warning about power hoyer lift

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azgirl

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Joined
Jan 20, 2014
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961
Reason
PALS
Diagnosis
12/2013
Country
US
State
AZ
City
Tucson
my hoyer lift stopped with me in the highest point. We had not bothered to find the Manuel override. It was not obvious and took research to figure out as the company is out of business and no online manual could be found .


it was torture to get me down, but would have been unnecessary if we had know known how to override

stupid error! Know your hoyer!
 
How scary that must have been Kay!
Thanks too for the great tip.
Ours had a big red button, I can't remember where but it was pretty big.
It's also a good reason to have the manuals for all your equipment in a folder in easy reach in case you ever need them suddenly.

I'm so glad you worked it out - did you end up finding the solution on youtube? Seems to me someone has youtubed nearly every possible thing :)
 
no time for YouTube as I was already not in best sling position
big red button didn't do anything

my strong caregiver and husband pushed my butt up just high enough to undo loop, six times , so each could be moved to old mechanical hoyer. Kind of sketchy but it worked!

it's a loaner from alsa so no manual
 
Wouah what a merry go round trip ! Thanks for warning everybody and glad you could get out of this unharmed
 
oh no, the big red button is supposed to work - I admit we never tried it on ours which was also a loaner. They should always give a copy of the manual with the equipment I think.

So lucky you had strong folk, I keep envisioning if it had been me alone with Chris - :shock:
 
Yikes! That must have been AWFUL! I too have a Hoyer from the ALS closet, and it doesn't come with a manual either. There is a big red button, but I have NO idea what it does! I thought it was just to turn it off (override) if your PAL had the control, and something was wrong with the process of lifting. Like a big over-ride button. I did ask them for a second battery, just in case, but obviously, if there's some other electrical or mechanical malfunction, you're cooked! You're so fortunate you had a second lift.

Did you ever figure out what went wrong with the lift? Let us know how it goes.
 
We had to use "the big red button" once. I was able to lower my PALs back into bed. I think whenever things go wrong, it seems to be when a PALs is in a vulnerable position. So scary! Thank goodness for strong caregivers!
 
Thanks for the warning. Equipment failure can put a person in a risky situation.
 
The big red button is for emergency stops, after which you turn it to disengage the override.

Depending on the model, the primary emergency release for manual operation is shown as "emergency up"/"down" on the control box, those little spots you push in with a pen.

If you don't have that, or even if you do:

The pull tab or ring on the side of the motor is also for emergency lowering (make sure the PALS is over a bed or wherever before you pull it).

I think the pull ring emergency lowering feature, depending on model, depends on a 9V or other separate battery, so if it's an old lift, I'd certainly test and replace the battery before you need it.

Every lift should have the red button and at least one means for emergency lowering.

Best,
Laurie
 
Hey Kay, my ceiling lift stopped with me hanging lucky I knew to take control apart and blow through the line to make it work,also got stuck in my PWC elevator for about 15 minutes looking back we laugh but at the time it not funny.

Love you
Chally
 
ours is old lift. It is anchored to the bed and works great until the remote failed.
I love that we are all calling it the "big red button"

our lift has two steps, first the button then a part to rotate out on the arm.


we laugh now but sure learned a lesson!
 
Azgirl

Posted the same experience some weeks ago only my PALS was in the lower position. We scrambled to get her back in bed.

I now have a manual lift and Ilike it much better. Lifting with the hydraulics is not hard and you are not dependent on electricity or battery.

Wheels are also much bigger which makes rolling on carpet easier.

Ernie
 
We had the opposite problem. One time I slid out of a chair and my wife panicked and mistook the big red button for the on button. So she keeps hitting it and screaming " why won't it work". Meanwhile I get tickled and can't do anything but laugh. The more I laugh the more she panics and screams and the more I laugh and the vicious circle goes round and round.
 
No manual, company out of business yup those freebies get costly in other ways sometimes. It sounds like all the stuff we have had.

Glad it turned out alright!
 
What out-of-business company are we talking about? Sunrise became Hoyer, then Joerns (in terms of lifts), for example. If anyone needs manuals, I can probably find you something.
 
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