July 7

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A power failure and Mom’s lift chair

By Christopher Mendla

July 7, 2015


Last Updated on November 30, 2019 by Christopher G Mendla

My mom uses a powered recliner lift chair for sitting. It has a motor that assist in reclining and helping you get up.

The other day she had a power failure and the chair was dead. Fortunately the power came on quickly.

I was going to look into getting a UPS. The problem was trying to figure out what size I needed. We checked the manuals and it turns out that the power supply for the chair takes 2 9V batteries that will provide enough power for one lift.

Moral – Technology is changing quickly. Things like a chair can cause major problems when they don’t work.

UPDATE – Dec 2017.   We ran into a problem where the power cord from the transformer was frayed. I spliced the bad wiring and we tried to order a replacement cord. For over three months we were going in circles between the manufacturer and Walgreens. No one could figure out how we could order a cord or have the chair serviced.. UNBELIEVABLE.  My mom finally found someone and was able to place the order.. BUT, instead of shipping the $6 cord, they shipped a $150 power supply (Which was not the correct power supply). So, she sent that back and FINALLY got the correct cord. Management of Walgreens and the recliner maker need to look up “Logistics” and “Customer Service”.

Another thing we ran into was that the backup system is composed of 2 9v batteries. That MIGHT give you one lift. If the batteries are depleted, the user is stuck in the chair. I did some research and decided to plug the power supply into an APC SmartUps.  According to the folks at APC, that should give her a more than one lift. NOTE – THIS IS SOMETHING OUTSIDE THE NORMAL OPERATION SO DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Christopher Mendla

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