A Quick and Easy Fix For Your Sinking Office Chair

Has this ever happened to you?  You sit down in an adjustable office chair and it starts to slowly sink down to the ground.  Now you can fix it quick and easy with a Chair Saver kit.

Adjustable office chairs that go up and down with the pull of a lever are fairly common in professional and home offices. Eventually the pneumatic cylinder goes bad and your chair will sink down while you're sitting in it.  The average life of a good pneumatic cylinder is about 5 years and much less for cheap chairs.  The reason for failure is that the rubber gasket separating the gasses in the cylinder deteriorates over time with use.  The rest of the office chair is still functional, but unusable if you can't sit at the correct height.


You used to have 2 options when this happened.  You could replace the cylinder or replace the office chair - neither option is very cost effective.  A new cylinder costs anywhere from $50 for the cheapest import that will fail in a year, to $200 for original quality replacement parts.  Don't forget the bearing kit and the $40 specialty tool you will need to properly remove the cylinder.  And there is no guarantee a universal cylinder will fit your chair and generally no returns on parts once sold.  The other option is to buy a replacement ergonomic office chair ranging from $200 to $800.
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Now there's a better option.  Buy a Chair Saver kit and adjust your office chair to the correct ergonomic height in less than a minute!  And you will never have to adjust your chair again as it will always be at the correct height - no more cylinder sag, creep or bounce.  No tools are required to install and at $19.95 a kit​, a business can stock them in the office supply cabinet to be used when required.  No need to store surplus chairs in the warehouse waiting for the inevitable cylinder failure.  And a home office user can keep one handy in the desk drawer.

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Buy a Chair Saver kit before your home office chair starts sinking and get another 5 years of service when the gas lift cylinder fails.  Pull the compact kit out of your desk drawer and your back to work in less than a minute.  That's money in your pocket instead of in a new chair!
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Are you a medium to large size company?  See a Return On Investment of 800% to 2400% with the Chair Saver Kit.  Check out our Business Savings Calculator excel spreadsheet to see how much you can save versus replacing gas cylinders or buying new ergonomic chairs when the inevitable failure happens.

Should I Buy A New Office Chair Or Try to Repair?

As previously discussed in the earlier post, adjustable office chair gas lift cylinders typically have a life span of 5 years or even less for cheaper ones.  When your office chair starts to sink you generally have 2 options.  You can buy another ergonomic office chair or try to save a little money by purchasing a replacement gas lift cylinder and fix it yourself.

Option 1) Go buy another ergonomic office chair

• Go to an office supply store
• Look at ergonomic chairs
• Don't find anything you like your current office chair for a reasonable cost
• Go to another office supply store
• Look at more office chairs
• Find one you like enough to buy
• Cart the new office chair back home
• Kick the sinking office chair to the curb
• Call the garbage company to make a special pickup
• Cost $150 to $1000 depending on the type and quality of adjustable office chair you get

Option 2) Purchase a replacement gas lift cylinder and fix it yourself

• Find out what model of chair you have
• Search for the correct cylinder on-line
• Search some more because the information is not readily available
• Settle on something that is kind of close and touted as a universal replacement
• Make sure it will fit because there are NO refunds on purchases
• Don't forget a bearing kit or the specialized tool to get the cylinder out
• Wait a week or so to get the parts
• Take the next hour or two trying not to destroy the cylinder and bearing kit while installing it
• Congratulate yourself if you are lucky enough to get that cheaper universal cylinder in
• Throw the old parts in the trash
• Hope you get another 2 years out of that inexpensive cylinder
• Cost $75 to $150 depending on the type and quality of the gas lift cylinder

The reality is the rest of your adjustable office chair is functional, but can't be used unless you can keep the correct ergonomic height.  In most cases only one person uses the chair in business and home offices.  You should never need to adjust your office chair again, unless the cylinder drifts out of the original setting.  This drift or sinking is common in cheap cylinders or cylinders ready to give out.

In the next post I will show you an easy and less expensive way to fix your sinking office chair in less than a minute.

Why Does My Office Chair Sink?

Adjustable office chairs that go up and down with the pull of a lever are fairly common in business and home offices. They come in many different sizes from a couple of inches of height adjustment to over 7 inches for drafting stools.  The majority of cylinders have a travel height of 4.5 inches or less.  They all pretty much operate using the same mechanism even though they are different heights.

How It Works

The pneumatic chair uses a cylinder or gas spring filled with air. The air chamber is connected to a plunger or piston sealed with a gasket that when activated with the lever mechanism, moves into or out of the chamber. The air is pushed by the plunger and further compressed. The air is compressed and causes a springing or lifting movement. Releasing the piston expands the air. The volume of air contained in the cylinder can be adjusted to make the spring more or less forceful in its movement. A spring makes it easier to lift the seat. Without the spring you would be required to move the seat up and down manually and use a knob or pin to stabilize the height.

Why It Fails

Eventually the pneumatic cylinder goes bad and your chair will sink down while you're sitting in it.  The average life of a good pneumatic cylinder is about 5 years when used everyday and much less for cheap chairs.  The reason for failure is that the rubber gasket separating the gasses in the cylinder deteriorates over time with use.  It's located inside the red circle to the left.  Because the spring is not strong enough to keep you up and there is no seal to trap the air, the chair will slowly sink down when you sit in it.  Usually the rest of the office chair is still functional, but it becomes unusable if you can't sit at the correct height.
 
In the next post we will look at the pros and cons of traditional options such as buying a new ergonomic chair or trying to figure out what type of replacement cylinder to buy and what it takes to install.