Condensation under crystal

[h2ored]

I've recently been noticing my BR01-92 is getting fogged up with condensation after a few minutes of wearing it. The condensation is on the inside surface of the crystal. It makes the watch pretty much unwearable. Anyone know why this might be happening or how to fix it?

 

Cheers

[freddy333]

As above. Either the crystal or 1 (or more) of the case gaskets are leaking. I would have it professionally pressure tested/repaired before wearing it near moisture.

For the current condensation, you can place it in a dry, warm (not hot) place & let it dry out. Better still, place it in a glass jar with 1 or 2 of those moisture absorbing packets that some medicine & vitamin bottles contain for a day. Then get it professionally checked. Once moisture enters the case, you run the risk that the movement may be rusting.

[Watchmeister]

if it is fogging up every time you wear it I suspect there is a fair amount of moisture in there. You can always try the silica packets or rice and it may help speed it up if you remove the caseback when you put it in the Baggie but at the end of the day you are still going to have to fix whichever seal is "leaking".

[mymanmatt]

Everyone is correct. You will need to remove the movement, clean the case, and the movement. They don't fog unless they have been wet.

[Ephry73]

It IS always best to uncase the movement to save everything. Rice can get messy, but those nice silica bags work great(find them all over the place in camera and shoe stores) or at worst, use hand warmer tablets these suck up humidity as well. 

Ensure you HAVE all the seals needed.

 

E

[panerai153]

I have used Rice, Heck we grow it, so we have plenty!!! it's good but messy, can't use it if the case is open,unless you put the watch inside a baggy, and that sort of defeats the purpose. A few years ago, i came across some moisture absorbant cannisters, filled with some sort of gel beads. They looked like round medicine capsules, inside a metal container with perforations all around. The nice thing about these was you could put them in an oven on very low heat, and they would dry back out so they are re usable.

I certainly agree with everyone above, Drying it out is a first line of defense sort of thing, you have to find the problem. as Matt said, it needs to be uncased, cleaned and the movement inspected for rust or retained moisture, then it needs to be put back together properly and sealed, then pressure tested. Unfortunately, I believe that there are some reps that are impossible to make water resistant, tolerances aren't close enough, or they have too many water entry possibilities, like some chronographs for instance, two pushers, crown, caseback and crystal. Most can be sealed to the point that you can wash your hands, wear in rain,etc.And then there are those which are able to be sealed and made water resistant almost to factory specs of the genuine. Lots of the Rolex Subs, SD's, etc are easily water resistant to 5-8 atmos., which is adequate for most anything outside of extreme depths.

[shad0w]

I have had issues with my V3 diver fogging up in the cold... But it disappears quickly when i get into a warm room. It's actually trapped moist air in the watch and the watch itself is actually waterproof in a cup of water. You just need to get the humid air out and seal it in dry air conditions.

In your case it's probably different. That amount of moisture typically appears when water have entered.

Bell&ross BR01 reps can be a bit finnicky because of how they are actually sealed.... The watch itself opens from the front and has a square cover. It only has 4 screws to hold it down and the pressure point is nowhere near the o ring. This makes it very likely to have gaps where there is a lack of pressure holding down the gasket causing potential leak areas. I'd suggest trying alternative O rings... Perhaps slightly more robust ones or different sized ones. Or tighten the sh&@ out of it.... But that would tear your screws up probably noticably. Good luck!

[Watchmeister]

I learned the hard way that taking the whole thing apart and then reassembling and testing for seal is the only way to go. We won't talk about the time i opened up a watch which kept fogging up and put it in a toaster.

[panerai153]

 

Lol toaster never heard that one before. Although I did have someone try it in a microwave. let's just say it still had condensation under the crystal and also had symptoms of not Working period. Lol

Surprise,surprise, when he turned on the mictowave, flash fried watch!!!