Learning About the Dumbwaiter

Dumbwaiters have been used for many years to make tasks around the home much easier. They are a type of small-scale elevator, which can usually support around a hundred pounds. Some lifts that are installed in businesses can support much more weight than this though. Often a commercial dumbwaiter will support over seven-hundred pounds. Dumbwaiters that are intended for use in homes are usually much smaller though. For the home, you can go with a manual or electric dumbwaiter.

The manual dumbwaiter has been used for thousands of years. At their simplest, they are just a platform and a rope. The rope is used to raise and lower the platform. While it would be possible to simply throw the rope over a rafter, most people use a pulley to help reduce the effort it takes to raise the platform. There are also several more advanced designs that move along tracks and use screws or gears. Most manual dumbwaiters will drop if you let go of the rope, but some are designed with safety stops so that you can let go of the rope if you become tired or need a break.

Some people still use manual dumbwaiters, but most choose to go with an electric dumbwaiter. These are much easier to use, because the only work you need to do is load it up and push a call button. These lifts usually move along a track that helps keep the track much more stable than most manual dumbwaiters.

They also have many safety features built in, that prevent damage to the lift, but also keep those that use it safe. The main safety feature these lifts have is automatically locking doors. The shaft of the dumbwaiter can sometimes be more than twenty feet long, which could prevent a fall risk. The doors on an electric lift are made so that as soon as the car moves away from the shaft opening, the doors lock. This means that it is not possible to open up the shaft way door, unless the dumbwaiter car is present.

The installation of an electric lift is usually able to be done in an afternoon, but it requires a good amount of technical understanding. Often a professional installation team will be used, but by purchasing a dumbwaiter kit that is easy to install, the process could be much easier, so in turn less expensive. One kit that is easy to install is the AmeriGlide Express. This comes with the drive system and lift already installed, so it drastically cuts down the time it takes to install the lift.

Aside from the obvious physical task of having to manually move a dumbwaiter, manual dumbwaiters also are not able to support anywhere near as much weight. Usually an electric dumbwaiter will support around a hundred pounds, but many support more than this, or can be upgraded to do so.

Installing one of these lifts in the home is an excellent way to increase productivity around the home. They will also often become something that helps to add value to the home after it is built, which is a very important consideration today.

Sean, a writer, knows much about lifting devices like the dumbwaiter. Around the home, these devices make it much easier to get the groceries to the kitchen or do laundry. They have countless applications and are also very popular commercially.

Learn more about these and other mobility aids at AmeriGlide.com, which is the leading distributor of stair lifts. A stair lift is a device that transports a person up the stairs. They usually attach directly to the staircase and can be installed easily by the homeowner. Cost wise, a stair lift will usually present a much more cost friendly solution to falls on the stairs.