Any Recliner chair engineers out there to get us “Movin on Up” ?

Hunc

 New here but heard great things about the help and knowledge given freely by the Addicks community from my contact in Prague…
An elderly friend has a chair that has broken the same lifting mechanism part twice in a short period. Its a Willowbrook chair with the electric lift mechanism made by Seminar components.
Ta !

Dave Rudd

Well ... I'm not a Recliner chair engineer ... but happy to apply a few scientific principles here:

Step 1 - identify the problem by asking the right question(s).

You say that the same lifting mechanism part has broken twice in a short period.

What did your elderly friend do after the first time?  Was the broken part replaced or was it simply patched up?


*awaits answers before embarking on Step 2*

SuedeAdidas

This must be a contender for CL niche thread of the year award?

cafcfan

I may be able to help.  My experience is that getting parts for electric recliners is very, very difficult.  I wanted new recliner parts for a favourite sofa.  I found only two potential firms that could help in the whole of the UK.  It is almost as if these expensive pieces of furniture are seen as a disposable item.  Fortunately one firm was not a million miles away from me.  They rebuilt the chassis with much more robust parts than the original and I got a really quick turn round for a fair price.  They are in Southend.  Check out their website. https://www.jmupholsteryltd.com/

Dave Rudd

cafcfan said:

I may be able to help.  My experience is that getting parts for electric recliners is very, very difficult.  I wanted new recliner parts for a favourite sofa.  I found only two potential firms that could help in the whole of the UK.  It is almost as if these expensive pieces of furniture are seen as a disposable item.  Fortunately one firm was not a million miles away from me.  They rebuilt the chassis with much more robust parts than the original and I got a really quick turn round for a fair price.  They are in Southend.  Check out their website. https://www.jmupholsteryltd.com/

On the other hand ... and without really being clear what the exact problem is ...

If the chair is still within the three year guarantee period, your elderly friend should contact Willowbrook

Customer Services
Willowbrook Limited
Mercury House
Kingswood Road
Hampton Lovett
Droitwich Spa
WR9 0QH

Tel: 01905 791200
Fax: 01905 791216
Email: sales@willowbrook.co.uk

and if the guarantee period has expired, getting spares directly from Seminar may be required:

http://www.seminar-components.co.uk/accessories-spare-parts.php

soapy_jones

Well Hunc, sofa so good!

Welcome to pedants corner.

Hunc

Thanks to all.I know it is a niche subject as far as football goes… But you lot are famous for being a knowledgeable database !
There are companies that send out an engineer but like wash machine engineers they charge a lot just to inspect and then.. Having repaired my own wash machine and replaced the part myself on this chair I need someone that understands I know roughly where the issue lies but need that experienced input.
Two comments and thanks especially to Dave Rudd:
Seminar components in Wales sent me the correct part which was ‘reasonable’ price although packaging was in an enormous box (Amazon stylee’) for a small plastic part and cost an extra £10 !
These chairs cost thousands of pounds and therefore, well built should last but also be repairable. The clientele are often not rich. Bearing this in mind the lady at Willowbrook who I asked about repairs was dismissive implying that because the chair was”inherited” ie not brand new I should expect it to break and not be repairable. She didn’t like it that i was able to describe the fault location in technical language having spoken to Seminar.She seemed proud of the fact that she never heard of a Clevis pin. Remember all this info up front is pointless because their Engineer will still charge £120 for initial inspection. 
For this reason a Retired engineer would be ideal as for him its an easy fix for cash and parts are available.

Hunc

CAFCfan: Very true .Everything expensive is seen as disposable now and we need to fight back against it. Landfill is full of decent stuff that could be still used. I have every respect for trained engineers and professional's advice and its clear they agree but just follow the party line because their company wishes to sell more ! Throwaway culture needs to end.

Dave Rudd

Delighted that you have made some progress, Hunc.

If it's a simple replacement of a pin, that should be an easy job.  The Clevis pin is usually simply held in with a retaining clip pushed through one end (the clip looks like a glorified paper clip).

So, remove the old retaining clip (pliers may be required).  Then remove the (broken?) Clevis pin.  Reverse the process to install the new pin.

If it's not as simple as that, for whatever reason, then maybe you will have to get expert help. 

Hunc

Dave Rudd said:

Delighted that you have made some progress, Hunc.

If it's a simple replacement of a pin, that should be an easy job.  The Clevis pin is usually simply held in with a retaining clip pushed through one end (the clip looks like a glorified paper clip).

So, remove the old retaining clip (pliers may be required).  Then remove the (broken?) Clevis pin.  Reverse the process to install the new pin.

If it's not as simple as that, for whatever reason, then maybe you will have to get expert help. 

Unfortunately not that simple Dave.The plastic mounting bracket connecting the Piston/motor to the frame via the clevis pin has broken twice and i don’t think its the user forcing the chair back against the wall without suitable clearance. I believe that there is some system to stop over extension like a microswitch which has failed 

Chizz

soapy_jones said:

Well Hunc, sofa so good!

Welcome to pedants corner.

pedants' 

Hunc

 Very pedantic …
Ha ha didn't want to miss out with apathy comment.

Hunc

Not a pedantic spell checker obviously
*i meant Pithy 

Dave Rudd

Spellchecker.

Is it pedantry ... or pedantism?