If you are having trouble with your office chair wheels, check out our article of how to replace office chair wheels. FittingChairs also recommend several famous office chair wheel brands for you, check out right now!
Basic caster parts and mechanics
Casters are made up of three parts including a top, a bottom, and a center section that links the two.
- Top Plate
The top plate of the caster is what it’s called. It’s typically rectangular in shape, with four holes in each corner. The top plate attaches to the equipment that will be on casters.
- Wheel
The wheel is located at the bottom of the caster. Its function is to roll the equipment and allow it to move.
- Fork
The fork, an inverted U-shaped bracket, is located in the center of the caster. It has a top plate that attaches to it.
Both sides of the fork point downward, and the lower end of each has a hole bored in it. The axle of the wheel is placed into these two holes, connecting the wheel to the fork’s bottom end.
- Top plate, fork and wheel
These are the fundamental elements and exist in every caster’s arsenal. Modifying these three components, adding more subcomponents, or putting everything together in different ways will result in a lot of variability.
- Rigid caster
The combination provides a stiff caster when the wheel is connected to the fork and the fork is fastened directly to the top plate.
It can roll in a straight path forward and backward. In generally, most chairs will have two rigid casters on one end and two swivel casters on the other.
- Swivel caster
The arrangement is called a swivel caster when kingpins, ball bearings, and their raceways are inserted between the top plate and the yoke.
The yoke and wheel may swivel in any direction and rotate 360 degrees. This enables your chair to be maneuvered easily in restricted locations.
When should one replace office chair wheels?
Office chair wheels are one of the most important parts of an office chair because they can help you move freely around your office without making any attempts.
So when your office chair wheels don’t roll anymore, or even you still move around with them but you feel very hard and firm whenever you do that, this is time for you to replace other casters for your chair.
What’s more, if you find that your current rolling chair wheels are breaking your wood floor due to its material, you also need to find other proper casters to solve the issue.
How to replace office chair wheels
So how to replace office chair wheels, follow our instructions below and you will find it very simple to replace your office chair wheels.
But before starting to replace the office chair wheels, you need to prepare a screwdriver, which is frequently included in the package with the office chair order.
Then, you need to do these steps.
Step 1 – Accessing your office chair wheels
This step is very easy to carry out. All things you need to do is lay your office chair on its side or turn your chair upside down, provided that you can access your office chair wheels in the most comfortable way.
Step 2 – Remove your old caster wheels
To remove your old casters, you need to pull out your old office chair wheels. You can easily take this step by hand or a screwdriver if your caster is stuck.
All you need to do is hold one chair wheels and then pull it out of your chair base.
In case, your chair wheels has a threaded stem, you can grip it firmly and then turn it clockwise.
Some old casters are too firm so you need to use the screwdriver
If your chair wheels is too hard to pull out but you don’t have the screwdriver, you can use the lubricating solution and the glove or towel to carry out this step.
Step 3 – Choosing new casters
- Caster load weight
Caster load weight is one of the most important factors when choosing a new caster wheels for your chair.
Firstly, you need to know exactly how much do you weigh. Then, you just need to find the information about weight capacity in the production description of the new caster wheel that you intend to buy.
The average weight capacity of office chair wheel is about 650lbs. But it is highly noted that you should choose the new office caster chair wheel that has the weight capacity higher than your weight about 100lbs. By doing that, you can maintain the durability of it.
- Caster wheel sizes
In general, you should choose the same size as your old office chair wheel, which is fitted to your chair.
All you need is just a ruler to measure the old wheels from the front to the back. Currently, the standard size of office chair wheels is 2-2.5 inches (5.1–6.4 cm).
- Material
Most office caster wheels are made from elastomers, nylon and steel. You also should consider whether the new office chair caster wheels are covered by polyurethane because this material will take care of your floor well and there is no room for scratching floor issues.
One thing that you need to know is the harder the wheel material is, the higher the bearing capacity is. But if the material of the caster wheels is too hard and firm, it will definitely scratch your floor.
This is the reason why you should choose the soft material. About the weight capacity, you totally follow our above instruction.
Step 4 – Install the new casters
You can tighten your new caster wheel by hand. Especially this method is easy to do if your new casters have a threaded steam, all you need to do is assemble it with the chair leg and then srew it in until the casters stops rotating.
But your new casters are grip. A grip caster should be pushed in. Push the caster’s stem into the chair leg until the top of the caster is flush with the bottom of the chair leg for a grip caster (with a non-threaded stem). If the caster is difficult to get into the hole, lubricate the inside of the leg with WD-40 or use a rubber mallet to force it in.
For the swivel plate caster, you need to assemble it with a screwdriver.
Best office chair wheels
Here is our recommendations for the best office chair wheels for you.
Rollerblade office chair wheels
This office chair wheels are the ideal items to protect hardwood, laminates, tile, vinyl, and carpet from being broken without any floor protectors.
UNIQ rollerblade office chair wheels
Having the strong axle, duel swivel ball bearings, anti scratch polyurethane, and duel smooth ball bearings, this office chair wheels will keep you focusing on your task without any distractions caused by the noise of chair wheels.
The most outstanding point of this office chair wheels is the big weight capacity, which is up to 650 lbs. This office chair wheel will assure your safe sitting experience, regardless how much do you weigh.
Office chairs caster wheels by Oasis
This office chair caster wheels are customed to the universal standard size, so you don’t need to worry about the size or have to use any tool to install this caster wheel into your chair.
Office chairs caster wheels by Oasis
Although having the same weight capacity as the UNIQ rollerblade office chair wheels (650lbs), office chairs caster wheels by Oasis may not have the good weight pressure ability like that by UNIQ.
However, the design of this office chair wheels is estimated as better than that of the UNIQ rollerblade office chair wheels. So if you are actually looking for office chair wheels with basic features but have a modern design, these office chair wheels from Oasis are truly for you.
Stealtho office chair caster wheels
With human-oriented, you can be totally assured of never falling down in the dark with the glowing feature thanks to the resistant polyurethane luminophore of the office chair caster wheels from Stealtho. Besides, you can also determine the location of your chair easily in the dark.
Stealtho office chair caster wheels
One thing that you can totally put your trust in this office chair wheels is that it has two additional thrust ball bearings in the cage that strengthens the resistance of your chair.
This office chair wheels also have plus points that make it become more outstanding compared to other office chair wheels in the same price range in the market.
Here is the comparison between the Stealtho office chair caster wheels and other office chair caster wheels.
This above comparison explains why we highly recommend the Stealtho office chair for you. With the reasonable price that is just about $40, this is definitely the ideal replacing caster wheel that you should buy.
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Now, how to replace office chair wheels is no longer a big question for you. Hopefully, this article of FittingChairs can help you in removing and replacing your chair base.
