Regular Recliners are better known for providing human beings with personal space for relaxing, stretching, or unwinding after a long day of getting the best out of one’s body.
Despite the fact they were known for being one of the best and most innovative homeware anyone can have in their living room, an Electrical recliner quickly superseded them when it came to being the epitome of comfort.
However, they are considerably complex in nature, with a multitude of perplexing inner mechanisms integrated into them that require a constant flow of electricity, any chance of power outage, or any other circuitry malfunction causing their work mechanism to cease to exist.
In other words, you are forced to recline or use any other significant mobility aspect of your Electrical recliner manually, which is no easy feat to achieve, especially if you aren’t familiar with its workflow.
Nevertheless, here are a couple of steps you can follow on how to manually recline an electric recliner.
Things You Need to Gather
Before we dive into the steps of this comprehensive guide, you need to make sure you have these things gathered up beforehand,
- Any Phillips of Flathead screw Driver
- A Flashlight or Headlamp
- Needle Nose Pliers
- Work Gloves ( To Protect Yourself from dirt or grime)
- Instruction Manual ( Physical copy or Digital)
Steps On How To Manually Recline An Electric Recliner?
As trivial as some of these steps may sound. Nonetheless, you shouldn’t ignore them to ensure you don’t inadvertently make the situation worse than it is.
1. Electrical Hazard 101 – Cut The power
Even though this step is quite textbook knowledge, plenty of individuals still fail to follow it, and that is why I emphasize it a lot. The last thing you would want while digging your way inside the mechanism of an electrical recliner is getting electrocuted.
On the other hand, electrical sparks or short circuits can ignite flammable materials, leading to a potential fire or, in the worst-case scenario, cause other damage to the recliner’s internal mechanisms.
So make sure you locate the power cord which will be located conveniently at the back of the chair and attach the recliner power supply, unplug it and you are all set.
2. Finding The Backup Batteries
You should acknowledge the fact that not all electrical recliners are made equally, and some even include backup or spare batteries that are powerful enough to act as a potential threat if you are working with barebones motors or wiring.
In best-case scenarios, locating its backup batteries, which are usually integrated into the control box, tends to save you the hassle of manually moving your recliner bits; however, if this approach fails, you can still remove the battery before proceeding to the pivotal step mentioned below.
If the batteries are soldered in place, You’ll need a soldering iron and some basic soldering skills to remove them safely. Keep in mind that removing them may require disconnecting other wires or components, so proceed with caution, as it is highly likely that you might void the warranty or damage the recliner.
3. Getting Down & Dirty
Regardless of the model or variant of an Electrical Recliner you own, as long as it is dependent on motors and requires it to do its labor while performing reclining functions, there will always be a manual override button available.
Typically, a manual override button or a flip switch is concealed to prevent consumers from accidentally enabling them, however, if you want your recliner to manually recline, you can find it beneath the seat which is usually covered in some form of upholstery.
In order to determine the manual override’s correct location without making a mess, you can consult the instruction manual or simply look up its model on its official website, and it will sort you out.
4. Manually Reclining
After you have located the switch and enabled it, your electrical recliner will behave in a way that is similar to a standard recliner, allowing you to adjust its footrest, swiveling function, tilting, and even its backrest.
Be mindful of the fact that since it is in manual override, it may or may not have any form of protection or precautionary countermeasure, so once you are done manually tuning the axis of your “pseudo Electrical recliner,” you can simply disable the manual override button or switch.
A Couple Of Factors To Keep In Mind
Here are a couple of things that you should always be mindful of regardless of your approach or the type of variant you are dealing with.
1. Different Stroke For Different Folks
As aforementioned, not every electrical recliner is made alike, which is why, once the manual override or security lever is toggled, you may still require some form of tools, which includes but are not limited to a Phillips Screwdriver or a Pair of Pliers.
These are used to operate the motor turntables effectively, especially those located in the footrest, which may otherwise not be easy to perform manually by hand.
2. Grease It Until You Make It
It is evident that most of its inner mechanism is usually concealed; however, some crucial points such as pivots, tracks, rollers, motors as well and springs should be greased and checked in case any unnecessary debris or build-up may clog it, causing it harder to recline than its needs to be.
Whether your recliner electrically through remote control or using your hand for manual operation, clogged or congested pivotal points can drastically reduce its mobility to the point it is nearly impossible to move.
Make sure you lubricate liberally to keep your recliner in pristine condition.
Bottom Line
Be mindful of the fact that the above-mentioned methods or workaround should be only followed in dire circumstances or desperation, such as fiascos, including power outages or hardware malfunctions.
Never, in any scenario, resort to manually reclining an electric recliner if it’s already in pristine or ideal condition because you can possibly do more harm than good and even potentially void any warranty or become ineligible for any customer care support during the process.
Make sure you always prioritize your safety before proceeding with the steps mentioned in this article regarding How To Manually Recline An Electric Recliner, and if you aren’t confident in your abilities to properly diagnose and follow such methodologies, reach out to a professional to sort you out.
I am a furniture expert with a passion for recliners. With years of experience in the industry, I offer invaluable insights and creative ideas for selecting the perfect recliner to suit any space and your needs.