Riser recliner chairs come with one motor or two, and the price difference is real. Here is what you actually get for it.
Single motor
One motor drives everything. Press the button and the backrest and footrest move together in a fixed relationship — as the back goes down, the legs come up.
Good: less expensive, simpler, fewer things to go wrong, and a single easy control. For many people it is all they need.
Less good: you cannot have the footrest up with the back upright. If you want your feet raised while sitting up to read or watch television, a single motor will not do it. The recline is also more limited — you will not get anywhere near flat.
Dual motor
Two motors, controlled separately — one for the backrest, one for the footrest. You can put them wherever you like, independently.
Good:
- Feet up with the back upright — the position most people actually want, and the one recommended for swollen legs and circulation
- A much greater range of recline, often to near horizontal
- Far more adjustment to find a comfortable position over a long day
Less good: more expensive, and two controls to learn rather than one. Neither is much of an obstacle in practice.
How to choose
Single motor is likely enough if: the chair is for evenings and the occasional nap, you sit in it a few hours a day, you can get in and out reasonably well, and budget matters.
Go dual motor if:
- You spend most of the day in the chair
- You have been advised to keep your feet elevated — swelling, circulation, oedema
- You sometimes sleep in the chair. This is the big one. If getting to bed is difficult and the chair is where you sleep, you need something close to flat, and a single motor cannot provide it
- You have back or hip pain and need to change position often
If you are unsure, dual motor is the one people less often regret. Nobody has ever told us they wished they had bought fewer adjustments.
The rise function is the same on both
Worth saying, because it confuses people: both types rise. The rise action — tilting the whole chair forward to help you to your feet — works the same either way. The single-versus-dual question is only about reclining.
Getting the size right matters more than the motors
A chair that does not fit you will be uncomfortable however many motors it has. Check:
- Seat height — feet flat on the floor, knees roughly level with hips
- Seat depth — back supported with a couple of fingers' gap behind the knee
- Seat width — comfortable, not so wide that you lose side support
- Weight capacity
- Space behind the chair to recline, unless it is a wall-hugger design
Talk it through
These are chairs people live in, and getting one wrong is expensive. Ring free on 0800 593 0400 and tell us how you will use it — particularly whether you might sleep in it.