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My monitor arm gave out after 8 years, nearly took my whole desk with it
Last Tuesday I was just leaning back in my chair when my old Amazon Basics monitor arm just snapped right at the gas spring joint. My 27 inch monitor dropped hard and yanked my entire desk forward, spilling coffee all over my keyboard tray. I spent the next hour fixing it with a stack of wooden shims and some heavy duty zip ties until I can afford a replacement. Anyone else had an older monitor arm fail on them like that or am I just unlucky?
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fisher.taylor4d ago
Gotta push back a little. 8 years for a gas spring arm is honestly pretty good. Those things are under constant tension and cycling every single time you move the monitor. Most budget arms like the Amazon Basics ones use cheaper gas springs too, they aren't built to last forever. Your desk getting pulled forward sounds like the arm wasn't clamped down tight enough from day one or the desk is on the lighter side. Zip ties and shims are a classic fix though, that'll hold until you grab a new one. Just don't expect miracles from another basic arm if you go that route again.
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harper_singh183d ago
Eight years is actually pretty solid for a gas spring arm. Most of those cheap springs lose pressure after 4 or 5 years max. The amazon basics ones are just rebranded from a chinese factory anyway. The desk getting pulled forward is a dead giveaway the clamp wasn't really tight or the desk edge is particle board that slowly gave out. That drywall anchor style clamp they use digs in but not enough for a hard yank. The zip tie and shim fix is basically what half of us are doing right now until payday hits. Just go with a gas spring arm that has a metal bracket next time, that plastic housing is what snapped on you.
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