gioarmani Posted October 5, 2006 Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 Excited? Yes. So I decided to throw a couple through the numbers, fingers crossed... The first up was my new fav, the newest Davidsen PAM 005 logo. My first thoughts were, "f*ck the swiss standard" printed of 3 bars/atms in the instruction book. Let's push it up just a hair: I squeezed it up to 4 bars thinking that would be more than suficient, let the watch pressurize for 4 or 5 minutes, and slowly lowered the her in:. It held solid, no bubbles for 5 minutes in the tank. So I decided to bury the needle @ 6 atms... Pressurized it for another 4 minutes, then let it sit for 5, submersed. Flawless. Absolutely flawless. Next up, Andrew's swiss GMT Master II. Another 4 bar charge & submersion: 5 minutes under the pond, and no bubbles: Then came my modified EL sub. The charge & dip: Buried solid at 6 bars for 5 minutes under: Yet another phenomenal result. Flawless. And last but not least, at this point even my girl was pumped up to toss hers in the mix. One swiss ladys datejust: (there's some water drips on the outside of the glass, not bubbles--optical illusion I think) Solid @ 4 bars again--didn't want to push the little thing to 6, seeing as the only water it will see is a shower, if that. A worthwhile investment indeed! So what the hell, if anyone needs theirs run through, make me an offer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heywood Posted October 5, 2006 Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 Congratulations! Great purchase and awesome photos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offshore Posted October 5, 2006 Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 You are releasing the pressure once you submerge them....???? Thats when you will see the bubbles Offshore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david-aussie Posted October 5, 2006 Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 Did u grease to the gaskets or just drop the watches stright in without greasing the gaskets first.?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameron Posted October 5, 2006 Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 nifty little tool fam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www_watch Posted October 5, 2006 Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 Come on.... can't you see the recessed pin on the pressure gauge? IT'S A CHEAP BERGEON REPLICA!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fitmic Posted October 5, 2006 Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 Excuse my lack of knowledge. What happens if the watch fail the test? Is it ruined, like if it got water inside the movement while taking a swim? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offshore Posted October 5, 2006 Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 @fitmic The test is done by pressurising the chamber, whilst the watch is above the water. Therefore the watch has been subjected to the pressure ( if it leaks, pressurised air is inside) It is then placed in the water and the pressure is decreased. If the watch has a leak, air will bleed out thru the leak area. if you see bubbles, it leaks, and you immediately pull it from the water, before the pressure equalises, and water can get inside. Hope that explains it in laymans terms. offshore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fitmic Posted October 5, 2006 Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 offshore>> Thanks for the info. It now makes sense! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkdc Posted October 5, 2006 Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 Dang. You dropped $600 on a pressure tester? You must have a lot of watches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrono903 Posted October 5, 2006 Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 great post but, can you find a way to incorporate your girl into a couple of the pics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKTOWN Posted October 5, 2006 Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 A worthwhile investment indeed! So what the hell, if anyone needs theirs run through, make me an offer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWG Technical Posted October 5, 2006 Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 I see the picture where the watch has been submerged, but there is still pressure on the guage. For the test to work, you have to release the pressure, and then look for bubbles...or are the pictures out of sequence? Nice tester by the way, not my cup of tea as I dont' have one and probably never will... RG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWG Technical Posted October 5, 2006 Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 A suggestion that could save you ruining a watch. If there is a problem with the crystal, then you risk it blowing off when you release the pressure...what I mean is this... You close the tester with the watch out of the water, then pressurize and let it sit for a few minutes... Then you immerse the watch in the water, and release the pressure all at once to see if there is a leak (the theory being that if the seals are bad, pressurized air gets into the watch case, and when it's under water and you release the pressure, this pressurized air inside the watch case will leak out - and you see bubbles...) The risk is this, the crystal has been known to fly off when you suddenly release the pressure, thereby ruining the watch...as it is sitting under water and will fill up... Best to try this, pressurize the chamber, with the watch above the water, then release the pressure with the watch STILL above the water...if you have a loose crystal, better to have it fall off in the water and the watch remaining dry, than have it happen UNDER water...that would ruin your day... Just a suggestion... RG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gioarmani Posted October 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 I see the picture where the watch has been submerged, but there is still pressure on the guage. For the test to work, you have to release the pressure, and then look for bubbles...or are the pictures out of sequence? Nice tester by the way, not my cup of tea as I dont' have one and probably never will... RG Lol--now I feel like a complete schmuck! The instruction booklet didn't mention the pressure release until after it said to look for the bubbles. I'll have to retry tonight & reshoot. Thanks for that minor bit of information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linder Posted October 5, 2006 Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 And then, if the crystal still holds, do it all over again but with the watch under water and hope the crystal holds again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKTOWN Posted October 5, 2006 Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 Lol--now I feel like a complete schmuck! The instruction booklet didn't mention the pressure release until after it said to look for the bubbles. I'll have to retry tonight & reshoot. Thanks for that minor bit of information. Place watch in chamber, pressurise to atm you want to test. Slowly open vent (if you open To quickly you may blow crystal off depending on how many BARS or ATMOSPHERS, remember @ 6 atm you have alomost 90lbs. of pressure) and submerge into water , looking for air escaping. When totally submerged vent all pressure. Look for air bubbles. This is how I test for water reisitance. JKTOWN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gioarmani Posted October 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 Place watch in chamber, pressurise to atm you want to test. Slowly open vent (if you open To quickly you may blow crystal off depending on how many BARS or ATMOSPHERS, remember @ 6 atm you have alomost 90lbs. of pressure) and submerge into water , looking for air escaping. When totally submerged vent all pressure. Look for air bubbles. This is how I test for water reisitance. JKTOWN Thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gioarmani Posted October 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 All right Zig, I tried it the proper way and both the sub & pam were solid @ 5 bars. Does this mean the watch could withstand a dive (from a board, not deep-sea), and not just regular swimming? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linder Posted October 5, 2006 Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 The problem is how the pressure will increase dynamically due to movement of your body, water, etc to increase the static pressure of the depth. Static pressure will also vary according to your current altitude and barometric pressure. At sea level, it is 1 atm of pressure so a 5 atm rated watch can go 4atm beneath in a perfectly still environment. 4atm = 132 ft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gioarmani Posted October 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 Excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MechWatch Posted October 6, 2006 Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 Great news for me. Now I know EL's sub case is capable of withstanding 5 bars in a static test, after greasing the seals as you have done. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offshore Posted October 6, 2006 Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 Great news for me. Now I know EL's sub case is capable of withstanding 5 bars in a static test, after greasing the seals as you have done. Thanks. Not really..... what you do know is that the one gioarmani has passed a test. This doesn't mean that the next one will! Remember that as each one is individually assembled, a seal may be incorrectly assembled ( or left out) or the parts used in the assembly are from a different source. I would still have each individual unit tested before immersion! ( And retested frequently) Offshore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gioarmani Posted October 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 Just to clarify on correct usage, once it's been 3 or 4 minutes & the watch has pressurized & it's submersed, you release the pressure & watch for bubbles. My question is, every watch that I've tested has a few bubbles come out. For instance on the submariner, they come out from the top of the bezel, near the case (not near the crystal) but I also see them coming from the band & clasp. Only a few, then they stop. If there's an actual leak are the bubbles smaller & contiuously still streaming after the pressure is completely released, or how does one tell the difference between an actual leak and air that was simply trapped under the bezel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKTOWN Posted October 6, 2006 Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 Just to clarify on correct usage, once it's been 3 or 4 minutes & the watch has pressurized & it's submersed, you release the pressure & watch for bubbles. My question is, every watch that I've tested has a few bubbles come out. For instance on the submariner, they come out from the top of the bezel, near the case (not near the crystal) but I also see them coming from the band & clasp. Only a few, then they stop. If there's an actual leak are the bubbles smaller & contiuously still streaming after the pressure is completely released, or how does one tell the difference between an actual leak and air that was simply trapped under the bezel? It's best to test without bands on. Yes air can be trapped under bezel, and in links if band is on the watch, this happens quite often. JUST be sure no bubbles from crystal case, case back, and crown stem area. Only be concernedwith watch casement areas. Hope this helps. You'll have the hang of it after a few more testings. Just remember NEVER release all the pressure in the chamber if you see bubbles coming from any casement areas. If you do remove watch immediately with chamber still pressurised. JKT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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