Various Battery Questions and Advice (Off topic posts moved).

The place to ask questions; hopefully get some help - and share advice.
Post Reply
User avatar
jfield
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Apr 18, 2021 1:35 am
Location: Massachusetts, USA

Various Battery Questions and Advice (Off topic posts moved).

Post by jfield »

(Originally posted by Justin in the NOS condition gold-tone 7A38-7000 SAA008J incoming thread). Cool find Paul.
Seiko7A38 wrote: Mon Jul 12, 2021 2:55 pm Actually, not much else to report. I carefully unscrewed the case-back to find an absolutely squeaky clean movement, with no sign of any battery leakage. Nor did the inside of the case-back show any evidence. Being a Maxell (rather than Seiko or Sony), presumably the battery must have been replaced once in its life. This time it got my prefered Seizaiken.
Do you have any recommendation of vendors that sell relatively new and not too soon to be expired Seizaiken Sr626sw?

User avatar
Seiko7A38
Site Admin
Posts: 2575
Joined: Thu Jan 28, 2021 12:05 pm
Location: S.W. England
Contact:

Seizaiken Batteries #1 Recommended Source = Cousins UK

Post by Seiko7A38 »

I've been using Seizaiken batteries for the last 6 years, since March 2015. I buy mine in bulk from Cousins UK. See these couple of posts from the old forum's A salutary warning about checking (which) watch batteries you're using thread.

CousinsUK-Seizaiken-Batteries-Post-1.png
CousinsUK-Seizaiken-Batteries-Post-1.png (112.08 KiB) Viewed 5775 times
CousinsUK-Seizaiken-Batteries-Post-2.jpg
CousinsUK-Seizaiken-Batteries-Post-2.jpg (124.9 KiB) Viewed 5775 times
Seiko7A38 wrote: Thu Jun 17, 2021 10:51 amI've dealt with Cousins UK watch supply house for over 10 years .... Last weekend I realized that I was about to run out of Seizaiken #394 batteries (a fairly basic requirement) :oops: so I tacked 10 x 10 packs onto it (my order) a bit sharpish.
Of those 10 x 10 packs I received last month, two had BEST BY date stickers of 07-2024, the other eight were 06-2025. My order also included 10-packs of SR927W (#399) for my 7T32's and SR41SW (#384) for my Carrera 515's. Those supplied had BEST BY date stickers of 09-2024 and 05-2025 respectively. :)

I noticed when I posted the link to Cousins website that Seizaiken have since changed their packaging and 'gone green' (although they were 'Mercury Free' before). I can't see the hologram sticker that was present on the old blue packaging. I also noticed that you wrote 'Sr626sw' (#377 equivalent) in your post, rather than SR936SW (#394 equivalent). Although also a popular size, it's conceivable that smaller retailers may turn over their stock more slowly.

User avatar
jfield
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Apr 18, 2021 1:35 am
Location: Massachusetts, USA

Re: Seizaiken Batteries #1 Recommended Source = Cousins UK

Post by jfield »

Seiko7A38 wrote: Fri Jul 16, 2021 8:33 am I also noticed that you wrote 'Sr626sw' (#377 equivalent) in your post, rather than SR936SW (#394 equivalent).
Although also a popular size, it's conceivable that smaller retailers may turn over their stock more slowly.
Thanks for the suggestions, the "SR626SW" was a typo, I will look that up not sure if Cousins UK ship these to the US.
I also have a few 7T32s, as well as a 7T27, which I like more thinking it's closer in design and lineage to the 7Ax8s.

User avatar
jamesam
Posts: 62
Joined: Fri Jun 25, 2021 6:25 am
Location: Rockville, Maryland, USA

Re: Random Off-Topic Battery Question moved here

Post by jamesam »

If the discussion has moved to battery replacement, I have a question for anyone or everyone.
Several years ago, I read somewhere that when storing a watch for a long period when it wont be worn, it is “better” to “pull out the crown fully and disengage the battery.” Is that true? Obviously it should extend the battery life and delay replacement, but could there be some other benefit? Is there some advantage to letting the battery and watch run for an extended period of non-use (e.g. a year) other than not having to reset the time and date when you next wear it?

User avatar
Seiko7A38
Site Admin
Posts: 2575
Joined: Thu Jan 28, 2021 12:05 pm
Location: S.W. England
Contact:

Re: Various Battery Questions and Advice (Off topic posts moved).

Post by Seiko7A38 »

jamesam wrote: Fri Jul 16, 2021 8:16 pmIf the discussion has moved to battery replacement, I have a question for anyone or everyone.
It hasn't Jim. :roll:
Rather than have that thread taken even further off topic, I've split those few posts off to start a new thread here. ;)

To answer your question, I'll start by saying there's a lot of misinformation posted on the Internet. Sorry I meant cr@p. It really depends on the context in which you're asking. If you're talking in general terms about storing any old cheap non-jewelled quartz watch for an extended period of time (say more than 5 years), then you'd be best advised to remove the battery altogether, to prevent any leakage of fluids from destroying the movement.

However, if we're being specific to Seiko 7Axx 15J chronographs (the original topic of conversation), then your quoted: “better” to “pull out the crown fully and disengage the battery.” is definitely the worst thing you could consider doing.

You may have seen me refer to 'Old Sticky Oil Syndrome' elsewhere on the forum. It frequently afflicts watches which have been stored for extended periods, often long after the battery has expired, sometimes even NOS (New Old Stock). When they were manufactured 35 years ago, each of the jewels (and metal bushes) in their movements were given a tiny drop of lubricating oil to reduce frictional losses. Over time, this oil picks up dirt from wear and gradually thickens (increases in viscosity) and eventually starts to add 'drag'. Worst case scenario, the pivots become clogged and act as a brake. When this happens, the electronics will continue to provide pulses to the stepper motors, but insufficient to overcome the drag, which is why, in such afflicted watches, you can sometimes see hands twitching, but not moving.

As you know, I maintain a large collection of 7A38's. I try my best to keep them all running, to ensure that the old oil in the jewels keeps circulating, preventing them from succumbing to 'OSOS'. This means I'm effectively on a never-ending cycle of battery replacements. That said, a #394 battery in a 7A38 which doesn't get worn much, can last over 5 years.

I should add that although I don't use their chronograph functions, whenever I open up one of my collection boxes, I'll use the inbuilt self-test to rotate their chronograph hands a couple of times, to stop them gumming up. Taking this to the extreme, I distinctly remember an erstwhile 7Axx collector posting on SCWF, that he left the chronograph functions running constantly, to prevent 'OSOS'. I took me a while to find his post again, because it was in a thread about 6139's.

7A-Chrono-Running-SCWF-thetigeruk-Post.png
7A-Chrono-Running-SCWF-thetigeruk-Post.png (37.25 KiB) Viewed 5680 times

Must have done wonders for battery life (not) and gear train wear - and of course we all know that the 1/10s sub-dial hand comes to rest after 10 minutes (as a battery saving device), which partly defeats his object. What a klutz. :roll:

dendirk
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Jan 09, 2022 8:17 am
Location: Antwerp, Belgium

Re: Various Battery Questions and Advice (Off topic posts moved).

Post by dendirk »

(Originally posted by Dendirk in The ONE and ONLY WRUW thread - Part Deux !)

Seiko7A38 wrote: Wed Sep 15, 2021 1:55 pm Not all the watches in my collection are in pristine condition and a few, like this extremely rare two-tone 7A38-706x variant, are unfortunately far from it. That said, I'm sometimes content to own any example, not just for their 'rarity factor', but because it helps to complete my collection. I bought this 7A38-706B SAA084J in something of desperation, off eBay France back in April 2016. I've only seen one example before, belonging to erstwhile forum member Dendirk who can't be persuaded to part with his 'wedding watch' (see old forum's model thread) and haven't seen another since.


rsz_p1760002-crop.jpg
Hi I'm back. :) Can any of you guys tell me what battery I need in this watch?

User avatar
Seiko7A38
Site Admin
Posts: 2575
Joined: Thu Jan 28, 2021 12:05 pm
Location: S.W. England
Contact:

Re: Various Battery Questions and Advice (Off topic posts moved).

Post by Seiko7A38 »

Dirk.
I've moved your post to this thread - a summary of 'general' battery questions.

The correct battery for a 7A38 (or that matter any Seiko 7Axx or derivative) is a SR936SW (# 394 size).

I personally use and recommend Seizaiken (made by Seiko Instruments), but any decent brand like Maxell, Renata (silver oxide 0% Hg) is fine - as long as they're purchased from a reputable source.

Post Reply