Duane,
In an old thread you mentioned that people may not use the proper technique for closing the recliner on a chair like an Austin Wall Hugger.
Would you please share the recommend technique?
Thanks
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Duane,
In an old thread you mentioned that people may not use the proper technique for closing the recliner on a chair like an Austin Wall Hugger.
Would you please share the recommend technique?
Thanks
Yes, The Austin is a Wall-hugger recliner and all wall-huggers, regardless of brand, operate differently from a conventional recliner. A conventional recliner is balanced with a spring load that is equal 50/50 in each direction (open - close). Same amount of resistance in each direction. A Wall Hugger is not, it is 100% overcoming the spring on the close. The "Open" is a trip latch that releases the mechanism. Ever notice how easy it is to open up a wall hugger and how hard it is to close one? That's because you are pushing twice as hard on a wall hugger to close it as a conventional recliner.
The right way to close a wall hugger is to push down with the heel of your foot, or at the ankle. What most people do though, is push down with their thighs and that puts downward pressure on the cushion. That results in 'cushion trap' where the leading edge of the seat cushion gets caught in the footrest as its closing. Customers then think their recliner is defective and they are unhappy. And the shorter and less strong you are, the more you push down with your thighs. So a 25-year-old 6' 2" tall man closes the wall hugger easily, the 60-year-old 5' 1" woman struggles with it. If you have a wall hugger, go try out both methods. Try to close it using your feet only and keep your thighs as elevated as you can, it will require more effort but it will close smooth and clean. Then push down with your thighs on the cushion as you close it, you will see the front edge of the seat cushion buckle and move forward some.
I have got to the point where I always recommend power wall-huggers for this reason. Just press a switch and no effort and no cushion trap. A lot of customers think I'm trying to upsell them on a power unit, but its not about the money, its about making it easier to operate and avoid that frustration of cushion-trap closures.
Duane,
Thank you so very much for the input. I hope it helps others as well.
I recently purchased a used Austin Wall Hugger in Quintessence Mink, and noticed that is closed so much easier when i pulled with my heels on the foot rest to close. I am just under 6'. Your very clear description confirms that my approach is correct.
I also want to thank you for this website and the knowledge you share. I have directed others to your website as there is not a better furniture information resource online.
Hi, I'm a new member and also recently purchased a Austin recliner. Part of my motivation to becoming a member was to ask about the recliner mechanism of this chair. I am guessing that mine is a wall-hugger since I close my using the same method mentioned above. However, I have a small issue I'd like to fix if possible. When I close the footrest it wont lock into place until I get out of the chair.
I turned my chair over to inspect the reclining mechanism and found only one spring attaching the footrest to the main mechanism, this is on the right side if you were sitting in the chair. Is this normal? I see the same attachment points on the opposite part of the mechanism but it doesn't look like a spring has ever been used there before since the metal has no scratches on it that I could see. I didn't see any bending to any of the bars either but I only did a quick once-over before I had to head in to work.
I really love sitting in this chair and I hope to get it to performing as well as it feels.
Thank you in advance for sharing your expertise and experience on this forum, I really enjoy spending time reading here
There is often only one spring in use on these wall huggers. The Austin I have in my store is motorized and a completely different mechanism otherwise I would check on it, but most I've come across have just the one spring as I recall. Austin manual recliners are a bit harder to close than some others due to the seat cushion shape and size, you just have to get a good 'throw' on the close and snap it down smartly. I recommend anyone buying a 3032 Austin Recliner to get a motorized one, they are just so much easier to use.
Thank you for the reply, I failed to mention that my chair is used(well-used). I will be posting some pictures of it soon.Quote:
Originally Posted by drcollie
Two springs would actually increase the resistance - I failed to mention that. Recliners are set up for 180 lbs on average. If a heavy person is using one, say someone around 280 lbs, the second spring compensates for that on a lot of designs.
I find it interesting too, that as soon as I mention to customers in the store that they should consider a power unit on all wall-huggers because of the extra force needed to close them, the response I get back almost all the time is they equate that with being old and lazy. Such is not the case, however, it just makes the ownership experience more pleasant and less struggle to close them up.