How to remove a gas lift from an office chair

No office can function properly without a certain set of office furniture, which includes an office chair.

What does an office chair consist of?

An office chair, despite its apparent simplicity, is a rather complex product that consists of many components. These include:

Back – designed to support the back, it can have different sizes and shapes. The angle between the seat and the backrest is just over 90 degrees and this ensures relaxation of the lower back when the back is thrown back onto the backrest.

Most often, the backrest is equipped with a set of adjustment mechanisms that allow you to adjust the angle of inclination, install it in a certain position, and this will provide additional comfort for using the chair.

seat – Manufacturers produce several types of chairs. Manufacturers produce the following models:

• hard;
• semi-soft;
• soft.

Each seat may have a different filling. To fill hard seats, straw, wood or metal are used. In semi-soft chairs, polymer materials, such as foam rubber, are often used for filling.In addition to the filler, springs can be installed in the soft seat.

The front edge of the seat has a rounded shape, this ensures normal blood supply to the legs. Most often, manufacturers make seats with a width of 400 to 500 mm, and a depth of 480 mm.

The optimal position of the chair is considered to be the following: the feet are placed on the floor, while the legs are bent at the knees, the angle is 90 degrees. Your hips should be firmly placed on the seat.

Armrests – designed to support the elbows, thus removing the load from the shoulders, neck and spine. Most often, such chairs are needed by people who work a lot and for a long time at the computer. Lack of armrests leads to fatigue and loss of performance.

Chair manufacturers equip them with customizable armrests. If it is not adjustable, then they guarantee a position where the arms are bent at the elbows at an angle of 90 degrees.

These parts can be attached to the frame of the chair using various methods:

• They can be attached directly to the seat. If necessary, they can always be dismantled without compromising the integrity of the chair.
• They are attached simultaneously to the back and seat, thus connecting them together.
• The armrests are installed in such a way that they connect the seat and backrest, but, in addition, there is an additional metal plate installed. For the most part, they can be removed without damaging the overall structure.

Upholstery – for this purpose, materials with increased wear resistance are most often used. These can be both natural and artificial materials, including the use of leather.

Filler – foam rubber or other polymer materials are used to fill seats and backrests.

Gas lift – is a cylinder made of steel and filled with some inactive gas. This device is designed to adjust the height of the chair. It also plays the role of a shock absorber. Gas lifts, sometimes you can find the name gas cartridge. They are divided into long, medium and short. All these units have unified dimensions and are interchangeable.

They are produced either with a chrome plated or painted black. Painted elevators are equipped with a cover.

Cross - This is the component of the chair that bears the main weight. Bases with a large diameter and five rays are considered optimal. This design is able to provide maximum maneuverability in all directions of movement. Both metal and plastic are used for its manufacture. The key disadvantage of a metal cross is its excess weight.

Rollers – these parts guarantee the mobility of the chair; polymer materials such as nylon or polyurethane are used for their manufacture. There are different designs of rollers, some are designed to move on standard floor coverings, others are designed to move on parquet or laminate.

Manufacturers equip chairs with numerous mechanisms that allow you to adjust the height of the chair and recline the backrest. All of them are designed to provide extremely comfortable conditions for humans.

What is gas lift in an office chair?

Gas lift, the correct name is a gas spring in which the elastic element is not a metal spiral, but compressed air, which is pumped into a metal cylinder and compressed under the pressure of the piston.Gas lift is a term that has taken root in the furniture industry.

Do not confuse gas lift and shock absorber. The latest devices are used in automobiles and other technical devices, and they are designed to dampen vibrations and speed of movement.

How to properly remove a gas lift from an office chair step by step

As experience in using office chairs shows, the gas lift most often fails. Even with proper operation, this will happen in three to four years. That is, sooner or later it will have to be dismantled and repaired or replaced.

How to remove a gas lift from a plastic base

The dismantling procedure is as follows:

1. The mechanism is disconnected from the connection. To do this, you will need to unscrew several bolts installed in the seat.
2. After removing the seat, begin removing the gas lift. For this operation, you will need to apply several blows with a hammer to the body of the device from the side of the cross. There are no other fastenings provided. It is advisable to use a drift made of bronze or wood for these purposes.

How to remove a gas lift from a metal base

The gas lift from the metal base is removed in the same way. The only thing that needs to be done is to be careful, since some manufacturers use silumin to produce crosspieces; it is an aluminum-based alloy and is extremely fragile; a slight blow is enough and the crosspiece can crack.

How to replace a gas lift on an office chair

To replace the gas lift, it must first be removed from the chair structure, only after that a new one is installed. To do this, it is simply installed in the cross and connected to the seat.

Is it possible to repair a gas lift with your own hands?

In this device, at the factory assembly stage, air is pumped under pressure and disassembling it at home can lead to injury to the person disassembling it.

Gas lift repair at home

It is better not to repair the gas lift yourself. Disassembling it is fraught with bad consequences for humans. Its cost is not that high, it’s better not to risk it, just go and buy a new one. Moreover, changing the gas lift is not at all difficult.

Possible causes of failure

As a rule, the main reasons for gas lift failure are considered to be:

• dishonest attitude towards the chair;
• violation of weight restrictions;
• expiration of the warranty period.

IMPORTANT! OFFICE CHAIRS ARE MAINLY DESIGNED FOR A MAXIMUM LOAD OF 120 KG.