used for years.

Also, the user's weight caused the stairlift to wobble, triggering a sensor stoppage. This stop is a safety feature. Read the Consumer Affairs website for a funny complaint against the manufacturer.

Thanks for watching.

Have the best day ever. This is Rob's Repairs, 604-512-95 six seven, in Vancouver, Canada. This is a repair diary.

E. & O. E.