Again, water in watch.

johnniet

johnniet

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Jul 12, 1999
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For months my Timex has had water condensed on the inside of the crystal. It didn't affect the (quartz) mechanism but it's damned annoying. That one was supposed to be 50M water-resistant.
This time I'm a little more surprised. A Tissot PR100 (supposed to be good for 100M underwater) with a sapphire crystal and all. I went kayaking today, rolled a bit (yeah! first time!) and now it's got visible condensation on the inside. (It's been fine on prevous kayaking trips, even when I've bailed. But why now when it's supposed to be 100M waterproof?)
What am I doing wrong here?
Is there an inexpensive watch (like Casio or Fossil) that really won't get water on the inside just by getting dipped a little?
 
You might want to give one of the Luminox watches a try. The basic Navy Seal model can be had for about $125 from the right dealer and mine's stayed dry for about 5 years. Plus you also get the much discussed and very impressive tritium dial illumination.
 
I'll second Bronco's recommendation of the Luminox. Mine is showing some condensation but it's really taken a beating and is over 5 years old. Decent pricing for what you get, too.

Is the Tissot possibly under warranty? Is it water or possibly condensation from a temperature differential(realizing that even with a temp diff it shouldn't be showing condensation)?

The Seiko mentioned on the other thread here is a really good deal, too. Great buy, and should be good in wet and semi-wet conditions.
 
I have never got water in my Casio G-Shock and i have had it for a little over a year, Before that i had a timex ironman and it only started getting some condensation on the inside when it got wet after 8 years or so.
 
i used to swim all the time w/my swiss army watch, it never leaked and was only about $70 or so.........


greg
 
How old are those watches? Rubber seals don't last forever. Regardless, open them up, dry them out, and replace the seals. Then you'll be good for a while. Any watchmaker can replace the seals for you, though some of those dorks who replace batteries at malls might not be able to. Ask him if he can pressure-test it after he replaces the seals. (Mall dorks don't have pressure testers....)

Buying a different brand is not going to help. They all have rubber seals; they all deteriorate.

If you get a tiny speck of debris on a seal when you open a watch to replace a battery or regulate it that can keep it from sealing properly. Lubricating with silicone grease helps, and it helps preserve the rubber too. You can get it at auto parts stores; ask for tune-up grease.
 
Originally posted by Cougar Allen
If you get a tiny speck of debris on a seal when you open a watch to replace a battery or regulate it that can keep it from sealing properly. Lubricating with silicone grease helps, and it helps preserve the rubber too. You can get it at auto parts stores; ask for tune-up grease.
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Coouhl. :cool:

Thanks everybody for your ideas.
 
I have a Tag that had finally stopped working due to water in it. Its rated for 200 meters. I took it to the shop to have the watch guy check it out. He said one of the biggest problems is wearing them in the shower. Over time soap will speed up drying and cracking of the seals. His advice is to be sure and rinse it completely or better yet dont wear it in the shower.
 
The Seiko dive watches are well built and I've never had an issue with water intrusion.
 
I'm not sure about the particulars of your watch, but many waterproof watches are not waterproof when you press the buttons, so you should not press buttons unless the watch is dry.
 
You might try a Breitling Superocean Professional, it is rated to 5000 feet... :D
 
Get yourself a Casio G-Shock. I've been wearing those for YEARS and I have NEVER had ANY KIND of problem with ANY of 'em.
 
I had an old Russian "Slava"- paid DM20.00 (about $USD13.00) for it & it ran like a champ until I finally wore it to death 3 yrs later- was working as a bartender/cook/waiter at the time & the watch was always wet.
 
G-Shock. Had one for 5 years with no probs. I second the idea of keeping them out of the shower. Soap and steam make it hard on the seals.
 
it is rated to 5000 feet
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heck, isn't the EZM-2 rated to like 11,000 feet, or was that meters? Same with the St Moritz diver. They both use the silicon oil thing. The St Moritz was under $300 I think.

Hmmmm, 11,000 feet under water; hopefully it'll resist infiltration by a shower spray :)
 
I'm a huge fan of the Seiko divers. The beauty of an automatic watch is that they never need to be opened to replace the batteries. It's probably a good idea to do a tune up every 15 or 20 years though :)

chronograph.com has the SKX007K for $118 delivered. Can't beat that with a stick IMHO. It even looks cool (and feels good on your wrist). Big thumbs up there.
 
So if I drop it in the Marian trench, I can send a 28,000 foot long robot arm to grab it, and it will still work. Yeah?
 
Johnniet-

It looks like you had bad luck on two separate occasions. Your second watch from Tissot should have handled the dunking without issue. Return it to the place of purchase and demand a complete servicing with pressure test or watch replacement.

Other good advice has already been mentioned, such as avoiding showers, steambaths, saunas and anywhere else you can have dramatic changes of temperature coupled with the drying effect of strong detergents.

Check out TimeZone for lots of other interesting discussions about watches.

Regards,

~ Blue Jays ~
 
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