Water resistance testers

[aamaci]

A quick query; Has anyone purchased one of the generic, Chinese manufactured, water resistance testers widely available on Ebay and Amazon?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/yuyte-Water...16XEP8D6BWKD4C

If so, are they any good, and as they only seem to pressurise to 6atm, are they worthwhile getting? I would use it to test my own watches before using when swimming etc. Is there a reasonably priced alternative?

Thanks for your thoughts....

A

[Stringer]

I’ve never owned one, but I have researched them a bit, as I’ll probably pick one up myself at some point.

60m is fine for what you require. Most independent watchmakers or High Street outlets tend to test ‘only’ to 100m on their machines (unless the Brand or model warrants greater testing). I’m no diving expert, but even if you plan on Scuba diving, most recreational diving takes place at 20m or less. Even the humblest of dive watches is capable of safely coping with much greater depths than their owners are.

It would do just fine for the occasional peace of mind testing of watches annually, in advance of summer holidays, between services etc.

I think the seals on these tend to go first, or the pressure release valve doesn’t work as it should. Not professional grade equipment by any means - though some repairers probably do use them - so if you don’t buy expecting it to last forever it should be fine, I suppose.

In terms of pricing, it’s all over the place on Amazon. I suspect many models are identical Chinese-made models, so quality may be much of a muchness. £100 is about what I’d look to pay for one with decent reviews, though they go as low as £75.

It goes without saying that exposing any watch to water can be hazardous in the wrong circumstances - faulty machine, user error, extremely leaky case etc. If uncertain, you could test a watch with the movement removed, but it’s a bit of a faff and without testing with the movement in you’ll never be truly sure you haven’t sheared a case back gasket etc. when recasing afterwards.

If possible, buying from a UK or EU seller comes in handy if you need to return the tester for any reason. I’ve had a faulty Chinese-made Timegrapher before and arranging for return was a bit of a pain.

[aamaci]

I’ve never owned one, but I have researched them a bit, as I’ll probably pick one up myself at some point.

60m is fine for what you require. Most independent watchmakers or High Street outlets tend to test ‘only’ to 100m on their machines (unless the Brand or model warrants greater testing). I’m no diving expert, but even if you plan on Scuba diving, most recreational diving takes place at 20m or less. Even the humblest of dive watches is capable of safely coping with much greater depths than their owners are.

It would do just fine for the occasional peace of mind testing of watches annually, in advance of summer holidays, between services etc.

I think the seals on these tend to go first, or the pressure release valve doesn’t work as it should. Not professional grade equipment by any means - though some repairers probably do use them - so if you don’t buy expecting it to last forever it should be fine, I suppose.

In terms of pricing, it’s all over the place on Amazon. I suspect many models are identical Chinese-made models, so quality may be much of a muchness. £100 is about what I’d look to pay for one with decent reviews, though they go as low as £75.

It goes without saying that exposing any watch to water can be hazardous in the wrong circumstances - faulty machine, user error, extremely leaky case etc. If uncertain, you could test a watch with the movement removed, but it’s a bit of a faff and without testing with the movement in you’ll never be truly sure you haven’t sheared a case back gasket etc. when recasing afterwards.

If possible, buying from a UK or EU seller comes in handy if you need to return the tester for any reason. I’ve had a faulty Chinese-made Timegrapher before and arranging for return was a bit of a pain.

Thanks Stringer, your thoughts pretty much confirm my own. I was intending to get a "fulfilled by amazon", which tend to be around the £100 mark, for the reasons you mention.

A

[walkerwek1958]

Unless you have the skills and capability to take the movement out of the watch this is a bad idea.

I use a cheap wet tester that goes up to 6 bar. I don’t like wet testers, they need using with care, but I can’t justify spending big money on the alternatives. These things are OK if the watch doesn’t leak, but if it does there are a few ways it can end badly and that’s why you need the capability to strip the watch down sharpish if things go pear- shaped.

Lets work through the logic: You don’t know whether the watch is watertight so you wish to test it. The watch is suspended in the airspace and pressurised to 6 bar. You leave the watch for a few minutes, then what do you do next?

Lets assume the watch isn’t sealing correctly, the pressure inside the case has equalised at 6 bar. If you drop the pressure by a very small amount, then immerse the watch, you should see bubbles appearing from the point where the leak is. At this point you need to be VERY careful, lift the watch out of the water and let the pressure down VERY slowly, allowing the air in the case to escape. If you drop the pressure too quickly you will blow the glass out of its seal and that will spoil your day.

In a second scenario, the watch will seal to around 1 bar but leaks above that. This means the pressure inside the case reaches 5 bar when the air is pressurised to 6. The pressure is dropped slightly and the watch immersed. No bubbles are observed, so the operator feels happy to drop the pressure faster and reaches a point (<5bar) where bubbles are observed. Unfortunately he’s probably dropped the pressure too quickly and the crystal lifts with the watch immersed, that’s enough to spoil anyone’s day. It only takes a small amount of pressure to lift the crystal, trust me on that one.

I always take the movement out and test the case separately, with a watch that’s an unknown quantity its the only safe way to do it. Usually I’ve inspected or replaced the seals so I know what to expect, but I do get surprises. Depending on the watch and design I may test it again carefully after reassembly to confirm that the caseback seal has located correctly, but with most watches its obvious whether its in correctly or not.

It makes far more sense to have watches checked for WR by someone who knows what they’re doing, these machines dan do more harm than good if they’re not used with caution.

[notenoughwrists]

Great feedback Paul


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[aamaci]

Unless you have the skills and capability to take the movement out of the watch this is a bad idea.

I use a cheap wet tester that goes up to 6 bar. I don’t like wet testers, they need using with care, but I can’t justify spending big money on the alternatives. These things are OK if the watch doesn’t leak, but if it does there are a few ways it can end badly and that’s why you need the capability to strip the watch down sharpish if things go pear- shaped.

Lets work through the logic: You don’t know whether the watch is watertight so you wish to test it. The watch is suspended in the airspace and pressurised to 6 bar. You leave the watch for a few minutes, then what do you do next?

Lets assume the watch isn’t sealing correctly, the pressure inside the case has equalised at 6 bar. If you drop the pressure by a very small amount, then immerse the watch, you should see bubbles appearing from the point where the leak is. At this point you need to be VERY careful, lift the watch out of the water and let the pressure down VERY slowly, allowing the air in the case to escape. If you drop the pressure too quickly you will blow the glass out of its seal and that will spoil your day.

In a second scenario, the watch will seal to around 1 bar but leaks above that. This means the pressure inside the case reaches 5 bar when the air is pressurised to 6. The pressure is dropped slightly and the watch immersed. No bubbles are observed, so the operator feels happy to drop the pressure faster and reaches a point (<5bar) where bubbles are observed. Unfortunately he’s probably dropped the pressure too quickly and the crystal lifts with the watch immersed, that’s enough to spoil anyone’s day. It only takes a small amount of pressure to lift the crystal, trust me on that one.

I always take the movement out and test the case separately, with a watch that’s an unknown quantity its the only safe way to do it. Usually I’ve inspected or replaced the seals so I know what to expect, but I do get surprises. Depending on the watch and design I may test it again carefully after reassembly to confirm that the caseback seal has located correctly, but with most watches its obvious whether its in correctly or not.

It makes far more sense to have watches checked for WR by someone who knows what they’re doing, these machines dan do more harm than good if they’re not used with caution.

Wow! Thank you very much for your detailed and thoughtful response. I hadn't realised it could all go wrong so easily using these pieces of kit. Well, you've made my mind up for me.... I'm not going to bother getting one now (£100 saved towards another purchase )

A

[aamaci]

Stringer and Walkerwek1958's considered and thought provoking responses, are classic examples of what makes this forum so good IMO! Thank you both.

A

[walkerwek1958]

I speak from experience, and I tell it as I see it.

Blowing the crystal out of a watch is quite funny provided the movement isn’t fitted. Last time I did it was whilst testing a Steinhart, turned out the glass seal had a crack in it ( didn’t expect that, the plastic had become brittle after 5 years) so when I subjected it to 6 bar then dropped the pressure the crystal popped straight out.

Watches leak from the crown, the crystal, or the caseback seal. Very occasionally they can leak from the pendant tube where it screws or or is press- fitted to the case. It ain’t rocket science.

[Maysie]

.....

If you drop the pressure too quickly you will blow the glass out of its seal and that will spoil your day.

.....

I absolutely love the understated way that the above statement has been written.
Well done Sir for such a well written and informative post, which also made me smile.