britain4 0 Posted February 17, 2017 (edited) This has turned into a right novel sorry, tl;dr I think my Sub crown tube is leaking where it meets the case, how can I seal it up? OK hey guys and gals, (almost) first post here, I started a thread on this over on RWI but I discovered something today and I'm trying to get it sorted today so I thought I'd try picking your brains on this. I have a TC sub with gen crystal and crown and gen spec tube which basically is leaking. I used a brand new 2.5mm gasket for the crystal, greased all the seals, all fitted properly. But it's fogging up and I presume leaking from somewhere. First thought was the crystal - it's chipped, but not anywhere near where the gasket sits so I can't see how that would make a difference? Also, the gasket is brand new and gen spec so I can't see how it would be that either? New theory is that it's leaking where the tube meets the case, I took the tube out today and it doesn't look like the O ring is sitting flat on the recessed part of the case properly like it should, seems like the case is machined too deep, even though the tube is screwed in tight there's a small gap. If I were to seal the tube using sealant, A. Would this work and B. Is there a specific type I should use, I was thinking silicone? Or C. Does anyone have any other ideas like a thicker O ring or a thin washer as a spacer or something? We're probably talking a half mm so in relative terms it's not a small gap. Edited February 17, 2017 by britain4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Martijn85 0 Posted February 17, 2017 My new tc extreme let on water, and im trying to sort things out with tc about it, not happy as it cost almost $800 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Genius 281 Posted February 17, 2017 Been said a million times before.... With any rep get it pressure tested before you take it near water! I ignored the advice and swam in my TC, its absolutely fine :P Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TRANSPORTER 1 Posted February 17, 2017 Get it tested mate, water test not a dry test, you will need a wet test to see where it's leaking ok, drop the movement out and just test the empty case, safes screwing the movement incase your crystal pops out ok. As for your crown to case interface, the seal isn't made by the crown screwing in tight to the case, it is formed by stem tube gasket covered in a thin smear of silicone grease being nicely squashed by the crown when it is being screwed into place. who carried out the work fitting the "gen spec" tube, is actually a gen tube, the problem you might be having is the different tolerances between a rep and a gen. But the bottom line is as has been said before, get it wet tested to see where it's leaking otherwise you will be chasing your tail forever trying to find the leak. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
britain4 0 Posted February 17, 2017 (edited) Been said a million times before.... With any rep get it pressure tested before you take it near water! I ignored the advice and swam in my TC, its absolutely fine :P Haha I couldn't agree more, I was just really confident it would be at least splash resistant after I did it :( Get it tested mate, water test not a dry test, you will need a wet test to see where it's leaking ok, drop the movement out and just test the empty case, safes screwing the movement incase your crystal pops out ok.As for your crown to case interface, the seal isn't made by the crown screwing in tight to the case, it is formed by stem tube gasket covered in a thin smear of silicone grease being nicely squashed by the crown when it is being screwed into place. who carried out the work fitting the "gen spec" tube, is actually a gen tube, the problem you might be having is the different tolerances between a rep and a gen. But the bottom line is as has been said before, get it wet tested to see where it's leaking otherwise you will be chasing your tail forever trying to find the leak. Yup I have the O rings all as they should be all with a smear of grease on them. Did the work myself but all the watches I've done in the past have been waterproof with no problem. The TC case has the recess machined into it to accept a gen tube but apparently it is too deep - when the tube is fully tightened the O ring is not making contact with the recessed part where it should be therefore not making a seal. That I know for a fact as the seal is visibly not seated properly on the tube even after fully tightening and removing it. I agree it should be water resistant without the crown screwed in at all I think my meaning got confused. Edited February 17, 2017 by britain4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BadPickle 2,746 Posted February 17, 2017 Condensation, cold air inside warm air outside, a good watchsmith can do the warm air mod. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
britain4 0 Posted February 17, 2017 Condensation, cold air inside warm air outside, a good watchsmith can do the warm air mod. That's the problem, I can't get the warm air to stay in, maybe I need to take the cold air out instead? Thanks m8 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Genius 281 Posted February 17, 2017 Condensation, cold air inside warm air outside, a good watchsmith can do the warm air mod. That's the problem, I can't get the warm air to stay in, maybe I need to take the cold air out instead? Thanks m8 Just stick it in the oven 20 minutes at gas mark 6 may as well chuck some chicken nuggets in too (in the oven - don't put chicken nuggets in your watch) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr_B 2,401 Posted February 17, 2017 Condensation, cold air inside warm air outside, a good watchsmith can do the warm air mod. That's the problem, I can't get the warm air to stay in, maybe I need to take the cold air out instead? Thanks m8 Just stick it in the oven 20 minutes at gas mark 6 may as well chuck some chicken nuggets in too (in the oven - don't put chicken nuggets in your watch) beware of breadcrumbs in the gears Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
black263 228 Posted February 17, 2017 Buy a box of silica gell sachets. Unscrew the caseback and put the watch in a plastic bag full of sachets in the fridge. Leave a couple of days. Screw the back on and put back in the bag of sachets with the crown unscrewed. Leave a couple of days in the fridge. Remove from fridge and allow to come up to ambient. Take out of the silica gel and screw down the crown. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Genius 281 Posted February 17, 2017 Buy a box of silica gell sachets. Unscrew the caseback and put the watch in a plastic bag full of sachets in the fridge. Leave a couple of days. Screw the back on and put back in the bag of sachets with the crown unscrewed. Leave a couple of days in the fridge. Remove from fridge and allow to come up to ambient. Take out of the silica gel and screw down the crown. May as well stick a few chicken nuggets in? no? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
black263 228 Posted February 18, 2017 Buy a box of silica gell sachets. Unscrew the caseback and put the watch in a plastic bag full of sachets in the fridge. Leave a couple of days. Screw the back on and put back in the bag of sachets with the crown unscrewed. Leave a couple of days in the fridge. Remove from fridge and allow to come up to ambient. Take out of the silica gel and screw down the crown. May as well stick a few chicken nuggets in? no? Don't be silly. The crumbs would get in the movement. You could try making beef jerky though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GenTLe 1,501 Posted February 18, 2017 Buy a box of silica gell sachets. Unscrew the caseback and put the watch in a plastic bag full of sachets in the fridge. Leave a couple of days. Screw the back on and put back in the bag of sachets with the crown unscrewed. Leave a couple of days in the fridge. Remove from fridge and allow to come up to ambient. Take out of the silica gel and screw down the crown. Why in the fridge? Shouldn't we prefer a warm place to help the water to evaporate and get caught by the silica gel? Last time I had condensation inside a watch (it was June) I opened it and put it, movement up, in my (black) car, the watch wasn't in direct sun, but the car was like 50+°C inside. All fine since when I closed it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
myaz 3 Posted February 18, 2017 Buy a box of silica gell sachets. Unscrew the caseback and put the watch in a plastic bag full of sachets in the fridge. Leave a couple of days. Screw the back on and put back in the bag of sachets with the crown unscrewed. Leave a couple of days in the fridge. Remove from fridge and allow to come up to ambient. Take out of the silica gel and screw down the crown. Why in the fridge? Shouldn't we prefer a warm place to help the water to evaporate and get caught by the silica gel? Last time I had condensation inside a watch (it was June) I opened it and put it, movement up, in my (black) car, the watch wasn't in direct sun, but the car was like 50+°C inside. All fine since when I closed it. Pick a day with low ambient humidity? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
black263 228 Posted February 18, 2017 Buy a box of silica gell sachets. Unscrew the caseback and put the watch in a plastic bag full of sachets in the fridge. Leave a couple of days. Screw the back on and put back in the bag of sachets with the crown unscrewed. Leave a couple of days in the fridge. Remove from fridge and allow to come up to ambient. Take out of the silica gel and screw down the crown. Why in the fridge? Shouldn't we prefer a warm place to help the water to evaporate and get caught by the silica gel? Last time I had condensation inside a watch (it was June) I opened it and put it, movement up, in my (black) car, the watch wasn't in direct sun, but the car was like 50+°C inside. All fine since when I closed it. Fridge has very low humidity, and when you bring it out, and the temperature goes up to ambient, the dry air inside will further reduce its relative humidity before you screw the crown down. Also, as it warms it will expand and excess will vent out through the crown tube, rather than sucking ambient air into the watch. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GenTLe 1,501 Posted February 18, 2017 Got it, thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
britain4 0 Posted February 19, 2017 (edited) Buy a box of silica gell sachets. Unscrew the caseback and put the watch in a plastic bag full of sachets in the fridge. Leave a couple of days. Screw the back on and put back in the bag of sachets with the crown unscrewed. Leave a couple of days in the fridge. Remove from fridge and allow to come up to ambient. Take out of the silica gel and screw down the crown. Why in the fridge? Shouldn't we prefer a warm place to help the water to evaporate and get caught by the silica gel? Last time I had condensation inside a watch (it was June) I opened it and put it, movement up, in my (black) car, the watch wasn't in direct sun, but the car was like 50+°C inside. All fine since when I closed it. Fridge has very low humidity, and when you bring it out, and the temperature goes up to ambient, the dry air inside will further reduce its relative humidity before you screw the crown down. Also, as it warms it will expand and excess will vent out through the crown tube, rather than sucking ambient air into the watch. That's very cool I would never have known that thanks! Definitely something I will do when reassembling it. However I cannot do that until the crown tube is sealed (I can't be 100% certain that's the only place it's leaking but looking at all the seals etc it's the only place that makes sense) The TC tube obviously didn't leak but only seemed to give me ~half a turn of thread with the gen crown so I would prefer not to go back to that. I am tempted to just say f it and stick to the chicken nuggets lol, I'm hungry now... Edited February 19, 2017 by britain4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
