Stairlift wiring removal

[AMS1]

Hello

When my father died we arranged for the removal of his stairlift by the company. They did so, but neglected to remove the wiring at the top of the stairs (I think I was pretty pre-occupied with my grief and funeral arrangements etc to bother with following this up at the time).

Now I'm in the process of redecorating the landing/stairs and wish to have this taken out. Would this be a straightforward process (for an electrician, obviously, I'm not intending to do this myself).

Below is a photo of what they left when they removed the stairlift

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• AMS1
• 24 Apr 2014
• 1

 

[EFLImpudence]

Yes, no bother.

 

[stem]

Without examining the wiring, it's difficult to give a definitive answer, but you have a fused connection unit (FCU) that will most likely will be connected to an existing adjacent circuit. Normally one that supplies nearby sockets. (Although I did find one connected to an immersion heater circuit once)

The electrician would trace the cable from the FCU to the point where it joins the existing circuit, disconnect and if possible remove the cable. Most likely this will be at a junction box under the floorboards, or via a direct connection at the back of a socket outlet.

Alternatively, but less likely, the cable may be connected to the consumer unit from either a socket circuit as above, or from it's own dedicated circuit breaker, in which case it should be marked "Stairlift" or something along those lines.

In either case disconnection will be easy, once the circuit has been traced. It's route may be immediately obvious, or require some investigation and the lifting of floorboards, perhaps in more than one room, and that's what may take some time, also if the original installation was made badly, there could be some rectification work to the existing circuit required, but you would be unlucky if this was the case.

 

[AMS1]

Thank you for your responses.

None of the upstairs bedrooms have carpets at the moment, and it seems to me that the landing carpet has been pulled up at some stage as it no longer seems 'fitted' in parts so hopefully it shouldn't be too disruptive.

I just wish I'd insisted they do it at the time they removed the stairlift, but like I say I was a bit pre-occupied with other stuff at the time.

 

[stem]

I wouldn't have expected them to disconnect the FCU. The main supply is not generally the stairlift companies responsibility. Probably becaue it is an unknown quantity and depends upon the existing electrical installation in the property. When my mum in law had one installed, we had to have the 13A supply in place ready for them to connect the stairlift to.

If they do install the electrical supply, an electrician would probably do this as a separate function from the guy who installs the chairlift, (which is primarily a mechanical discipline) and at an extra cost.

 

[kai]

If it is run off a Socket Ring Final Circuit in the first place, you may wish to use the FCU to feed a Single socket outlet in the blank space below it.(Provided that suitable RCD protection exists in the consumer unit, and the cable is at least 1.5mm.size). You can never have too many sockets around..

 

[SimonH2]

If it is run off a Socket Ring Final Circuit in the first place, you may wish to use the FCU to feed a Single socket outlet in the blank space below it.

Or remove the FCU and fit a single socket in the lower space - removing the upper box. Better still, remove both boxes and chase in a flush box.

However, given the location of a stairlift, it's not unlikely that it's in a poor choice of location for a socket - trip hazard right at the top of the stairs.

 

[AMS1]

If it is run off a Socket Ring Final Circuit in the first place, you may wish to use the FCU to feed a Single socket outlet in the blank space below it.

Or remove the FCU and fit a single socket in the lower space - removing the upper box. Better still, remove both boxes and chase in a flush box.

However, given the location of a stairlift, it's not unlikely that it's in a poor choice of location for a socket - trip hazard right at the top of the stairs.

Thanks for your replies - when the guys who came to remove the stairlift left the wiring, that's what they said too - they'd keep it there in case I wanted to turn it into a regular socket. However, I already have a socket on the landing just half a metre away, so another one (especially in that location) isn't needed.

Anyway, I had an electrician come round yesterday to take a look and he said he'd remove it, and an old burglar alarm that no longer has any power to it, for a really reasonable price.

Thanks again to all who bothered to reply - this forum is the best!