Keeping crown pulled out to save battery
H. den Breejen
When the crown is pulled out to set the time, the second hand stops
running.
I am now considering to save the battery of these watches by storing them
with the crown pulled out.
Assuming that there is no battery drain in the time-set mode, the batteries
would theoretically last for a century if I wear it only now and then.
On the other hand, the batteries will certainly deteriorate over time. I
would certainly need to change the battery before it starts to leak
chemicals.
My questions are:
- I am right assuming there's no battery drain in the time-set mode?
- At what rate does a battery deteriorate in the watch when the watch is
'switched off'?
- Will this procedure prolong the life of the watch, or is it better to
store it running?
dAz
> - I am right assuming there's no battery drain in the time-set mode? -
depends on the model, some do turn off the motor but there is still some
current draw at a much lower rate, others just simply block the train and
there is no difference between with the crown out or in
> At what rate does a battery deteriorate in the watch when the watch is
> 'switched off'?
low drain silver oxide batteries haqve a 4-5 year shelf life, high drain
have a 2 year shelf life
> - Will this procedure prolong the life of the watch, or is it better to
> store it running?
just leave it running, if you are not going to be using the watch/es for
quite a while its better to take the batteries out, a watch can still be
running for several months with a leaking battery
Carl West
> ...
> - At what rate does a battery deteriorate in the watch when the watch is
> 'switched off'?
On the shelf it's about 7% per year, probably a little faster in the watch.
> - Will this procedure prolong the life of the watch, or is it better to
> store it running?
It'll extend the life of the battery, if you overshoot and the battery leaks, it will shorten the life of the watch.
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Kent Betts
> > - At what rate does a battery deteriorate in the watch when the watch is
> > 'switched off'?
"Carl West" > ">
> On the shelf it's about 7% per year, probably a little faster in the
watch.
Yeah.....maybe 25 microamps on and 5 microamps off......the last one is so
low that the batteries will fail from age rather than lack of charge.
Good question, though.
dAz
> Yeah.....maybe 25 microamps on and 5 microamps off......the last one is
> so low that the batteries will fail from age rather than lack of charge.
>
>
25 microamps is a lot of current for a watch these days, 1st gen quartz
movements of the mid 70s pulled about 20µA, Accutrons and balance drive
electronic watches used about 9-10µA, by the 80s quartz movements were
using about 2-3µA.
now most quartz movements draw a microamp or less, typically say around
0.5-0.6 microamps.
note this is not including those movements that use multiple motors for
chronograph functions or alarms and backlighting.
with the 1st gen quartz watches it made sense to fit a switch to conserve
the battery, but new quartz watches draw so little current that a lot of
manufactures don't bother fitting a switch anymore, they use a mechanical
method of blocking or disengaging the train while setting the hands, so
the movement is still drawing the same current with the crown in or out.
H. den Breejen
Thanks for all the information.
I just tested one of the seiko's: when it runs, I can hear it tick every
second; when I pull the crown out fully, there's no sound. Does that mean
that this watch has a switch and draws no current in this mode?
(It's a Seiko with an 8229 calibre)
Will the watch suffer at all from being 'switched off' almost permanently?
Will it run again when I switch it on?
I'm thinking of what happens to a car's engine if it is not used for some
time. Think of it. An engine is also a lubricated assembly of metal parts.
dAz
> I just tested one of the seiko's: when it runs, I can hear it tick every
> second; when I pull the crown out fully, there's no sound. Does that
> mean that this watch has a switch and draws no current in this mode?
> (It's a Seiko with an 8229 calibre)
>
> Will the watch suffer at all from being 'switched off' almost
> permanently? Will it run again when I switch it on? I'm thinking of what
> happens to a car's engine if it is not used for some time. Think of it.
> An engine is also a lubricated assembly of metal parts.
ok here is the service manual for that caliber
http://service.seiko.com.au/Service2/tg/data/8222A,8223A,8229A.pdf
the movement uses a SR936SW battery with a running time of 5 years, it
draws less than 2µA of current, 5 years is also the shelf life of the
battery, so in other words if you were to buy two new batteries at the
same time, put one in the watch and one the drawer, 5 years later you
would have to throw both batteries away, ok.
yes that movement does appear to have a switch, or as the manual states an
electronic circuit reset switch, but because it has a large capacity
battery with very low current draw there is no point in stopping the
watch, oh and yes when the crown is out the watch is still drawing power.
if you had one on those old 1st generation quartz watches from say 1975
that draws 20µA running and 2µA on standby and the battery used was twice
the size of the one in your watch and a running time 12-14 months then
turning off one of those watches was beneficial.
in your case just leave the watch running, if you are not going to be
using the watch for quite a while then take the battery out, that way if
you do forget about the watch and the battery does go flat in the mean
time, it reduces the risk of the flat battery breaking down and leaking,
causing damage to the movement.
a good proportion of quartz watches I get in for repair are in because of
battery leakage, caused by cheap or unreliable batteries or the owner
simply forgot about the watch then 2 years later discover the watch is
stopped, take it in for a battery change and find the battery has leaked
all over the movement.
cheers
dAz
KLEE
> (snip)
> a good proportion of quartz watches I get in for repair are in because of
> battery leakage, caused by cheap or unreliable batteries or the owner
> simply forgot about the watch then 2 years later discover the watch is
> stopped, take it in for a battery change and find the battery has leaked
> all over the movement.
>
> cheers
> dAz
Hi Daz, happy new year.
I was wondering about quartz watches vs leakage -
Are we talking about 10 outta 10 batteries are probably gonna leak
in the watch if we leave them long after they are "dead" ?
Rgds
/Keo
dAz
Hi Keo, happy new year to you as well :)
I think if you leave any dead battery in a watch long enough, the
chemicals in the electrolyte will eventually eat through the seals in the
battery can.
some brands seem better than others, I only fit where possible "Seiko"
brand batteries, I rarely see a Seiko battery that has leaked, on the
other hand I hate Varta batteries with a passion, the rotten things seem
to leak when you look at them, I used to think Eveready were ok until I
started seeing quite a few of them had leaked, not as bad as Varta
though.
another problem I see is the wrong kind of battery being fitted into
watches, a high drain drain battery being used where it should be a low
drain battery, apparently if a high drain battery doesn't deliver a heavy
current pulse evey now and then like when the backlight or alarm is
being used, the electrolyte can build up pressure and cause the battery
to leak, often it can leak long before the battery goes flat, so the
watch can run for months before it stops, by then the electrolyte has
caused a fair bit of damage.
I used to have one customer who never used the alarm or backlight on his
watch, it would come in every 18 months with the battery leaking, so
after talking to him I fitted a low drain battery, now I would see the
watch evey 2 years no more leaky battery.
so I will use Seiko 1st then Maxell, Eveready or Renata if I cannot get
it with the first two. Varta and the no-name chinese brands I avoid.
the most common SR627SW Seiko battery costs me less then a dollar, I can
see no sense in fitting a cheap battery to save a few cents only to run
into potential serious problems later, I charge a flat rate for new
battery fittings, the battery is only a small proportion of that cost
cheers
dAz
KLEE
Thanks for great info!
I´ll try to persuade my local watchmaker to
fit the Renata battery for my watch (since I know
this is the one which sits inside it) when it starts
to drain out. If they don´t have Renata, can I then
ask them to fit a Seiko battery in it with same
performance and durability?
Rgds
/Keo
H. den Breejen
> Hi dAz,
>
>
> Thanks for great info!
> I惻l try to persuade my local watchmaker to
> fit the Renata battery for my watch (since I know
> this is the one which sits inside it) when it starts
> to drain out. If they don愒 have Renata, can I then
> ask them to fit a Seiko battery in it with same
> performance and durability?
>
>
> Rgds
>
>
> /Keo
>
>
> dAz wrote:
>
>>
>> Hi Keo, happy new year to you as well :)
>>
>> I think if you leave any dead battery in a watch long enough, the
>> chemicals in the electrolyte will eventually eat through the seals in the
>> battery can.
>>
>> some brands seem better than others, I only fit where possible "Seiko"
>> brand batteries, I rarely see a Seiko battery that has leaked, on the
>> other hand I hate Varta batteries with a passion, the rotten things seem
>> to leak when you look at them, I used to think Eveready were ok until I
>> started seeing quite a few of them had leaked, not as bad as Varta
>> though.
>>
Thank you all for your information. I've learned a lot about batteries and
such.
I'll store them running.
Regards
Hildo den Breejen.
bill...@yahoo.com
notice they only use Renata batteries. These Swiss' watches use either
ETA or Ronda movement. According to the watch retail shops I spoke to,
they caution me that using a Japanese brand battery such as Seiko or
Maxwell will damage the Swiss movement. I can't see the logic in such
a claim. Pls enlighten me.
billcoke
dAz <da...@nonspam-zip.com.au> wrote in message news:<3ff4f1e0$0$18693$afc3...@news.optusnet.com.au>...
Treadstone
battery in various quartz pieces, only to find the watch won't run after
leaving it alone for a few months.
"H. den Breejen" <Hildo.de...@inter.nl.net> wrote in message
news:1nx6t54hio056.p...@40tude.net...