Watch Betteries
PHIL
differences in the letters before and after the number? For example, what is
the difference between a SR626W and a SR626SW battery?
zog
W = High Drain, used in watches with alarms, backlighting or older
electric watches
SW = Low drain for analogue quartz without any of the above.
usually low drain has a better shelf life than high drain, also if a
high drain battery is used in place of a low drain, it could possibly
leak because even though the voltage is the same, pressure can build up
in the battery case because the battery is not subjected to high current
use like an alarm or backlight.
so SR626SW means
SR = Sliver oxide
626 = is the diameter and height 6mm x 2.6mm high
SW = Low Drain
eg a lithium battery like CR2032 is 20mm dia x 3.2mm high
Frank Adam
And of course an SR44W or an SR41W is.... ;-p
But yeah, in general it's right when 3 digits are present in the code.
With only two digits, it is not indicative of the size at all, but
those are somewhat old. Then again the SR44 is still kicking about in
play things like that handheld little watchamacallit thing that my
daughter just had to have so she could raise some monster or something
and fight with her friend's monsters. God, i'm so out of touch. :)
--
Regards, Frank
Carl West
> ...
> usually low drain has a better shelf life than high drain, also if a
> high drain battery is used in place of a low drain, it could possibly
> leak because even though the voltage is the same, pressure can build up
> in the battery case because the battery is not subjected to high current
> use like an alarm or backlight.
OK, I'm missing some chemistry or logic here. The high drain battery
spends some amount of it's life in a package with no external drain on
it whatsoever but pressure doesn't build up (does it?). How is it that
once you start drawing current from it it starts getting picky about the
rate at which you draw it?
Or is the high-drain leakage thing more a sign of the fact that they are
less common and tend to spend more of their lives on the shelf before
they get into a watch and reach their failure-by-age before they reach
failure-by-use while still in the watch?
> 626 = is the diameter and height 6mm x 2.6mm high
I did some measuring the other day, those numbers are very approximate
on some sizes.
> eg a lithium battery like CR2032 is 20mm dia x 3.2mm high
Whereas the numbers on lithiums are very close.
--
Carl West carlD...@comcast.net http://carl.west.home.comcast.net
>>>>>>>> change the 'DOT' to '.' to email me <<<<<<<<<<<<
"Clutter"? This is an object-rich environment.
Frank Adam
wrote:
>zog wrote:
>> ...
>> usually low drain has a better shelf life than high drain, also if a
>> high drain battery is used in place of a low drain, it could possibly
>> leak because even though the voltage is the same, pressure can build up
>> in the battery case because the battery is not subjected to high current
>> use like an alarm or backlight.
>
>OK, I'm missing some chemistry or logic here. The high drain battery
>spends some amount of it's life in a package with no external drain on
>it whatsoever but pressure doesn't build up (does it?). How is it that
>once you start drawing current from it it starts getting picky about the
>rate at which you draw it?
>
Um.. i'll leave the chemistry bit to someone else who actually knows.
Is that ok ? :)
>Or is the high-drain leakage thing more a sign of the fact that they are
>less common and tend to spend more of their lives on the shelf before
>they get into a watch and reach their failure-by-age before they reach
>failure-by-use while still in the watch?
>
I don't think there is a difference between high or low drain that
way. A good quality battery, such as the Maxell or Seiko ones do not
leak. I've just thrown out a 393(754w) battery that was dated 1992.
I didn't bother to test it, but you could only see a bit of dust on
the inside of the bubble. Which is a sign of leaking of course, but
after 10+ years, it had every right to do so. :)
Some cheap batteries simply do not have a good enough case and sealing
and start leaking after a short time. Renata (which is not cheap) at
one stage were probably the worst culprits. Their batteries made an
absolute mess of some watches in a very short time. We're talking acid
all the way into the train, down to the date ring. A total mess !
And Maxells make a better sound in the fire too. :-)
>> 626 = is the diameter and height 6mm x 2.6mm high
>
>I did some measuring the other day, those numbers are very approximate
>on some sizes.
>> eg a lithium battery like CR2032 is 20mm dia x 3.2mm high
>
>Whereas the numbers on lithiums are very close.
>
Coincidence. The 2.6 height measurement is quite close and it has to
be, to fit into battery slots using a strap, or where there is no
space between the movement and the case back.
The width is not that important, it is simply a guide. All the battery
slots tend to have slack and a tensioner spring, so you only need to
know that the battery has to be around 6.+ millimeters wide to sit in
and make good contact with the tensioner. A 7 won't fit and a 5 will
be too loose.
--
Regards, Frank
dAz
> OK, I'm missing some chemistry or logic here. The high drain battery
> spends some amount of it's life in a package with no external drain on
> it whatsoever but pressure doesn't build up (does it?). How is it that
> once you start drawing current from it it starts getting picky about the
> rate at which you draw it?
>
> Or is the high-drain leakage thing more a sign of the fact that they are
> less common and tend to spend more of their lives on the shelf before
> they get into a watch and reach their failure-by-age before they reach
> failure-by-use while still in the watch?
more to do with shelf life, low-drain batteries have a longer shelf life
than high-drain as a rule, so you may have am analogue watch that can 5
years on a low drain, but you fit a high drain instead, 2-3 years down
the line the battery starts to leak because as Frank says, crap
batteries, the pressure build up along with the seals breaking down.
some brands are worst than others, I only use Seiko or Maxell where
possible, stay away from Renata, Varta(total crap), even had trouble
with Eveready leaking, and of course those cheap no-name chinese brands.
I have one customer that owns a Seiko digital, almost every time he came
in the battery had leaked, I asked him one day did he use the alarm,
chime or backlight, no was the answer, so I fitted a low-drain battery
instead, since then no more problems with leakage, and yet someone else
could own the same watch and don't get battery problems because they
have it chiming every hour, and use the backlight to read their comics
in bed.
>
>
>> 626 = is the diameter and height 6mm x 2.6mm high
>
>
> I did some measuring the other day, those numbers are very approximate
> on some sizes.
yes the first number is reference to the first digit in the battery
diameter, the second and third number is more important
http://www.watchbattery.co.uk/watchbatterytable.htm
this chart show battery sizes and the numbers
so a 621 is 6.8mm dia x 2.1mm high, a 626 is 6.8mm dia x 2.6mm high, the
626 battery will not fit in a watch made to take the 621 battery in
spite of only a 0.5mm difference
oh yeah the SR41SW and SR44W is a carry over from an old numbering
system, otherwise they would be marked as SR736SW and SR1154W
>
>
>> eg a lithium battery like CR2032 is 20mm dia x 3.2mm high
>
>
> Whereas the numbers on lithiums are very close.
well seeing the lithium is a lot larger in diameter, there is more room
to stamp the numbers on I would guess, also lithiums don't come
fractional sizes, they only come 12mm, 16mm, 20mm, 23mm, 24mm, etc, dia
sizes
R.J.
have my Watch Batteries replaced at the STand in the Mall. They do
alot of watches, and seem reliable, but are not a repair facility,
pretty much batteries and Bands.
However, it only costs me less than $10.00 per watch, usualy
around $7.00 for a new battery, and they guarabntee it for 1 year. Do
they use lousy batteries or something? So far I have not had a
problem, but I dont want to. My watches are all Swiss Army, and
Luminox....and to me, expensive..few hunddred dollars a piece.
Thanks, Ray
Frank Adam <fa...@notthis.optushome.com.au> wrote in message news:<q37hn01mtldjs7pl3...@4ax.com>...
Frank Adam
I have to be careful here, because one our group regulars will chase
me around the block if i say something unnice, so let's all assume a
disclaimer present. :)
As long as you make sure that they use an "accepted" make of battery,
you should be fine. In my opinion, Seiko and Maxell brands are the
best, with nothing much else coming close. Renata has been said to
have improved, but i think they have managed to put all watchmakers
off that brand and it'll be a while before we trust it again.
They would be going through a lot of batteries, so shelf life should
not be an issue, again, unless they buy old stock or cheap ones. I
don't think that with the markup on batteries it's worth buying crap,
but who knows.
The only thing that may be a problem with some stands is that their
operators are usually not watchmakers, so they will range from total
hamfists to quite ok watch handlers. Changing a battery is no rocket
surgery, but there are some tricky ones and the different case designs
can mean that one has to be careful when opening snap on backs.
If there was a stand that popped up at my shopping center, i would
give it a miss for while, once it has been there for a period of time,
the operator would have had a good run in and should be fine.
>So, I have to ask then. WOuld you say that it is not Good Idea to
>have my Watch Batteries replaced at the STand in the Mall. They do
>alot of watches, and seem reliable, but are not a repair facility,
>pretty much batteries and Bands.
>
>
> However, it only costs me less than $10.00 per watch, usualy
>around $7.00 for a new battery, and they guarabntee it for 1 year. Do
>they use lousy batteries or something? So far I have not had a
>problem, but I dont want to. My watches are all Swiss Army, and
>Luminox....and to me, expensive..few hunddred dollars a piece.
>
> Thanks, Ray
--
Regards, Frank
Jake Bunn
> So, I have to ask then. WOuld you say that it is not Good Idea to
> have my Watch Batteries replaced at the STand in the Mall. They do
> alot of watches, and seem reliable, but are not a repair facility,
> pretty much batteries and Bands.
It is definitely NOT a good idea to have watch cells replaced by any
inexperienced person who does not have the proper equipment,
knowledge, and skills to repace cells regardless of the shop or
kiosk's location. A competent shop has equipment to properly open and
close cases, test circuitry in watches, spare parts available to make
the watch water resistant again, and more equipment to determine if a
watch case has a water leak and find the leak. It costs about $50K
today to set up a well equipped watch repair bench for one watchmaker
today. It goes without saying that that a shop having that equipment
will also have qualified staff.
A substantial portion of the work coming to a watchmaker's shop today
involves undoing damage done to watches by incompetent people working
on watches without the requisite skills and appropriate equipment to
do the work, even if it seems as simple as changing a cell. Almost
every watch manufacturer's literature specifies that watches should be
brought to a qualified dealer or service center even for cell
replacement.
Most watch cells sold in the USA are high quality. The installation
quality is what makes some cost $2.78 at WalMart and $20+ at a quality
shop. Jake.