I will never ever use it again.
I’ve used it only one time and all the helium went out. I spent a lot of money to service it and put the helium back in.
Thanks Omega.
Never ever again.
I will never ever use it again.
I’ve used it only one time and all the helium went out. I spent a lot of money to service it and put the helium back in.
Thanks Omega.
Never ever again.
I’ve worn my planet ocean for 100’s of commercial dives, here she is in the Gulf of Mexico, there is still plenty of seamaster and sea dwellers being used as intended.
The Manual valve plus is when it’s closed there’s no chance of flooding due to lack of maintenance which a huge amount of HEV watches are liable to if the seals haven’t been changed and looked after enough as they pick up a lot of dirt and dust in daily use.
To the poster who hates the HEV, don’t buy dive watches ♂️ They are actually designed for us and we like them!
Are you wearing the watch inside the suit?
Inside a bell? Inside the deco chamber? I’m curious as to the profile that exposes the watch to He under pressure.
Thanks,
A long time rec diver.
That profile is pretty rare actually.
Are you wearing the watch inside the suit?
Inside a bell? Inside the deco chamber? I’m curious as to the profile that exposes the watch to He under pressure.
Thanks,
A long time rec diver.
That’s where and why we disagree.
The depth rating on my Submariner seems more equivalent to a Tesla Roadster in a school zone - useless top speed potential, but at least a portion of that speed potential is useful, even in a school zone.
Conversely, the HEV seems more equivalent to an Tesla Roadster with a complementary EVA suit in the trunk - cool to have I guess, but not remotely relevant to any use I’ll put it to ... I mean, some will, sure...
I think a more accurate similitude for the HE valve is an F1 car. None of us need one but who wouldn’t want one?
The HEV has two seals inside, and seals need replacing, so the HEV is replaced at every factory service, just the crown, case tube, crystal gasket, and case back gasket are.
The newer style HEV's (which have been around for a number of years actually) are modular units, so the entire unit is replaced. The older style (what would have been the original style on your watch) can be disassembled and the seals replaced, something I do all the time. Here are the parts of the valve when disassembled from the case:
The main tube of the valve is still threaded into the case, but these are the guts of the valve.
Cheers, Al
Statistically speaking, I think the percentage of Seamaster owners that have used or needed the He valve for it's intended purpose is zero, down to a good 5 decimal places.
flw is right. It's not about depth. Only needed for commercial diving, when living in a pressurised chamber breathing a gas mixture that includes Helium for several days. This kind of diving could be anything from 100 to 300 mts. Which in principle doesn't sound like much, but it's about the deepest a human can actually go.
VERY few people doing that king of diving, and I doubt a Seamaster would be their first choice anyway.
Commercial divers working on oil rigs still do saturation diving pretty routinely. It's not a huge profession and it never was, but it's their standard practice. It's one of the most tedious jobs I can imagine, but they make pretty good money. I don't know how many of them wear watches.
I don't know, my next door neighbor is a commercial diver and he wears a Seamaster. Asked him if he uses it at work and he stated that he does. Whether he uses the He valve, I didn't inquire. I'll try and find out.
I love my PO wart and all. But after reading all the complaints about the He valve I'm thinking the watch will be more attractive to others if I grind it off and solder over the hole. If I work it right I bet I can polish the solder to match the case finish. Then I'll have a true custom PO that more people will like.
Yeah, that's the ticket.
