Mercedes seat as an office chair - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

bolomiester · #1 02-05-2010, 02:23 PM

I'm a big guy, 6'4" 285, so finding a really comfortable office chair has always been a challenge. I think I've tried everything out there, including the Herman Miller Aeron (they are great chairs but not even the "C" size isn't quite big enough) without finding the perfect solution.

As I was driving from store to store looking for another replacement for my "tortured-to-death "Office Max" big & tall special, it occured to me that the most comfortable chair I sit in regularly is my '89 300 se driver's seat. Even after 21 years, and 203,000 miles it still looks and sits great!

So . . . here's my idea. Find a nice Mercedes seat, remove the tracks (no need for for and aft movement), bolt the runners to a piece birch plywood, then bolt the seat plate, gas column and roller base from my current chair to that. For a power source, use a small motorcycle battery mounted in a fabricated bracket under the seat. fabricate a bracket to mount a seat switch on the side, and I'd have the perfect office chair! High quality leather seating, plus power adjustability for seat back and base angle.

However, I have a question for the experts. I'm shopping around for a seat and so far the only thing I've found at the salvage yards close by is a seat out of '94 C220. I'm a Mercedes newbie and the only cars I've had are W126s. I just wonder if a seat out of a C-class will be as big, as well made and as comfortable as my S-class seat. Has anyone compared the two?

Thanks!

chance2benz · #2 02-05-2010, 02:33 PM

....sir; what city state are you in ? and i happen to know that w126 seats are far larger/wider ( and better constructed)than newer c class seats....ABSOLUTELY !!!! Kevin

bolomiester · #3 02-05-2010, 02:44 PM

I'm in north central Illinois. That's exactly the advice I was looking for. The C220 seat I found is supposed to be in perfect shape, and at $50 it's certainly cheap enough. I haven't been able to locate a good W126 seat but I did find one from a later, 1998 S-Class. Would it be as good as my 300 se seat?

JamesDean · #4 02-05-2010, 04:58 PM

This is an awesome idea! I support this 100%! I wanted to do something similar to this but never really got around to it.

I was going to just a regular chair out of one, you know to chill and watch movies in...I thought it would be pretty cool, especially if fully functional.

I was going to use a couple hundred watt computer power supply to get the motors moving. I'd mount the control unit that was typically in the door on the side of the seat in the frame work.

The only thing I'd be leery of is tipping myself over

Post up pics if you go though with this!

bolomiester · #5 02-05-2010, 08:37 PM

I don't think it would be tippy. From the bottom of the seat to the floor it would be a standard office chair. It's just the chair part that would be different. I was saying a motorcycle battery for the amps. A computer power supply puts out the right 12 volts DC but I wonder if puts out enough amps to make the motors work, plus I didn't want any wires going to the chair. I suspect that the battery would have enough charge to do whatever movement I would normally want for quite some time before needing a charge. When it does I could just hook up my shop battery charger overnight and I'd be all set again.

I already have the neccessary office chair parts. I just need the right Mercedes seat to move the project to the next level. My W126 seat is really comfortable, but I haven't found one in any of the yards close by. I was hoping a C220 seat (close by and cheap at $50) would nice as the one in my 300 SE, but chance2benz says no way! There's a 98 S-Class seat available on ebay but its quite a bit more and I don't know if it as good as my W126 seat. Can anybody give an expert opinion on that? I'm willing to spend the extra dough if it's as great a seat as the old W126.

Hirnbeiss · #6 02-05-2010, 08:45 PM

Does yours have lumbar support? Mine doesn't, and that makes the minivan seat even more comfortable. My neighbor is likely to dump his car soon for that same reason, since he has back issues.

JamesDean · #7 02-05-2010, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bolomiester

I don't think it would be tippy. From the bottom of the seat to the floor it would be a standard office chair. It's just the chair part that would be different. I was saying a motorcycle battery for the amps. A computer power supply puts out the right 12 volts DC but I wonder if puts out enough amps to make the motors work, plus I didn't want any wires going to the chair. I suspect that the battery would have enough charge to do whatever movement I would normally want for quite some time before needing a charge. When it does I could just hook up my shop battery charger overnight and I'd be all set again.

You're probably right about the tippy-ness. I suppose its all in how its built.

Well no doubt a motorcycle battery would be able to supply more amperage but a standard computer power supply can put down around 20 amps on the 12v line. I have a 750watt unit that put down around 60 amps on the 12v line. But I think you're right you wouldnt want a cord trailing around you..now if i were to built one as a "home theater" chair it wouldnt be a big deal..

You might be able to use the computer power supply to charge the motocycle battery...just strap the power supply to the chair base and simply plug in the power cord to it when you need charging..that might be easier than using the battery charger.

jgribin · #8 07-29-2010, 01:11 AM

I am sure you are not aimed at me making commercial posts, but seeing as my business started out on the basis that my MB 300D's seat was the most comfortable ever, I thought you might be interested in this relevent link to my site, where I professionally sell car seats converted into office chairs. I am willing to offer general advice...

And my first piece of advice to you, OP, is to find a seat from a european W126 that is not power adjusted. Wiring a seat for power adjustments is a herculean head ache that I charge about $150 for the labor. And for larger people, such as yourself, the weight the electrical adjustments bring would require you to upgrade to a heavy-duty base. Those cost hundreds of dollars. As a manual seat, you can use a basic one off a $60 task chair at BJ's. Which, incidentally, is the main base I use for my products.

Oh, right... that relevant link:

jgribinenterprises.com

JamesDean · #9 07-29-2010, 01:16 AM

I also started something similar to this. However I didn't go office chair route. I went normal furniture route. My chairs are fully powered, minus memory.

The frames have yet to be upholstered and eventually I'd like to make an ottoman style footrest.

Heres the thread I started.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=271490

mercmad6.3 · #10 07-31-2010, 06:34 AM

This is neat.

i first saw a commercially made car seat office chairs years ago by Recaro,using one of their sports seats with all the electric toys.