Citizen watch silicon grease on the rubber seal?

[Pierre Siquet]

Hi All,

I've got a Citizen diver watch. At the local Citizen repair shop, they never grease the rubber seal. They say they will just replace it when it is too hard.
So, questions:
+Should I wait it gets wet inside and trust them?
+Is it normal not to grease and just replace if needed?
+Should I bring my own grease and ask them to do with?

Thanks for your help

Pierre

 

[jlyle]

There are two uses for o-rings, 1. pressure rings and 2. floating rings.

Floating o-rings sit in a groove and are pushed into place by pressure differences creating a water-tight seal. Floating o-rings are always lubed.

Pressure o-rings (gaskets) sit between two plates (like the ones on your watch) and are crushed between the two plates when you screw them together. There is no need to lube a pressure ring because it doesn't move.

My wife's Citizen Hyperaqualand is over 10 years old and has never had the gasket lubed or replaced. IMHO, don't worry about it.

 

[jiveturkey]

What kind of work are you having done on your watch? I have a Citizen eco-drive and don't plan on taking it in to anyone anytime soon.

Location: Hochiminh City, Vietnam mmmmm.....pho and saigon beer and general pham nu lao craziness.....

 

[lairdb]

There are two uses for o-rings, 1. pressure rings and 2. floating rings.

Floating o-rings sit in a groove and are pushed into place by pressure differences creating a water-tight seal. Floating o-rings are always lubed.

Pressure o-rings (gaskets) sit between two plates (like the ones on your watch) and are crushed between the two plates when you screw them together. There is no need to lube a pressure ring because it doesn't move.

My wife's Citizen Hyperaqualand is over 10 years old and has never had the gasket lubed or replaced. IMHO, don't worry about it.

Agree re. not lubricating a gasket. But.

Mine has never been replaced either... but that's because I do the cleaning and battery replacement myself and don't have easy access to the parts. If I did, I would replace the gasket with a new one each time I opened the case; I don't like designs that have gaskets where one of the bearing surfaces rotates into place (i.e. the watch back.) What's a new gasket, a dollar or two?

If the shop is a real Citizen repair shop that's accredited to work on the Aqualand, they should have a pressure-pot to test. If they're pressurizing it to test after the servicing, I wouldn't worry about it even if they don't replace it.

 

[Pierre Siquet]

Thanks for the input!
Well, it is a ... I don't know. There is an analog screen with 2 digital screens inside "Promaster". Is it called dual watch?. The thing is that you screw the cover, so I guess it would be better lubricated, as it would ease gliding of the cover on the ring. The thing is that it seems to be an official repair from citizen (they repair FOC watches bought at other places under warranty). But I have to change my battery every 6 months. They say they can't get better batteries here (??!!). So last time I brought my own battery from Europe. By the way, to test the watch, they dip it in the normal water, then take it out and heat with a lighter to see potential water on the screen. So what???? Yes, there is a big Citizen logo on the front shop

 

[lairdb]

The thing is that it seems to be an official repair from citizen (they repair FOC watches bought at other places under warranty).

That sounds right.

But I have to change my battery every 6 months. They say they can't get better batteries here (??!!). So last time I brought my own battery from Europe. By the way, to test the watch, they dip it in the normal water, then take it out and heat with a lighter to see potential water on the screen. So what???? Yes, there is a big Citizen logo on the front shop

But most of that sounds wrong.

The official Citizen service centers in Vitenam are listed here. An appropriate set of expected services can be seen at the dive watch servicing page of this U.S.-based service center.

Edit: stumbled across this on the main Citizen site:

Q. What interval is recommended to exchange gaskets in the watch?

A. Gaskets in your watch are deteriorating little by little as they are aging , and the damages to the sealing can cause the water leakage. After replacing battery at authorized service centers, the gaskets are also exchanged in order to maintain water resistant quality. However Eco-Drive watches, with no such occasions, we recommend you change the gaskets in regular intervals, once in 2 or 3 years. Please consult our authorized service center in your country for further information such as the repair procedure or the cost.

 

[Pierre Siquet]

Thanks Lairdb, very detailed infos. In deed, the shop is on your list. This is then what Citizen garanties and recommends me. Quite poor. We would expect a certain level wouldn't we?
Very embarrassing when having a new battery, and couple of weeks later you dive and your watch gets wrong because the water is too cold.... 22 degrees celsius....

Do you think I could send a gentle smooth claim letter to an official Citizen office? I just imagine the diver not having a back up computer and getting his gear stuck in the middle of the blue....

 

[Mitchell]

Mine went dead after 3 years. I have a hper aqualand that I sent out because I thought it was the battery. They sent me a bill (if I wanted it fixed ) for $146.00. I called and they said that the whole internal peice has to be replaced. I'm thinking that I don't abuse anything so this must be a quick fix for them. They did say that there is a five year warrenty on this. I quickly looked and didn't find my receipt. I remembered I bought it from a department store. I called them and they sent me the original bill. That worked fine for the service dept. I can't wait to get it back.

My suggestion is to keep a log of all your receipts that have a warrenty. It would have saved me from running around hoping I could find it.