The Original Office Chair Cylinder Removal Tool (As Seen On PBS) - Easily Remove Your Old Gas Lift Piston from Any Office Chair

The description says it is compatible with 85% of the chair cylinders out there. I used it on 2 brands: a gamer's unite chair and a knock off saddle chair. Worked as intended. One of the chair gave me issues but that was more related to blemishes on the metal that created friction against the cylinder. I had to tighten the pushing disc much harder than recommended but I got it to work. This kit beats using the hammer or vice grip or pipe wrench technique mainly because the discs push equally around the cylinder so the energy transfer is efficient and effective. That said, if you happen to have one of those thinner cylinders, the discs wouldn't have enough friction to stay put. In this case, you would need to put some rubber string or similar high friction material between the disc and cylinder to get a good grip. Honestly, the best tip to make removal easier in the future is to apply some lubricant or grease to the cylinder and seat before installation. It will make the process way easier. Overall, I think this product met expectations and made my life way easier for a relatively cheaper cost. My only gripe with this option is that this is a one trick pony tool. It only works for standard size cylinders. But a pipe wrench or vice grip are multipurpose.

I need to replace gas cylinder on my 2012 aeron. YouTube tricks with the pipe wrench didn’t work. I’m 240 pounds 6’1” guy and I just couldn’t turn the cylinder even with 24” wrench. Ordered that tool, was a bit sceptical. Had an issue - I couldn’t reach for the screw neither with hex key nor with screwdriver - the distance between screw head and cylinder larger side (bottom one) when screws stopped to turn was only 13mm. You can see on the photo Needed to order additional tool from Amazon - ultra low profile hex key, for another $8 And then using that tool the cylinder just easily popped. Honestly I didn’t expect how easy it would be. Just buy and use it if you need to replace cylinder, 5*

This is a must have and works great for its intended purpose. I watched some youtube videos and tried to get by without it... I used a huge pipe wrench and could not budge it. I then ordered this and received it the next day. The cylinder was stuck on there so tight, I had to use this twice. I had to crank down on the screws and it even indented the metal of the collar, but ultimately it worked. I could not have swapped the chair cylinder without it.

Folks, I beat the absolute HECK of the existing gas cylinder trying to get it out of a Aeron chair. First with channel locks then vise grips and hammer, nothing worked. Bought this tool as a last resort and had very little expectations....oh yeah...it worked. Installed and starting the screw down process, popped out in just a few minutes and returned my sanity. Thanks for whoever invented this!!

I have a Beautyrest 49404 office chair that needed the lift cylinder replaced. THIS CHAIR IS NOT A TYPICAL "BOX STORE" CHAIR, even though I bought it at a box store, as many of the air cylinders on Amazon advertise! The cylinder is difficult to remove and is 1.1 inches in diameter. This tool worked like a charm in a few minutes!!!!!!! I should have saved myself the aggravation and bought it first. The "tap it here" and "twist there" videos for easily removing an office chair's air cylinder do not apply to this chair. In the picture, you can see the rust after about 5 years (I live near the beach), which required quite a bit of movement to release it from the tilt mechanism. I would guess I had to pull it out about 1/4 of an inch before it just fell out. You will have to retighten the collar screws a few times as you pull it out, but it only took me a few minutes. You can also see the many "in vain" scuff marks on the cylinder from wrenches, pipe wrenches, and vices that didn't work. The standard tube is about 8.3 inches long, but I replaced it with a slightly longer 9.2-inch version, which I bought for $20 on another site. The 2-inch cylinders DO NOT FIT. I love my Beautyrest chair, but this tool and the $20 cylinder replacement saved me from spending $350 to get another one. I will keep this tool handy, I know it will come in use again! Good luck to you all! UPDATE: If you own a Beautyrest 49404, do not buy a longer (9- or 10-inch) cylinder replacement. If you do, the cylinder will push itself out of the base if extended. The base appears to have been adapted from a standard 2-inch tube, with an insert reducing the hole to 1.1 inches. This insert has only a few inches of contact with the cylinder, preventing it from moving side to side. I learned the hard way, so I am replacing it with the standard 8-inch tube.

It's simple and it works. I was ready to take a blowtorch to my Steelcase chair, but this thing popped the cylinder out in two minutes.

So officially you're supposed to tighten the final screws, and the bottom ring presses against the top ring, and the cylinder slides out. That just didn't work for me. But what DID work was just tightening the bottom ring very tight-- it then gave me a larger, oil-free surface so I could just use my hands to get a good grip, and then twist the cylinder clockwise and counterclockwise until I worked it free. So yes, it did help me remove two gas cylinders and I'm happy with it-- just not the way the manufacturer intended probably. Side note-- the cylinders should really have some kind of notch or a flat side or something standard to make it easy to remove them. It's crazy that the consumer has to use separate devices to get the dang thing out!

I have sat and worked in my special order TempurPedic office chair everyday for 23 years. After the last few years of WD40 fixes, the lift finally froze completely. Couldn't raise, lower or even swivel my chair. My body-builder grandson tried to remove the lift, but could only remove the cylinder cover from the base. The cylinder seemed permantly stuck in the seat base - it wouldn't budge. Ordered this removal tool and while waiting for delivery, I sprayed WD, whacked it with a mallet, and prayed for 3 days. Still not budging. Attached the this little tool, turned the screws a until tight and then tighter. Suddenly the screw seemed to just let go. I bleeped a couple words of disgust thinking I had striped the screw when I suddenly saw the cylinder topple over. Bleeped one more word of astonishment, shrieked in joy and had my chair back in service within minutes. A big bleeping thank you!!!

These were so easy to use and worked fabulously! Wasn't sure if I would need or not. Why wouldn't you want to. Put them on, top one a bit loose, second one snug and then just turn the two bolts and done. So easy and no hammering required to loosen the cylinder from the chair.

This didn’t fit my pre-2013 Herman Miller Aeron, so I reached out to the seller to see if they had another option that would work. The product itself is solidly made and excellent quality, and I truly wanted to give them my business. Unfortunately, they didn’t have a fit for my chair but their communication and customer service were outstanding. They went above and beyond my expectations, and I wholeheartedly recommend this company.

Great tool! Did not expect that it will be that easy to remove the airlift!

Works as intended. Video made understanding how to use the tool to remove the gas cylinder super easy and straightforward. Took about 15-20 mins total to unpack, install clamps, remove gas cylinder, remove cylinder from wheelbase and reattach new cylinder to wheelbase. 5/5

It did the job. Highly recommended!