Forum: Author Hangout

Office Chair & Equipment

Aiden Clover 🚫

I'm a big guy. I'm 6'4" and 350 lbs. Even without being overweight (which I know I am) I am a naturally big guy. Last year I purchased a "Big & Tall" office chair that was rated to be up to 400lbs. I've had NOTHING but issues with this chair. I won't go into all the details of them, but the final straw was when one of the metal rods in the back broke in half. It's just a thin metal tube, no way it could be rated for up to 400lbs. I'm getting a full refund which leads me to my question.

For those who may be "Big & Tall" as I am, what do you use? I'm looking for some recommendations. I'm trying not to spend TOO much money for this, but I do need something that will withstand being used for 6+ hours a day as I work a lot on the computer.

Also, is there some other piece of office equipment you use that you think everyone should know about?

Replies: Dominions Son Aiden Clover StarFleet Carl Ernest Bywater Remus2 Keet joyR Argon damoose

Dominions Son 🚫
Updated:

@Aiden Clover

I had one that was supposed to be rated for 600lbs, it eventually bent. I've broken pretty much every office chair I've owned.

I'm close to the point of concluding it's better to buy cheap office chairs and replace them often.

Aiden Clover 🚫

@Aiden Clover

Yeah I'm starting to think the same thing unfortunately. Or get one with a 1 year warranty and keep replacing it once a year.

StarFleet Carl 🚫

@Aiden Clover

"Big & Tall"

Those of us who grew up wearing 'husky' sized clothes?

I'm 6'2", weigh in at 300. (Damn Covid 20 - my normal is 280.)

I bought the Killabee Big & Tall Gaming Chair in December of 2018. Nothing in the back went out on it - what happened with it is that the screws holding the front metal plates into the underside of the seat came out. I'm a handy sort of guy, so I went into my garage, got two metal mending plates that I happened to have on hand, a couple of dozen 1" wood screws, and my power drill. Sucker hasn't given me any issues at all since then - so I'm at 2 1/2 years, when normally I'm like you, and replacing a chair every year.

I'm like you - I'm hard on my chairs. I'll be in this one four - six hours per day. It was about $200 on Amazon. I've noticed that the gaming chairs, versus the 'office' chairs, are more comfortable and while they may not look as nice as office chairs, they're designed for those of us who are wider in the hips and thighs. At the real estate office, I've broken two chairs simply because they're too narrow for me, and the plastic arms break where they screw into the side of the seat. They're designed for someone who wasn't an amateur weightlifter in high school and college, so I still effectively have football lineman thighs.

Ernest Bywater 🚫
Updated:

@Aiden Clover

While I'm not as large as you are, I've had a regular problem with office chairs not staying at the right height because the gas struts wouldn't stay up due to me weight. I solved the problem by finding a chair with a solid base and strong strut shaft. I solved the strut collapsing by taking the chair partially apart to insert plumbing pipe extension over the strut to make a solid bar between the top of the strut's main body and a washer I put over the pipe and below where the strut bolts to the chair base. The result is the chair stays permanently at maximum height, but a lower height could be reached by simply buying a shorter pipe or cutting the pipe to the desired height. The type of pipe I bought is shown in the URL below. This is not a link, so you have to copy and paste the URL if you want to look at the item.

www.bunnings.com.au/kinetic-15-x-150mm-chrome-plated-brass-male-female-extension_p4710006

Replies: REP Remus2

REP 🚫

@Ernest Bywater

I've had a regular problem with office chairs not staying at the right height because the gas struts wouldn't stay up

I had that problem in the past and am starting to have it with my current chair. My solution was to position the struts in the full up position, drill a hole through the struts and gas cylinder, and then put a bolt in the hole secured in place with a nut. If I want to change the height, just drill another hole.

Replies: Aiden Clover Ernest Bywater

Aiden Clover 🚫

@REP

My solution was to position the struts in the full up position, drill a hole through the struts and gas cylinder, and then put a bolt in the hole secured in place with a nut. If I want to change the height, just drill another hole.

That's some redneck engineering right there! I like it! lol

Ernest Bywater 🚫

@REP

My fix allows me to return the chair to its original condition if I want to in case I want to pass it on to someone lighter.

Replies: REP

REP 🚫

@Ernest Bywater

The problem I have is the chair starts a max height. The gas cylinder leaks. So after 5 minutes of sitting in it, it has sunk all the way down. Since I want it at max height, my solution is best for me.

Replies: Ernest Bywater

Ernest Bywater 🚫

@REP

The problem I have is the chair starts a max height. The gas cylinder leaks. So after 5 minutes of sitting in it, it has sunk all the way down. Since I want it at max height, my solution is best for me.

I've done this two two chairs we have in the house, one has a slightly longer pipe than the other and it sits at the maximum height, the other sits about half an inch below the maximum height, but both have the same height from the floor as they have different height wheels.

Remus2 🚫

@Ernest Bywater

Just so you know, my research on chairs shows that the reason they went with that design was a designated failure point. If the seat base breaks, you don't end up with a tube stuck up your arse. Their are a lot of people that just flop into a chair which puts a lot of stress on them.

Replies: Ernest Bywater markselias11

Ernest Bywater 🚫

@Remus2

Just so you know, my research on chairs shows that the reason they went with that design was a designated failure point. If the seat base breaks, you don't end up with a tube stuck up your arse. Their are a lot of people that just flop into a chair which puts a lot of stress on them.

They method I use is safer than the original if there is a failure of the base plate as the pipe I put in has one end on the top of the main strut case and the other end on the seat base plate with a washer between them to deal with the wear of turning. Thus there's no chance the system will punch through the steel base plate at all.

markselias11 🚫

@Remus2

Just so you know, my research on chairs shows that the reason they went with that design was a designated failure point. If the seat base breaks, you don't end up with a tube stuck up your arse. Their are a lot of people that just flop into a chair which puts a lot of stress on them.

The issue with this particular chair is that the hollow tube is in NO WAY able to withstand the amount of weight they proclaimed it would. It's simply too thin

Replies: Remus2

Remus2 🚫

@markselias11

Tubes are usually fairly strong verses other form factors. The thickness of the tube wall would have to be near paper thin even for junk pot metal for a tensile or shear stress failure.

Remus2 🚫
Updated:

@Aiden Clover

Find a local metal fabricator and have them build a custom chair.

You could also go to a nearby junkyard and pull a seat out of a car you know to be comfortable and have that fabricator build a mount for it.

I built one for a neighbor that was about your size back in 2016. He used a Hyandai Sonata driver seat for it with the addition of chair arms manufactured from chromolly racing tube materials. With the addition of a box in the back for an inverter, the powered lumbar support and heater worked as well. It looks a little odd but as of last week, he still swears by it. The added advantage of using a vehicle seat is that you are piggybacking on their research and testing.

ETA: A low lift transmission jack with a steel plate welded to the top makes a good stable base for the automotive chair.

Keet 🚫
Updated:

@Aiden Clover

A perfect office chair is almost impossible to find. Before I went with the relatively cheap chairs and just replaced them every year. Not being happy when any of them I went to a specialized office center and bought a very expensive but well sitting chair. In the end that didn't work out either because I have it for not yet 2 years now and it sits and handles just like any other cheaper chair. I'm around 80 kilo's (≈176 pound) but every chair so far feels like I'm sitting on a concrete pad. As I'm in the chair for 12+ hours a day I don't mind spending money on a good chair but my current chair was pretty expensive too and specifically chosen to have a thick soft seat which didn't work out that well in the end.
The only thing left to try is to find a 24-hour executive chair but those are VERY expensive. Maybe I'll try that one time but as far as I know that's the last option I could try.

Replies: Switch Blayde StarFleet Carl

Switch Blayde 🚫

@Keet

a thick soft seat which didn't work out that well in the end.

LOL (even if you didn't realize it)

Replies: Keet

Keet 🚫

@Switch Blayde

@Keet
a thick soft seat which didn't work out that well in the end.

LOL (even if you didn't realize it)

I didn't make that very clear ;) What happened is that the "thick and soft" became "thin and hard" before a year passed. Not worth it to pay so much for an expensive chair where I could replace a much cheaper chair every year.

StarFleet Carl 🚫

@Keet

A perfect office chair is almost impossible to find.

Just curious - have you actually tried a gaming chair? You're not that heavy, all things considered.

Replies: Keet

Keet 🚫

@StarFleet Carl

Just curious - have you actually tried a gaming chair? You're not that heavy, all things considered.

I haven't but am taking it into consideration for my next chair. They are a lot cheaper than the 24-hour chair alternative. I don't mind spending money on a good chair but the difference is huge,

Replies: StarFleet Carl

StarFleet Carl 🚫

@Keet

I haven't but am taking it into consideration for my next chair. They are a lot cheaper than the 24-hour chair alternative. I don't mind spending money on a good chair but the difference is huge,

This is going to sound funny, but what got me switched to gaming chairs is watching tournament poker. I play cash games, and I always make sure I have a chair with rollers, so I can move it up and down, swivel it, and otherwise change position, because I'll sit at the table for 6 or 7 hours at a time. I saw videos and on TV of the tournaments, and they've switched from regular casino chairs to gaming chairs, at least for the feature tables, because other than bathroom or meal breaks, you're sitting for twelve hours. Yes, tournament poker is a grind. I did some research and it's a case of the chair companies said, hey, we'll give you the chairs if you show them on TV. Thing is, the players tried them out FIRST, to make sure they were comfortable.

They figured out that gaming chairs are designed for both regular sized people and couch potatoes (Daniel Negreanu versus Scott Blumstein).

Replies: Keet

Keet 🚫

@StarFleet Carl

Thing is, the players tried them out FIRST, to make sure they were comfortable.

Looks like I will have to try a game chair first before considering the very expensive alternative. Thank you.

joyR 🚫

@Aiden Clover

Also, is there some other piece of office equipment you use that you think everyone should know about?

A running machine.

:)

Argon 🚫

@Aiden Clover

I used to be — umh — similarly dimensioned at 6'3" and 275; now I'm down to 210, but still not a lightweight. My office chairs at work are standard office supplier quality with adjustable seat depth, rather expensive, and they last 4-5 years on average. It's mostly the upholstery that gives out (cheap foam I guess).
At home, I have been using a chair from IKEA, the MARKUS, for 5 years now, including nine months of home office work in '20 and '21, and it is still holding out nicely. It costs € 129 here in Germany (incl. tax) and has a rather wide seat, which should come handy for large people, and widely spaced armrests. I have it with a vinyl seat cover, but the current model comes with a fabric seat.
Hope that helps.

damoose 🚫

@Aiden Clover

I got a used HermanMiller from eBay. Used furniture from business closures. 6'3", 250.

Not super cheap, but built well and fairly comfortable.

We use them in the office… back when going to the office was still a thing. ;-)

Replies: rustyken

rustyken 🚫

@damoose

I'll second that. After going through several chairs purchased at an office supply store over a few years, I bought a chair from HermanMiiler online store. It was new and ran around $700, but it is comfortable and durable, as I've had it for several years. I'll admit to thinking long and hard about the expense when I bought it, but I am now glad I did. In hindsight, I should have included the head rest.

Cheers

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Office Chair & Equipment

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