All you Need to Know about Chair Casters: Features, Materials, How to Pick and Replace?
Chair casters are a crucial component of office furniture since it determines its comfort and ergonomics. These small wheels make chairs so mobile, allowing employees to freely and quickly move within the workplace. The quality of rollers directly influences employees’ comfort. So, it is essential to pick high-quality, durable rubber casters for office chairs to make furniture serve for long years.
Features and Requirements
The peculiarity of office furniture is that the more comfortable and durable it is, the heavier it is. To maintain mobility, durable and quality chair wheels are needed. Rollers should meet a set of criteria:
- Strength. Not only durability but also safety depends on this. If office chair rollers suddenly break, furniture will warp, and an employee can fall.
- Durability. Chair castors must withstand significant loads for a long time.
- Comfort. Soft office chair wheels dampen small joints on the floor better.
- Ease of rotation. The chair should save energy and not turn into a simulator. This parameter depends not only on the quality of office chair casters but also on the correct choice.
- Aesthetic pleasure. Rubber chair casters on gaming chairs can be stylized as car rims.
Materials
The main rule is that soft casters should be selected for hard floors and vice versa. Strong caster wheels for a carpet will be the best choice. Otherwise, rollers will leave scratches on the floor or roll even more. Therefore, you need to choose the right material for wheels.
- Plastic models are the most inexpensive. They are placed on most chairs. Such office chair wheels for carpets are the best solution, as they do not leave traces on them. Yet, it is not the best choice for parquet and linoleum since the first material will be scratched, and thin linoleum will be rubbed.
- Silicone non-scratch office chair wheels are good for uneven floors. They do not leave traces on the parquet and laminate, allowing users to use it freely, even on the joints. The strength of such desk chair casters is lower than polyurethane.
- Rubber desk chair wheels are similar to silicone but may leave dark streaks on lacquered floors. They are not suitable for sterile environments.
- Polyurethane rollerblade office chair wheels. High strength is combined with an attractive appearance and an abundance of colors. These office casters are well proved on all types of floor coverings. The material is resistant to aggressive influences, which allows using such non-marking office chair wheels in the office and at home.
How to Pick Office Chair Wheels?
- Consider the type of flooring. With what materials is the floor covered? Is it a carpet, hardwood, or linoleum?
- Choose rigidity. Depending on the material, concentrate on soft office chair wheels for hardwood floors or strong desk chair wheels for carpets.
- Calculate the load. Note that rubber castor wheels for office chairs have the maximum allowed carrying capacity. Check specs to find out the capacity of one roller. Multiply the figure at the number of wheels and find out an approximate load. It is recommended to install computer chair wheels for carpets and hardwood floors with an extra load left.
- Check fasteners. In what way will gaming chair wheels for carpets or linoleum be installed? Various models are mounted differently. There are flat and U-shaped brackets for fastening. Depending on the chair model, only one can fit.
- Decide if you need a stopper. Keep in mind that one stopper will not be enough. It is advisable to install at least a few wheels with a stopper.
When you analyze these parameters, you’ll have a clear vision of what you need. Now, you’re ready to look through catalogs and pick suitable models.
How to Replace Rollers?
Office chair wheel replacement is an easy process that does not require special knowledge or background. Here’s a step-by-step guide on the correct replacement of chair casters:
- Turn over the chair so that seat casters are on top.
- Remove wheels from the cross. To do this, you just need to pull them towards you.
- Remove covers from the rays of the cross with the help of a screwdriver.
- Pull out damaged plugs of the case before adding casters to a chair.
- Mount new seals and assemble all parts in the reverse order: first, casings, and then rollerblade caster wheels.
Replacement roller wheels for office chairs will take just a few minutes. If you need to replace office chair wheels with sliders, the process won’t change. The only thing is to buy the right rollers in advance.
To draw the line, note that it is difficult to find universal office chair wheels because each material demonstrates better properties on different surfaces. Thus, it is better to pick quiet office chair wheels, taking into account a set of criteria where the floor material is the most significant one. Remember, durable quality chair wheels for carpets and hardwood can’t be cheap.
