How to Choose Gas Struts for Recliner and Lift Chairs

What Do Gas Struts Do in a Recliner or Lift Chair?

In recliners and lift chairs, gas struts (sometimes called gas lift cylinders in furniture applications) control the smooth transition between sitting, reclined, and lift-assist positions instead of relying purely on spring mechanisms or motors.

Not every recliner uses a gas strut — many rely on a coil-spring or motorised linear-actuator mechanism instead. Where struts are used, they’re typically paired with the footrest linkage or backrest hinge to prevent the mechanism from dropping suddenly under the user’s weight.

How Do I Know If a Recliner’s Gas Strut Is Failing?

A failing strut in a recliner shows up as a footrest or backrest that drops on its own, feels jerky partway through its travel, or needs noticeably more force to move than when the chair was new.

• Footrest won’t hold position: Slowly sinks back down instead of staying extended.
• Jerky or uneven motion: Especially partway through the recline, rather than a smooth continuous action.
• Visible fluid or gas seepage: A thin oily residue near the strut body indicates a seal failure.
• Increased effort required: If the chair suddenly needs a firm push to recline where it used to move with light pressure.

These symptoms are the same pattern we cover for automotive applications in our guide on telling if your struts are bad — the failure mode is mechanically identical, only the mounting and force rating differ.

What Force Rating Does a Lift Chair Strut Need?

Lift-assist chair struts are rated much higher than most furniture applications — commonly 800N-1,200N or more, since the strut is doing real work helping lift a seated adult’s body weight.

1. Standard recliner footrest struts: typically 50N-150N, similar to a light cabinet door application.
2. Backrest recline-assist struts: often 100N-300N depending on chair size.
3. Full lift-assist mechanisms: 800N+ is common, and this is not a DIY sizing job — these are matched to the specific chair’s leverage geometry by the manufacturer.

For anything in the lift-assist category, always replace with the manufacturer’s specified part rather than sizing generically — the force calculation involves the pivot geometry of the lift mechanism, not just body weight. Our gas spring force calculator is suited to the lower-force footrest and backrest struts, not full lift-assist cylinders.

Can I Replace a Recliner Gas Strut Myself?

Footrest and backrest struts on a standard recliner are generally a straightforward DIY replacement; lift-assist cylinders on a powered lift chair usually aren’t, because of the higher force involved and the mechanism’s load-bearing role.

For the lower-force struts, the same measuring approach used for cabinet and automotive struts applies: measure extended length, compressed length, and note the end fitting type at each end. See our gas strut measuring guide for the full process.

Note: this article is published by Aritech Gas Springs. For a separate look at dental care accessories, see our team’s write-up on a high-quality ultrasonic retainer cleaner, published independently on Medium.