Thyssenkrupp levant stair lift brake how to remove?

[ericmark]

Found the bung, found the 6.3 hex drive on end of motor, but can't find how to release the brake. Been parked centre away from charging station needs winding back onto charging station, but can't find how to remove brake.

Since fitted 2009 I decided a new set of batteries would not go amiss, so fitted new batteries to get it off the stairs. However should it happen again then want to know how to crank back to charge point.

Odd but charge contracts are 27 volt AC not DC clearly turned to DC in the chair. Fitted new batteries measured voltage 25 volt wound to charging point remeasured 26.2 volt so clearly is charging. But old batteries measures 3 and 5 volt so no wonder why it did not work. But not a clue how they got that discharged!

 

[john4703]

Can you find a solution on http://www.thyssenkrupp-stairlift.co.uk

 

[KenGMac]

ericmark, good evening.

Not sure of the question being posed, sorry about that.

But,

Suggest you go on to YouTube and type in the name of the stair lift, there you will find loads of info on, Installation and Troubleshooting Etc.

Ken

 

[ericmark]

I have found a PDF copy of the users manual, however oddly it does not tell one how to in an emergency return the lift to the charging station, mother has a Stannah stairlift and that one has a switch to remove the brake not ideal as the 6.3 mm hex drive is accessed between the users legs and is very slow, and of course you do need enough power to operate the brake however if it fails in use, the battery is unlikely to be completely discharged.

I expected to find something similar with the Thyssenkrupp levant and I did find the 6.3 mm hex drive, and a bung and hole which lined up with it so one could put a shaft connected to a drill and wind the chair to one of the charging points, however unlike the Stannah this stair lift does not seem to have any button or leaver to remove the brake. To have a removable bung, one would expect the brake to be removed with something which does not require covers to be removed.

However my brother-in-law had already removed the main cover so I could see the main board and gear box, it would seem likely that there is some tool which is inserted to remove the brake, however I considered at around 8 year old the batteries are likely near end of life anyway, so dropped in two new batteries, tested to ensure they were charging, took a photo of the info plate and thought I would come home and find the info on internet.

I am not impressed by either stair lift, the Stannah was fitted by Stannah and left something to be desired, but the Thyssenkrupp was fitted by a local shop and really the wrong model as there is a bend in the stairs so the user has to walk up first two steps, and is what I would call Heath Robinson the power supply looks very like those used by laptops and was simply plugged in to a convent socket, at least the Stennah had a power supply fixed to the wall and connected to a switched FCU and from there to a mini consumer unit and henley blocks to incoming supply (not any more but that was original method) so very unlikely to be accidental disconnected. Also when the battery failed I was able bit at a time to return the lift to charging station without needing to manually wind it. I do think it should have had a warning buzzer before it turned its self off, but it at least could limp to charging station.

The Thyssenkrupp however went about 3 foot up the track, then failed until new batteries were fitted, would not even limp down the track, by time I got to it battery voltage 3 and 5 so it would seem no auto stop once battery becomes nearly fully discharged it just carries on until not enough power to work relays. Not totally sure on this as I was not there when it was done, but it left the stairway in a dangerous condition with father-in-law having to clamper over the lift.

I would assume, if the lift was used by my mother, who could not have walked away from the lift, with only one leg, that the fire and rescue service would have the info to manually return it to ground level! But it would also be good if the other people in the house could also do the rescue without involving the fire service.

 

[scousespark]

I think the fireman/woman would just get her out over their shoulder

 

[ericmark]

I think the fireman/woman would just get her out over their shoulder

In mothers house that would be very hard, she is not small or light even at 92, and there are two bends in the stairs, and so it would only allow one person to effect the rescue. And it would be so easy to break bones on a lady of that age, I am sure she would be manually wound down to floor level. With the Stannah that it possible, it may take a long time, but still possible. Not so sure with the Thyssenkrupp don't know if they carry spare batteries as both lifts use same batteries so it seems reasonable standard.

 

[Jackrae]

Fire controller would conduct a written risk assessment of the three possible scenarios whilst house is getting roasty toasty

a) drive chair down stair with passenger on basis that device continues to operate because son ensured chair was serviceable by ensuring routine servicing
b) get passenger down stairs alive by fastest possible means at risk of broken bones
c) find manual and read about how to hand crank chair because son saved on service costs

 

[ericmark]

Fire controller would conduct a written risk assessment of the three possible scenarios whilst house is getting roasty toasty

a) drive chair down stair with passenger on basis that device continues to operate because son ensured chair was serviceable by ensuring routine servicing
b) get passenger down stairs alive by fastest possible means at risk of broken bones
c) find manual and read about how to hand crank chair because son saved on service costs

I was not talking of a fire, I was talking about some one sat on a lift which is stuck. If that person can walk even if not well then a little assistance would get them down, if either up or down then the method would be call out lift maintenance. However if half way then one can't wait sitting on a stair lift for a stair lift man to where I live travel some 100 miles to repair it. Phone number on lift is the people who fitted it how are only available office hours, Stockton-on-Tees is a long way from North Wales they may well have local people, but until one phones the 0800 number I don't know, and if my father-in-law had needed to be rescued then it would likely have been the fire and rescue service we would have called, as until the lift failed I has assumed like the Stannah lift there would have been instructions on the lift on how to manually operate the lift.

I was taken aback to find no instructions, I found the hex drive on back of motor and the bung to reach it, so it would seem it is designed to be manually moved, however the installation manual shows the track being fitted without part of the rack, and the chair is then slid to where the rack starts, and then motored further down and last section of rack inserted.

It would seem the design lends its self for near DIY fitting, the Stannah needed to be made to suit the stair case and could not be fitted by anyone, it is without question a specialist job, but the thyssenkrupp levant is a simple straight rail cut to length a few spanners a hack saw and a few tie wraps and string is all that is really needed. I would guess having met the man who installed it, this is why he uses this make, you look at is and it shouts out cheap. The power supply is completely free standing similar to those used on lap tops, so maybe there is no brake release? Maybe you have to turn it with brake still on?

 

[ericmark]

Unfortunately we are not able to give provide technical advice due to health and safety reasons. We would only recommend that a qualified engineer carries out any work on the stairlift.

I have replied:- "Please give details of a qualified engineer able to give 24/7 service in the CH7 post code area of the UK, clearly if it fails and my father-in-law presses his pendent alarm we would want to be able the rescue him in as short as time as possible, I note the Stannah chair lift has instructions on the lift as to how to rescue anyone stuck on the lift, I would assume this is for “Health and Safety” reasons, can’t understand why you don’t do the same?".

I await their response, may be they do have service engineers on 24 hour call with an hour response time, if it were my mothers stair lift rather than father-in-laws then I would be looking for a much faster response time, with alzheimers I would not want her stuck for any longer than 15 minutes for health and safety reasons. Otherwise it would need doctors to sedate her to ensure engineer was safe. Just 15 minutes stuck on a lift is bad enough for normal people.

It seems Thyssenkrupp are living in another world, the world of we want every penny we can get from service contracts, and to heck with well being of people using the lift. It's not the cost of calling some one out, it is the time it would take to rescue anyone stuck.

 

[Jackrae]

Ask them what specific "Health and Safety Reason" they have for failing to ensure the safe extraction of a person from their manufactured product in the event of equipment failure.

As a diligent manufacturer they must be capable of publishing instructions that are sufficiently detailed to ensure the wellbeing of their customers; unless of course, they know better, and are not willing to bring to your attention the possibility of a serious design defect that only becomes relevant when the equipment has malfunctioned.

If you get a blank then maybe referring their intransigence to your local trading standards body might rattle their cage.

I believe the likes of "Twitter" usually gets a response if you air a concern.

 

[ericmark]

I bet Thyssenkrupp is German, they are well know for firms which cheat and lie, no more replies, it is now working, and there is a far chance it will continue to do so for some years if he don't switch it off again. It would seem by removing the mills pin at top of track one can remove the rack section by section and finally slide out the last bit with the seat, clearly not with anyone on the seat, but at least out of the way. It could then be stored in an unused bedroom until the repair man arrives, however it puts me off anything made by Thyssenkrupp, I personally reject anything German, it was a German machine which mauled my hand, down to them fitting wrong colour of micro switch, red or yellow for personal protection and black for machine protection. But the VW thing reinforced what I already knew, avoid anything German. Although we all joke about China they are better than German engineering.

 

[flameport]

Thyssenkrupp are living in another world,

More likely their product is so poorly and cheaply made they don't want anyone to look inside and find out that it's all made from plastic with the look of real metal.

 

[ericmark]

More likely their product is so poorly and cheaply made they don't want anyone to look inside and find out that it's all made from plastic with the look of real metal.

Mother has a Stannah stair lift, and I have to admit far better made, as to if more reliable not so sure. With the Stannah the battery charger seems rather simple, and it over charges the battery if the lift is not used much, typical get 2 years from a pair of batteries, the Thyssenkrupp has been installed around 6 years and this was first set of new batteries, the Stannah has a 30 volt DC supply to charging points from a power supply bolted onto the wall, the Thyssenkrupp power supply is 27 volt AC and free standing looks like a typical laptop power supply connects to stair lift rail with a coax power plug. Covers on the Thyssenkrupp all plastic and just pull off, the Stannah is sheet metal and needs tor drive tools to remove.

As an aid where the user does not "Need" the lift, they are good, but for mother where if the lift fails it would need a fire and rescue service visit to rescue her it needs to be designed to be manually recovered should it fail. The problem is stair cases are not that wide, even the rails for the stair lift encroach on the stairs making it hard to get items like beds upstairs, but with a chair stuck on the stairs as well getting past the chair is not easy. Yes the arm rails and seat fold, but stairs are now less than half width.

Since likely batteries were end of life anyway I just renewed them. When stowed it is hard to get to batteries so with the Stannah I would move it away from stowed position to work on it, but to remove the chair would be a lot of work the rack is a fixed part of the track, however with the Thyssenkrupp it seems the rack is simply slid into the track, so remove one mills pin and the rack can be removed and the chair slid up the track together with the rack and totally removed leaving just track in place. The Stannah track is a little low but does double as a hand rail the profile of the Thyssenkrupp track means it does not really become a hand rail, but it stops a hand rail being fitted.

An edit as don't want to bring to top again, Thyssenkrupp replied with details of a authorised dealer 12 miles away in Wrexham so close enough to attend in an emergency. It does state they have an emergency service, but reading this:-

Gold Plan:

Breakdowns are prioritised and will be attended to whenever possible within 24 hours including evenings, Bank holidays and weekends. Parts and labour are included.

It would seem it can take 24 hours, the manual states:-

Do not get off the chairlift on the stairs, not even in case of a breakdown. Only get off the chairlift at the parking points.

I think the chair lift should have a built in commode and cordless telephone?