Chair sinking is one of the common problems that could occur with office chairs therefore the question ‘how to fix an office chair that will not stay up’ by people is quite valid to ask for.
Also, this problem cannot be ignored as it affects your workability when you could not sit in your preferred sitting position. In addition, you risk your health by sitting in a wrong height chair because the chair that does not stay up or too low may directly hurt your back/spine.
For the solution, you can, however, get professional help but that would be very troublesome, alternatively, you can try some easy and effective methods to fix this problem at home.
Here we are about to describe some DIY quick fixes to solve the problem, but before getting straight into it let’s check what are the causes of an office chair sinking.
Why do Office Chairs Sink?
Mostly the flaws of the gas lift or pneumatic cylinder mechanism cause office chair sinking, in which the prominent reasons are loss of gas and weak/damaged seal in the gas lift.
The gas lift cylinder is an airtight seal chamber containing compressed air through which the height (up & down) of the chair is attained when the air flows in enclosed chambers. The consistent pressure of the user’s weight after some years may cause any failure in the airlift cylinder which turns out to sink the seat/chair.
Besides, when the gas runs out of the cylinder so it cannot sustain the weight of the chair and eventually the chair drop, also, a leaking valve or piston can be the reason for the seat sinking.
You can easily fix this problem on your own using these easy methods, so let’s learn what are they.
Easy Ways to Fix an Office Chair that won’t Stay Up
- Install Spacer Ring or Chair Saver Kit
This is the quickest & most affordable way of fixing a sinking chair in just a few minutes. The chair saver kit includes a series of spacer rings of various heights which you can easily tick on the piston of your recent cylinder lift to get desired height.
With at least 5 years warranty, the chair saver kit is easy to use and sturdy which can lift the seat by offering great support to the seat pan. They are sturdy to support any body weight, as well their universal fit factor makes them perfect to use in any type of chair.
- Change Pneumatic Cylinder
If you want your chair to feel and work absolutely perfectly so you can go with replacing the gas lift cylinder, as well it is the only permanent solution if your chair’s cylinder has no gas left or is damaged.
However, the gas cylinders in most office chairs are standard fit, but to be on the safer side you can get the cylinder under a similar brand name to your office chair.
- Procedure
Step1: First, bottom-up your chair to start removing the wheelbase, use a hammer to gently stroke the base center towards the upper side with a rubber mallet. Don’t use extra force for strokes so that wheels can be safe, however, using WD40 within joints can be helpful, in case the base does not come out easily.
Step 2: Although you can use other alternative ways to remove the damaged cylinder from your chair but the easy one is to remove the cylinder system from the seat pan using a screwdriver or Allen key. And simply grab the cylinder while tapping the chair until both fall apart, if the gas cylinder feels stuck you should use WD40.
Step 3: Now install a new cylinder to the mechanism of the chair using a pipe wrench and screw down mechanism within its pan. Make sure you fit the narrow end of the cylinder into the mechanism and complete the procedure by assembling the wheelbase.
- PVC Pipe
This is the temporary solution to fix a wobbly chair in which you can use PVC pipe to make spacer rings. Although you can’t get the finish of authentic spacer rings, but you can cut spacer rings of a specific height through this DIY technique.
The spacer pipe will fix around the cylinder’s piston in the same way as the chair saver kit that provides support to the seat at a particular height. It is a temporary solution though, but last longer if it’s done right with the drawback of a non-adjustable or single-height chair.
- Procedure
Measurement is the first step, to begin with, you would need PVC pipe a bit wider than the diameter of the cylinder’s piston. Make sure you cut the pipe or spacer the same as the chair saver kit so that you can easily stack one or more pieces onto the piston to get the preferred height.
You can either use the pipe as a spacer rings on the piston or simply remove the segment of the piston attached to the seat, insert the pipe, and fix it back. You can also use a long piece of pipe on the piston and to secure it use a hose clamp or duct tape.
- Chair Riser
However, it is the least favorable but can be used to increase the height of your office chair. A chair riser is a set of non-slip brackets/buttons used to add (specific) height to the furniture you attach. They are available in different heights and shapes to be fixed on all types of furniture or their legs shape. They can be fixed on the legs through screws or by tucking the legs of the chair within the grooves of the risers.
- Duct Tape or Hose Clamp (Jubilee Clip)
This a quick fix and the least effective solution to fix a chair that won’t stay up.
- Procedure
Thoroughly clean the surface of the cylinder so that the hose clamp will not slide on it, to give the hose clamp more grip you can wrap duct tape on the cylinder’s piston. For better results you should tighten the clamp around the cylinder, it helps the seat to remain upright. You can wrap a single or more hose clamps to get the perfect height of the seat.
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