SD43 Helium Valve Question???

[Swiss Mad!]

On the Rolex website, there is a picture of the SD43 with a helium bubble seeping out from the escapement valve - nothing wrong with that, it actually looks quite cool.

However, I also noticed, the picture seems to show another gas bubble seeping out of the case back!

Is this correct?

Would gas escape from both the escapement valve AND the case back?

If so, what's the point of the escapement valve in the first place if gas can escape through the case back anyway?

Any thoughts...???

[Ruiz]

Good question. Wish I knew the answer. I am also wondering what happens after the gas escapes? Does it affect the watch in any way? And what happens if the watch goes back to the same depth again but this time with no gas? Will it get damaged?

If not why not manufacture the watch without gas inside. Wouldn't this remove the need for the valve?

[meganfox17]

After you have purchased a diving watch from Rolex , Omega or any other Swiss watchmaker brand , always weigh the watch first and assess the weight periodically when you have nothing better to do at home over the weekend !
There is always a potential problem of helium escaping (or decompression) from your Rolex diver watch because over time, elements of corrosions do occur at the escape valve outlet depending on the humidity inside the watch. As a result the watch becomes heavier. Imagine if Rolex replaces Helium with another Noble gas like Krypton which is 20x more denser than Helium and Krypton escapes out thru' the valve outlet watch, Heck ! you'd probably wouldn't be able to lift the watch off the table! ....Just kidding but you get the picture here right ?
The atmospheric pressure at sea level is around 14.7 psi ( pounds or pound force per square inch ) and if I'm not mistaken , the helium pressure inside the Sub is 5 psi with bracelet all links , 5 -10 psi for a Sea Dweller. The Sub weighs around 130 g with the helium and 174 g without the Helium. I don't know how true but I've heard stories of Sub Comex watches filled with 12 psi He to compensate for saturation diving.
The Old Sea Dweller weighs about 148 g with the helium and 197 g without the He ! My old Omega PO Cal 8500 on bracelet has a He pressure of 4 psi with full links weighs 202g with and 232g without the He.

So if your watch becomes heavier one day, think faulty He release valve and that means the Helium gas has escaped. If that happens, then a visit to the RSC is in order for some repairworks.The Helium refill also includes installng a new valve and attaching a special device containing the right amount of Helium again about 5 psi. That will set you back between US $400-600.Oh Yeah !Just make doubly sure that your watchmaker doesn't overfill your Subs or your Sea Dwellers otherwise it becomes like a feather weight Richard Mille watch !Picture of a faulty He Release valve

[SevenWays]

Really interesting info!

The deepest most SDs will see will be the bottom of the backyard pool, I imagine.

Sinn has oil-filled watches. I suppose that would avoid the valve altogether?

[meganfox17]

Originally Posted by SevenWays

Sinn has oil-filled watches.I suppose that would avoid the valve altogether?

Did you know that Sinn was initially using Whale Oil for their UX watches ? When the Green Eco crowd found out, there was a huge uproar in Europe and they lost a lot of business contracts.Sinn has rectified the problem since and announced to the whole world they are now using synthetic oils

[BLNR Nairobi]

Originally Posted by meganfox17

After you have purchased a diving watch from Rolex , Omega or any other Swiss watchmaker brand , always weigh the watch first and assess the weight periodically when you have nothing better to do at home over the weekend !
There is always a potential problem of helium escaping (or decompression) from your Rolex diver watch because over time, elements of corrosions do occur at the escape valve outlet depending on the humidity inside the watch. As a result the watch becomes heavier. Imagine if Rolex replaces Helium with another Noble gas like Krypton which is 20x more denser than Helium and Krypton escapes out thru' the valve outlet watch, Heck ! you'd probably wouldn't be able to lift the watch off the table! ....Just kidding but you get the picture here right ?
The atmospheric pressure at sea level is around 14.7 psi ( pounds or pound force per square inch ) and if I'm not mistaken , the helium pressure inside the Sub is 5 psi with bracelet all links , 5 -10 psi for a Sea Dweller. The Sub weighs around 130 g with the helium and 174 g without the Helium. I don't know how true but I've heard stories of Sub Comex watches filled with 12 psi He to compensate for saturation diving.
The Old Sea Dweller weighs about 148 g with the helium and 197 g without the He ! My old Omega PO Cal 8500 on bracelet has a He pressure of 4 psi with full links weighs 202g with and 232g without the He.

So if your watch becomes heavier one day, think faulty He release valve and that means the Helium gas has escaped. If that happens, then a visit to the RSC is in order for some repairworks.The Helium refill also includes installng a new valve and attaching a special device containing the right amount of Helium again about 5 psi. That will set you back between US $400-600.Oh Yeah !Just make doubly sure that your watchmaker doesn't overfill your Subs or your Sea Dwellers otherwise it becomes like a feather weight Richard Mille watch !Picture of a faulty He Release valve

You must be joking, right? Did you just say Rolex fills the SD with Helium? Maybe I’m not getting the joke, but that is not how a HEV works. At all.

[RW16610]

A helium release valve, or helium escape valve, as
it is also called, is a feature found on some diving watches. It provides functionality for professional divers operating at great depths for prolonged periods of time or under saturation.

When commercial divers operate at great depths, they often spend prolonged hours in diving bells under pressure breathing a breathing gas mix like trimix or similar, that contain the gases helium or hydrogen. Since helium atoms are the smallest natural gas particles found in nature, these gas atoms are able to work their way inside the watch, around any o-rings or other seals the watch may feature. This is not a problem as long as the divers stay under pressure, but when the decompression stops during resurfacing aren't long enough, a pressure difference builds up between the trapped gas(es) inside the watch case and its environment. Depending on the construction of the watch case and crystal, this effect can cause damage to the watch, such as the crystal popping off.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium_release_valve

[BLNR Nairobi]

Originally Posted by RW16610

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium_release_valve

Exactly.

[Alex Ks]

What is going on in this thread??

[padi56]

The HEV is just a one way valve fully automatic on all the Rolex dive range it's only used for saturation divers who work underwater and reside at depth in dry chambers at the same outside water pressure.The gas they breath mainly now a high helium content the gas particles are that small they can pass thought the watch crystal seals etc.And when the divers are being re-compressed to normal atmosphere pressure, any gas thats in the watches escapes through the HEV valve. Otherwise the gas would expand with the rise to normal atmospheric pressure, and the weakest point the crystal would most probably explode.A normal scuba diver would have no need to use the HEV on any watch.Think of it this way take a balloon down to 10m under water. That's 2 atmospheres one water pressure one surface air pressure.Now fill that balloon with air at that pressure of 2 atmospheres.Now because the compressed air is now under-pressure and quite dense. You can fill it but the amount of air breathing gas content would be twice as much as normal above water on the surface.Now release that balloon and let it go back to the surface because of the return to one atmosphere surface pressure balloon would expand and burst simply because there was twice as much air in it at surface pressure.

[dysondiver]

ah steady on ,,, theres already a fair bit of contrafibularity creeping into this thread.

[dysondiver]

Originally Posted by padi56

The HEV is just a one way valve fully automatic on all the Rolex dive range it's only used for saturation divers who work underwater and reside at depth in dry chambers at the same outside water pressure.The gas they breath mainly now a high helium content the gas particles are that small they can pass thought the watch crystal seals etc.And when the divers are being re-compressed to normal atmosphere pressure, any gas thats in the watches escapes through the HEV valve. Otherwise the gas would expand with the rise to normal atmospheric pressure, and the weakest point the crystal would most probably explode.A normal scuba diver would have no need to use the HEV on any watch.Think of it this way take a balloon down to 10m under water. That's 2 atmospheres one water pressure one surface air pressure.Now fill that balloon with air at that pressure of 2 atmospheres.Now because the compressed air is now under-pressure and quite dense. You can fill it but the amount of air breathing gas content would be twice as much as normal above water on the surface.Now release that balloon and let it go back to the surface because of the return to one atmosphere surface pressure balloon would expand and burst simply because there was twice as much air in it at surface pressure.

this is all true ,,, Boyles law , and Daltons law ,, all very important to divers , but i find Coles law to be as important.





especially with ham at lunch time.

[meganfox17]

Originally Posted by BLNR Nairobi

You must be joking, right? Did you just say Rolex fills the SD with Helium? Maybe I’m not getting the joke, but that is not how a HEV works. At all.

Like you, I didn't believe it at first until my Omega PO 600 which I had for 6 years was getting heavier. I thought maybe my left wrist wasnt getting enough exercise or perhaps I was getting older until I read a thread over and over again on the Omega Forum under Open discussion section.Here's the thread created by the senior moderator of the OF, @styggpyggeno1 who had a similar problem with his Rolex Sea Dweller. His watch was getting heavier just like mine !

https://omegaforums.net/threads/big-...-escape.39163/

[MILGAUSS88]

Originally Posted by meganfox17

After you have purchased a diving watch from Rolex , Omega or any other Swiss watchmaker brand , always weigh the watch first and assess the weight periodically when you have nothing better to do at home over the weekend !
There is always a potential problem of helium escaping (or decompression) from your Rolex diver watch because over time, elements of corrosions do occur at the escape valve outlet depending on the humidity inside the watch. As a result the watch becomes heavier. Imagine if Rolex replaces Helium with another Noble gas like Krypton which is 20x more denser than Helium and Krypton escapes out thru' the valve outlet watch, Heck ! you'd probably wouldn't be able to lift the watch off the table! ....Just kidding but you get the picture here right ?
The atmospheric pressure at sea level is around 14.7 psi ( pounds or pound force per square inch ) and if I'm not mistaken , the helium pressure inside the Sub is 5 psi with bracelet all links , 5 -10 psi for a Sea Dweller. The Sub weighs around 130 g with the helium and 174 g without the Helium. I don't know how true but I've heard stories of Sub Comex watches filled with 12 psi He to compensate for saturation diving.
The Old Sea Dweller weighs about 148 g with the helium and 197 g without the He ! My old Omega PO Cal 8500 on bracelet has a He pressure of 4 psi with full links weighs 202g with and 232g without the He.

So if your watch becomes heavier one day, think faulty He release valve and that means the Helium gas has escaped. If that happens, then a visit to the RSC is in order for some repairworks.The Helium refill also includes installng a new valve and attaching a special device containing the right amount of Helium again about 5 psi. That will set you back between US $400-600.Oh Yeah !Just make doubly sure that your watchmaker doesn't overfill your Subs or your Sea Dwellers otherwise it becomes like a feather weight Richard Mille watch !Picture of a faulty He Release valve

I know you are knowledgeable on many watches, but whoever told you this did not know what they are talking about, or they were pulling your leg..I think the latter, given the weight difference.

[SC11]

Originally Posted by meganfox17

After you have purchased a diving watch from Rolex , Omega or any other Swiss watchmaker brand , always weigh the watch first and assess the weight periodically when you have nothing better to do at home over the weekend !
There is always a potential problem of helium escaping (or decompression) from your Rolex diver watch because over time, elements of corrosions do occur at the escape valve outlet depending on the humidity inside the watch. As a result the watch becomes heavier. Imagine if Rolex replaces Helium with another Noble gas like Krypton which is 20x more denser than Helium and Krypton escapes out thru' the valve outlet watch, Heck ! you'd probably wouldn't be able to lift the watch off the table! ....Just kidding but you get the picture here right ?
The atmospheric pressure at sea level is around 14.7 psi ( pounds or pound force per square inch ) and if I'm not mistaken , the helium pressure inside the Sub is 5 psi with bracelet all links , 5 -10 psi for a Sea Dweller. The Sub weighs around 130 g with the helium and 174 g without the Helium. I don't know how true but I've heard stories of Sub Comex watches filled with 12 psi He to compensate for saturation diving.
The Old Sea Dweller weighs about 148 g with the helium and 197 g without the He ! My old Omega PO Cal 8500 on bracelet has a He pressure of 4 psi with full links weighs 202g with and 232g without the He.

So if your watch becomes heavier one day, think faulty He release valve and that means the Helium gas has escaped. If that happens, then a visit to the RSC is in order for some repairworks.The Helium refill also includes installng a new valve and attaching a special device containing the right amount of Helium again about 5 psi. That will set you back between US $400-600.Oh Yeah !Just make doubly sure that your watchmaker doesn't overfill your Subs or your Sea Dwellers otherwise it becomes like a feather weight Richard Mille watch !Picture of a faulty He Release valve

This is so far off the mark!

Sorry mate but this is not how the valve works.

[zesty55]

This has to be one of the best trollings I've ever seen

I'd have to imagine mf17 is doin' the trollin', but if it's really mf17 was trolled in the past and now is accidentally sharing the troll-love, that'd be even better!

Great start to Sunday.

[rockmastermike]

This Thread:

[Ginseng]

Originally Posted by SC11

This is so far off the mark!

Sorry mate but this is not how the valve works.

I'm quite sure this is entirely tongue in cheek.

[SC11]

Originally Posted by Ginseng

I'm quite sure this is entirely tongue in cheek.

I guessed so after realising the poster but none the less hardly an informative reply to a genuine question.

[Dr.Brian]

Originally Posted by SC11

I guessed so after realising the poster but none the less hardly an informative reply to a genuine question.

Yeah!
This is TRF! Serious business!
Ban him!
Keep all the jokes and fun in the joke threads, or at least the open forum.
Not helpful at all, even though we all laughed.

(Can I join the p club now?)



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dysondiver]

dont forget the other little bubbles too , if you look at the pic. , sort of like the extra free fiz in a champagne flute.

[SC11]

Originally Posted by Dr.Brian

Yeah!
This is TRF! Serious business!
Ban him!
Keep all the jokes and fun in the joke threads, or at least the open forum.
Not helpful at all, even though we all laughed.

(Can I join the p club now?)



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes we need to be serious here

[mltworldwide]

I thought today must be April 1st. But it isn't.

[GLADIATOR]

Originally Posted by meganfox17

Like you, I didn't believe it at first until my Omega PO 600 which I had for 6 years was getting heavier. I thought maybe my left wrist wasnt getting enough exercise or perhaps I was getting older until I read a thread over and over again on the Omega Forum under Open discussion section.Here's the thread created by the senior moderator of the OF, @styggpyggeno1 who had a similar problem with his Rolex Sea Dweller. His watch was getting heavier just like mine !

https://omegaforums.net/threads/big-...-escape.39163/

Did anyone read this thread?
I thought it was an April fools.

Here is an OMEGA Service Receipt. They test the case for airpressure, vacuum, and diving pressure (water-proof)
They surely do not fill it with HELIUM, as it would just escape out of the He valve!

[Swiss Mad!]

Originally Posted by GLADIATOR

Did anyone read this thread?
I thought it was an April fools.

Here is an OMEGA Service Receipt. They test the case for airpressure, vacuum, and diving pressure (water-proof)
They surely do not fill it with HELIUM, as it would just escape out of the He valve!

...and it might float away

Some interesting replies on here, but no one has actually answered my original question, which was basically 'would helium really escape out of the case back and if so what would be the point of the HE valve in the first place?'

Any one got any real idea?

[GLADIATOR]

Originally Posted by Swiss Mad!

...and it might float away

Some interesting replies on here, but no one has actually answered my original question, which was basically 'would helium really escape out of the case back and if so what would be the point of the HE valve in the first place?'

Any one got any real idea?

It would (should) not escape from back case, only if seal was less than He valve seal.
I got NO idea who took those photos, but Helium is a gass, NOT a a water bubble.
Can you see gas escaping from your appliance?

Best
adam

[Swiss Mad!]

Originally Posted by GLADIATOR

It would (should) not escape from back case, only if seal was less than He valve seal.
I got NO idea who took those photos, but Helium is a gass, NOT a a water bubble.
Can you see gas escaping from your appliance?

Best
adam

That's what I thought, so obviously Rolex just adding to the image for effect - but in the process actually making the watch look like the seal isn't doing its job properly on the case back.

A little fauxpa on their part me thinks..

[GLADIATOR]

It would be good to hear from Lol- X (Steve)

[Dyim]

The photo is showing gas bubble forming on a submerged object.

An artistic take of a dive watch under water.

The assumption that it is showing HEV working is false IMO.

[GLADIATOR]

Originally Posted by Dyim

The photo is showing gas bubble forming on a submerged object.

An artistic take of a dive watch under water.

The assumption that it is showing HEV working is false IMO.

Mine too.
A