How do I adjust height for Steelcase chair?
Question:I have an old Steelcase office chair (at least 15 years old) and I would like to raise the seat. The kids somehow managed to get it all the way down to the lowest position and now my chin is practically resting on my keyboard. I remember that it used to be possible to raise and lower it by twirling the seat clockwise and counterclockwise... but there was some trick to it, like sitting on it or turning some secret screw, or turning it upside down. Have tried these but can't figure it out. Thanks for your help!
Answers:
Hi Jeana
As the chair is only about 15 years old it is most likely that it is fitted with a pneumatic gas lift. It is possible that it has screw thread type adjustment but I think that's unlikely as Steelcase is a quality manufacturer and probably wasn't still using screw adjustment when your chair was made.
So, let's assume it has a gas lift, here's how they usually operate. Somewhere on the underside of the chair on the left or right will be a lever or maybe a button that controls this. It sounds as though your kids have sent it right to the bottom of its adjustment.
What you need to do is try and find the adjustment lever or button and sit in your chair and then lift yourself up slightly so that your weight isn't on the seat and at the same time pull the lever upwards or press the button. The seat should then start to rise and you can adjust it to the height you want, it may be jammed so you could try pulling the seat up at the same time. To lower it use the same control but apply your weight to move it down. If it still won't it likely needs a new gas lift strut.
In the unlikely case of it being a screw adjustment, it's really just like an elongated screw so spinning the seat either clockwise or anti-clockwise should move it.
Hope that helps,
DuncanM http://www.officechairadvice.com...
PS. One final thought, it might have a knob on the height adjustment stem that you loosen and tighten to set the height, unlikely but worth checking.
turn the bars. sometimes those chairs swivel at 2 points. The 2 bars AND where the chair meets the bar. Make sure you're not just turning the chair and not the bars
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