A lift chair is a great way to make getting out of a seated position much easier for people with mobility challenges. The problem for many is they are expensive. The YODOLLA electric lift chair, available on Amazon, is about the most affordable lift recliner that you can buy.
But how good is it? Can a chair that costs that much less than the competition “stand up” to the test?
I ordered the YODOLLA “larger lift chair” off Amazon to find out. This review will help inform your decision making should you need a lift chair to ease the burden on your knees and back.
- 💺【Silent Lift Motor & Power Lift Assistance】 - YODOLLA power recliner chair is equipped with silent motor and the counter-balanced lift mechanism with TUV certified motor pushes the entire chair up to assist the senior stand up easily without adding stress to back or knees, you only need to press the button or remote to recline, it reclines up to 150 degrees.
- 💺【Let the elderly lead a better life】 - Our professional design team analyzed the figures of most Americans, and we designed a wide power lift chair that is most suitable for most American seniors.The backrest length of 25.6 inches is suitable for most people of 5.2-6 ft. The depth of seat 20.5 inches can provide perfect support for your entire hips and legs.(Kindly note: Footrest & backrest are extended or retracted simultaneously.)
This chair, at the time of this writing, sells for around $450 with free shipping.
Is a lower-cost lift chair worth the money? I have summarized the pros and cons of this chair below. Read on for a full description and review.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Low Price | Fabric Quality |
Front Door Delivery | Massage Feature is More of a Vibration |
Easy Assembly | Heat Feature is Weak |
Remote Control |
Electric Lift Chair Delivery
Everyone knows that Amazon makes shopping and delivery easy. If you ask the brick and mortar stores, Amazon makes it too easy. For the consumer, however, Amazon offers a lot of convenience.
Electric lift chairs are a prime example of this. Presumably, if you have mobility challenges, going out shopping for a chair of this type can be a hurdle. Then, unless you have help, you have to buy it from a store that will also deliver it (often at a fee).
In the case of the YODOLLA electric lift chair, it gets dropped off at your front door by UPS in two boxes.
These boxes are heavy and that might pose a challenge for seniors who have lifting problems. The first box contains the base of the chair and weights a hefty 87 pounds. The second box weighs another 36 pounds.
The boxes arrived on two different days, so if you order one, know that is a possibility and you’ll want to wait for both boxes to arrive before assembly.
I was able to drag the boxes from my front porch to where I would be assembling the chair.
Assembly
Assembling the YODOLLA was very easy. In the above open-box picture you can see metal brackets on the left. The back and two sides of the chair simply slide (and lock) into the base frame.
The user has to assemble two small footing pieces at the back of the chair, but that was also quick and easy. From there is it is just a matter of connecting the color-coded wires at the back of the chair, which are then hidden behind a flap of fabric.
The back rest of the chair, the remote control, and the power cord all plug into the base frame.
Power Recline and Lift
The chair reclines and lifts with the press of a button on the remote control.
The advantage to a power recliner for people with knee and back pain is obvious – it helps you ease into the chair slowly and get out of it more easily.
There is another advantage, however. The typical, non-power recliner has a lever to the side that is pulled to make it recline. This lever can be a challenge for anyone with reduced arm strength, recovering from a shoulder injury, etc.
With the touch of a button, the need for physical strength is virtually eliminated. The user can move back and forth from different levels of inclination or declination with ease.
Heat and Massage
This particular YODOLLA lift chair is advertised as having heat and massage features. Added to an already low-cost lift chair, this may seem too good to be true. In fact, it might be.
The picture below show the screen of the remote. The arrow buttons at the bottom right are the lift and recline buttons. Beyond those you have a button to set the vibration/heat run time, the ability to set the degree of heat, three different massage levels, and different areas of the chair you want to the massage to run (back, waist, thigh, and calf). You can run the massage on any or all of the areas at once.
Sadly, the massage feature was less than what I had hoped. “Massage” is more like “vibration.” It’s also relatively loud at its highest level. I could see the vibration as being effective at lulling you to sleep if you wanted a recliner for sleeping, but massage? No.
The case is the same with the heat. Don’t compare the heat in this electric lift chair to the heated seats in your car. It’s nowhere near the same. Will it make the chair feel warm on its highest setting? Yes, but you are best suited coupling the chair heat with an electric lap blanket for full warmth.
The timer is a nice setting, however. Whether you have the chair set on massage and/or heat, you can set the timer in five-minute increments from five to sixty minutes. This is a very convenient feature if you’re prone to napping in your recliner.
Notes
Medicare. If you have Medicare, Medicare Part B will cover a portion of the cost of your lift chair when prescribed by a physician. Your chair supplier will have to accept Medicare, however. This usually limits you to durable medical equipment providers, but it could make buying a higher-end chair more affordable.
Safety. Attention pet owners and grandparents! There are serious dangers with power lift chairs and recliner chairs in the homes with children and pets. Children and pets can crawl underneath the chair without the user knowing. Then when the user returns the chair to its seated position… you get the idea. Be careful.
Summary
The YODOLLA electric chair lift is a decent chair for the money. Higher end models cost well over one-thousand dollars, making this chair a great choice for the person with a tight budget or who only needs the chair for a limited time; e.g. someone recovering from a knee surgery.
It’s not a suitable model for someone looking for a long-term, high-end recliner. I do not suspect it would last long in an institutional setting, but at home with someone who uses it gently, the chair should serve them well.
Pet owners should consider a recliner chair cover to extend the life of the fabric. These are small investments that could also make the chair more comfortable for the owners.
- Please Measure Before Purchasing: See Measuring Guide in Photos Not Recommended for LEATHER SOFA.
- THE PERFECT FIT: We recommend measuring for a great fit! SEAT WIDTH (Sofa Oversized) up to 78", (Sofa) up to 70",(Futon) up to 70”,(Loveseat Oversized) up to 65",(Loveseat) up to 58",(Recliner Oversized) up to 30", (Chair) up to 23". See our MEASURING GUIDE in the photos for a list of measurements including arms, over the back, front, and strap length. WARNING: Strap should not be stretched to exceed seat width +10”. Over stretching strap can result in strap breaking and snapping back.
Again, if you have a pet, note our safety warning mentioned above.
Do you have experience with an electric lift chair? Let us know what worked or didn’t work for you in the comments section.
3 comments
The power box is not working right. The lift function is not working, and it automatically vibrates as soon as I plug the chair in. I was given a replacement cord, but the installation is not something a lay person can do. I need a new chair altogether.
Contact the manufacturer again. My unit worked fine.
I have one of these with an identical remote that was dead on arrival. Remote seems to indicate it is functioning properly, yet the chair doesn’t move or make a sound. No heat or massage. Has to be defective hand control or control box. Control box is receiving 29VDC. Remote completely illuminates and indicates the selected controls, so it seems to be working…it just isn’t.