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Stannah 420 Rail shortening
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Hello,
Is it possible to shorten the rail on a Stannah?We have a straight rail measuring around 4.1m and I notice other people have the same number of stairs that the rail is covering but with a shorter rail.
Presumably this is because not all stairs are the same height & depth and the rail therefore needs to match the length of the stairs it fits to.I can see that there is a join about halfway up the rail.
As we are selling our stairlift I was wondering if the rail could be shortened (to match shorter stairs) by cutting some off at the middle section before joining it back together.
Does anyone think it is possible?
Many thanks.
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Never cut a rail joint or rail if you do not understand about the inbuilt safery devices and meshing of rack and pinnion.
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As Robbie said don’t cut the join, you’ll trash the lift. With the right tools and knowledge you would cut an end and then refit all the necessary parts.
You can alter the stopping position by moving the white plastic brackets bolted to the underside of the rail further down the rail, but mark where you’re removing it from and do not operate the lift without it fitted and never refit it higher than the marked point or you will set off safety gear and get in quite a mess. This way you can use the lift on a shorter staircase without risking someones health. -
As others have said. Leave well alone unless you know what ur doing……. there are too many (cut it yourself)rails that are the incorrect length thus causing possible problems for the user,,,,
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420 rail length is dictated by point x measurement and staircase angle, these measurements are used to decide the amount of rail overhang over the top nosing to allow the installer to set the footrest height and to reduce the tripping hazard on the landing
it use to be found in the back of the paper installation manuals, always cut the top of the rail, never the joint! if you are selling it measure the total rail length and add it to the advert, then the onus is on the new owner to get it cut and installed correctly……. -
Thank you all for the advise which I shall head.
I like the idea of leaving the onus on the buyer, though I have no interested buyers at the moment.Does this mean that when transported the rail should not be taken apart at the join?
I was there when it was installed 9 years ago but can’t remember if the rail came as one piece or he joined it together on site.
Thanks again.
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the rail can be split if needed? we use to set them up so that only a short peice of the non fixed rack was ovelapping the joint, it made resites easier
if you look at the rack you will see its in sections, held in place by resessed allen key bolts, if it needs to be split just loosen off the ones on the upside section of joint and slide the joint apart, that way when the rail is put back together you havent disturbed the rack pitch and it should still run ok over the joints -
Thanks for everyone’s help on this.
I’ve had a question from a prospective buyer asking if it can be fitted on left hand side (ours is right hand side).
Am I right in saying it cannot?
I would have though it would be far to messy to set up properly afterwards even if it could be done.
thanks.
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It’s not messy and it can be rehanded quite easily….. by a professional.
Sometimes it’s worth paying for someone who is trained and insured and this is one of those times. -
can be rehanded, the original lift the 300 came in kit form and us the installers had to hand them as we built them on site, use to love lhd lifts as you didn’t have the hassle 🙂 as Kevin says best get it done by a pro! it can end up messy! especially if they swivel the seat to face down the stairs and step off into the void……..and you have the safety edges to rehand
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Thanks for the replies, very helpful as usual.
Taken it off sale for now till the country’s situation changes.
What about the rail is that hand specific?
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nothing much! the whole lift was designed to be ambidextrous, the original design was to have a lift that could be lhd or rhd, the plan was to have a kit form lift were the factory didn’t have to stock a lhd or rhd lift in the warehouse like on earlier models, if you unclip the rack cover off the rail you will see its a mirror image, you just swap over the mechanical stops, the rack and mount it on the opposite side of the stairs, easy enough when you know how? it’s re handing the seat and the swivel boss that’s a little bit more involved!
well that was the plan! then marketing got involved and it went tits up! cup holder anyone?
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