Common Office Chair Problems and How to Fix Them

The office chair is a rather complex device, which consists of a cross with five rays, a pneumatic cartridge, a rocking mechanism, a piastre and a permanent contact. Any of these elements can fail. The most common types of damage are:

The seat does not go down or up. The problem occurs when the tip of the lever that acts on the gas lift button breaks or bends.
Wheel problems. It is observed if there is no retaining ring or the sleeve breaks.
The chair does not hold the “horizon”. Most likely, this is due to the destruction of the rocking mechanism.
Lean back. This indicates the wear of the mechanisms supporting this element, loose fasteners, manufacturing defects.
Reduced furniture stability. The most common causes are gas lift or rocker mechanism failures.
If at least one structural element of the office chairs is damaged, further operation of the product is impossible until the problem is fixed. Repairs may require new parts to replace worn or broken parts. You can order them at service centers or furniture manufacturers.

It is not recommended to buy office chairs with a warranty period of less than 1.5 years. This is the furniture that spoils the fastest.

How to repair with your own hands?

Despite the complexity of the design of a computer chair, you can carry out its high-quality repair yourself at home. To repair the product, you need to have basic professional skills, as well as a standard set of tools.

To restore the integrity of the cross, you can use two repair methods.
The first method involves filling the cavities of the cross with polypropylene pipes, followed by fixing them with glue or a soldering iron. This method is short-term and only suitable for emergency repairs.

Professional craftsmen recommend using the second repair method, which consists of the following steps:

• dismantling of rollers;
• removal of piastres;
• dismantling the retaining bracket;
• gas lift dismantling.

After removing all the elements, it is necessary to install a new cross and assemble the structure in the reverse order.

If during operation the rocking mechanism is damaged and the backrest is not kept in a vertical position, then experts recommend its complete replacement. To dismantle the element, it is necessary to unscrew the fixing bolts or nuts, remove the gas lifter and dismantle the damaged swing mechanism.

If the damage is minor, then you can try to restore the old element, otherwise you need to buy and install a new part. If the chair is made in another country, then you may encounter the problem of the discrepancy in the size of the items. Experts recommend installing adapter plates that will help prevent additional holes from being drilled.

The gas lift is a non-repairable element, in case of failure, it is necessary to install a new part. The repair process includes the following stages of work:

• dismantling of all external elements;
• removal of the protective cover;
• removing the spring lock from the seat;
• dismantling of the bearing and all fixing elements;
• removal of the cross;
• cover removal;
• dismantling of the damaged gas lift.

After carrying out all the preparatory work and removing the damaged part, it is necessary to proceed with the installation of a new element and the subsequent assembly of the entire structure.

To prevent inaccuracies during work, it is better to photograph all current stages. Stages of product disassembly
If the office chair is broken, the first thing to do is to disassemble the structure. To do this, you will need a rubber hammer, slotted and Phillips screwdrivers, ring drift. All actions are carried out in stages:

First remove the seat, turn the chair over, remove the fasteners.
Unscrew the bolts that fix the armrests, remove these parts together with the plates.
Disconnect the fasteners holding the permanent contact.
The crosspiece is separated from the air cartridge, for this, lightly tap the connection with a hammer.
The wheels are removed from the mounting sockets, the plugs located in the steel housing are removed. The procedure is performed using a slotted screwdriver.
Features of modern chairs for gliders, advantages of their use For the same reason, physical efforts should not be applied when developing fasteners. After completing the dismantling of the computer chair, it is necessary to collect all the parts in one place so as not to lose anything.

What is a gas lift in an office chair

The design of such furniture is multi-component and complex, therefore it is not recommended to repair office chairs with your own hands without first understanding their “filling”. So, the main task of the back is to support the spine while sitting man It can have different sizes and shapes, but the angle between it and the seat is always about 90 degrees, which allows you to relax your lower back when you lean back.

The seat can be of several types, they are discussed in the table.

• Type Filler
• Soft Springs, foamy
• Hard Metal, wood, straw semi-soft
• Polymeric materials

The armrests serve as a support for the elbows, with their help the load is removed from the spine and neck of a person. These elements can be adjustable or non-adjustable. A piastra is a metal platform on which a lever is attached. Its function is to change the height of the seat. As for the gas lift itself, it is a steel cylinder filled with inert gas. It adjusts the height of the product, it can be long, medium and short. There is also a cross – a load-bearing component of the structure. This is a large diameter base with rays, their optimal number is 5 pieces. It is on the crossbar that the main load falls.

Casters are used to move the computer chair. They are made of polymers, polyurethane or nylon. All these components are the main components of the design. In addition to them, manufacturers equip products with additional mechanisms that improve the functionality of office furniture.

Once you understand the general design principles, it’s important to understand what a gas lift is in an office chair. The hydraulic cylinder, designed specifically for this type of furniture, is an elastic spring in which air is injected under pressure.

At high piston pressure, the structure descends, at low pressure – vice versa. The device is located at the waist and is fixed at the base of the seat.

Understanding the functions of a gas lift will help you repair a computer chair yourself:

Reduces the impact load on the spine. The design acts as a shock absorber when a person sits down. The system springs the seat, which reduces the load on the back.
Adjusts the sitting position. With the help of a gas lift, one can easily adjust the height of the chair. If you press a special lever installed under the seat, you can quickly raise or lower the structure.
Turns furniture around its own axis. A seated person can, without getting up from his chair, turn and take what he needs.
The gas cartridge system is quite simple, so fixing an office chair with a gas lift is not difficult. The principle of operation of the device is as follows:

The product includes a valve and two tanks. When closing or opening the first element, the compressed air passes through the bypass channel from one tank to another.
If the chair needs to be raised, push the lever. The valve will open, the air in it will begin to pressurize the piston, it will go down and the saddle will rise.
Release the lever to fix the computer furniture. The valve will close, the piston will stop and fix the structure in this position.
To lower the product, you need to press the lever again, the seat will lower under the weight of the person sitting.
If a permanent contact or cross fails, the repair can be done by hand. Broken piastres, pneumatic cartridges, rocking mechanisms will have to be replaced with new parts. The same rule applies to damaged wheels.

Changing rolls of office chair

Over time, the rollers can fall out of the shoulders of the cross due to the wear of the plugs, especially if the latter are aluminum or plastic. To correct these items, you need to perform a series of actions:

The chair turns so that the rollers are on top.
The wheels are off the cross. To do this, you just need to pull them towards you.
Using a screwdriver, remove the covers from the beams of the cross.
Damaged plugs are removed from the housing.
Install new seals and assemble the parts in reverse order: housings, then rollers.
The broken wheel is treated with superglue or replaced with a new one. A common cause of breakage is the accumulation of debris, hair, threads. In this case, the rollers are removed, cleaned, installed in their original place.

Fracture of a piastre

You can repair an office chair with your own hands if the master has experience working with mechanics. First of all, it is necessary to clarify what material the cross is made of. It is better to immediately replace the plastic part, as it is pointless to restore a fragile product. Piastres are restored as follows:

The chair is turned, for convenience it is placed with a chair seat so that the back is pressed against the surface of the floor. The wheels are removed from the supports.
Unscrew the 4 bolts that fix the swing mechanism and the piastre to the seat.
Turn off the gas lifter by tapping lightly with a rubber or wooden mallet. It is necessary to act carefully, otherwise the mechanism will be deformed and become unusable. The “boiled” compound is treated with a special liquid.
Using a screwdriver, remove the hub cap the choke cartridge, the washer and then the throttle rod.
Piaster is knocked down by a faint knock.
Repair of a plastic part includes gluing, soldering, but these methods are only suitable if there is minor damage.
The broken beam of the cross is fixed with plastic or metal plates secured with screws or superglue. Metal parts are restored by welding.
Varieties of gas lifts for an office chair, the principle of operation of the device.

Computer chair repair should be done very carefully and carefully. Careless handling can lead to breakage of the piastre or pneumo cartridge.