New Planet Ocean 8900 Helium valve inquiry

POinNY · Oct 18, 2021

Hi everyone,

Bought a new PO8900 earlier today from my AD. After I picked it up I decided to go out with my family for some lunch. I went to the washroom at the restaurant and washed my hands and shortly after when I got seated I realized the He valve was not completely screwed down. It wasn’t completely open and had maybe half a turn rotation left until it completely closed. Shame on me for not checking this when I left the AD.

Anyway, the watch did NOT get visibly wet when I washed my hands but a small part of me thinks it’s possible some tiny droplets from the hand wash could have gotten in the He valve area. I read up that the He valve maintains water resistance up until 50m if left open. Does this mean I’m ok and does this cover accidental splashes? Again, brand new watch so I’m confident the seals are in great condition. How can I be more comfortable with this and is it worth it to do a condensation test or is it overkill?

Any tell tale signs to watch out for in the next few days to make sure I’m in the clear? Sorry for the paranoia but this is my most expensive watch purchase to date and I bought it to commemorate a special occasion and now I feel it’s clouded by this. Appreciate any insight

Evitzee · Oct 18, 2021

Your watch is fine. You can do a condensation test but I think you are just wasting your time. Relax, take a deep breath, and enjoy the watch.

DoctorEvil · Oct 18, 2021

I think you should be OK. No need to sweat it. 50m water resistance means it'll easily stand up to splashes of water or a shower of rain. At least you recognised it early. Recommend giving it a little rinse with fresh water to remove any traces of hand wash. If your watch has a display caseback I'm sure it will become very obvious if there's been any significant water ingress, of which the probability is very low. Just my 2 cents.

Scooterino36 · Oct 18, 2021

It is likely totaled, please pm me to negotiate salvage value 😁

cvalue13 · Oct 18, 2021

Saving @Archer the fingerwork

POinNY · Oct 18, 2021

cvalue13
Saving @Archer the fingerwork

thank you for sharing this. It isn’t clear (or maybe I’m slow) but does this mean water cannot get into the He valve if the seals are in good condition? If that’s the case, how does that explain claims of water ingress on people’s Omegas via the He valve?

@Archer

cvalue13 · Oct 18, 2021

POinNY
thank you for sharing this. It isn’t clear (or maybe I’m slow) but does this mean water cannot get into the He valve if the seals are in good condition? If that’s the case, how does that explain claims of water ingress on people’s Omegas via the He valve?

@Archer

If the seals are in proper condition, you could unscrew both the HE valve and the winding crown completely, and swim in a pool.

This likely applies to your watch, assuming your PO8900 wasn’t sitting in stock at the AD for so long* that it needed seals.

But as you werent swimming nor did you have both valves fully open, but instead had a quarter-opened HE valve during a hand-washing, if your seals were in remotely serviceable condition you should have no worries.

*I’m not familiar enough with the PO line to know whether it’s even possible for it to have been in stock for long; is it a new model that assures it wasn’t?

POinNY · Oct 18, 2021

cvalue13
If the seals are in proper condition, you could unscrew both the HE valve and the winding crown completely, and swim in a pool.

This likely applies to your watch, assuming your PO8900 wasn’t sitting in stock at the AD for so long* that it needed seals.

But as you werent swimming nor did you have both valves fully open, but instead had a quarter-opened HE valve during a hand-washing, if your seals were in remotely serviceable condition you should have no worries.

*I’m not familiar enough with the PO line to know whether it’s even possible for it to have been in stock for long; is it a new model that assures it wasn’t?

Well it was bought from Omega themselves and it was not a display model. They mentioned it was fresh inventory. I did find this (attached) but not sure if it is official Omega documentation or a diagram someone put together. It states that there is always an O-ring working in the He Valve regardless of whether it’s open or screwed down. Since I’m not knowledgeable in this area can you or anyone else confirm this? If it’s the case then I feel a bit better about it. However, I still have questions about the mechanism… some say water cannot enter the He Valve and I’ve read other claims that people have had water intrusion via this very mechanism. Few other posts said things like splashes of water and showers are fine with the He Valve open and it’s actual submersion that should be avoided

cvalue13 · Oct 18, 2021

POinNY
some say water cannot enter the He Valve and I’ve read other claims that people have had water intrusion via this very mechanism.

just think through this. 😁

The operative question is: are the valve and seals in proper working order?

If the valve and seals are in proper working order, you can swim in it with both crowns unscrewed.

If instead the valve and seals are not in proper working order, you risk water intrusion if the crown is open (and the deeper you take the watch).

POinNY
Few other posts said things like splashes of water and showers are fine with the He Valve open and it’s actual submersion that should be avoided

The unstated point in these assertions is “in case the valve and seals are not in proper working order.” The day after a pressure test you can be confident: but 10 months after? 20 months?

But for you, unless your watch was defective from the factory or sat in stock so long as to have degraded seals, there is a low chance of issues on a brand new watch, even with the He valve fully open and swimming, or a very low chance of issues with it only quarter-turn “open” and splashed with a spritz of water.

If that’s not comfort enough, you can find absolute comfort by taking it to a watchmaker to have it dry pressure tested for seal; if it passes, you can be more comfortable; if it fails, you’ll already be at the watchmaker to leave it for care.

If it were me, I wouldn’t think twice about it having just purchased the watch, but understand your concerns.

Archer · Oct 19, 2021

Your watch is fine.

POinNY · Oct 19, 2021

cvalue13
just think through this. 😁

The operative question is: are the valve and seals in proper working order?

If the valve and seals are in proper working order, you can swim in it with both crowns unscrewed.

If instead the valve and seals are not in proper working order, you risk water intrusion if the crown is open (and the deeper you take the watch).

The unstated point in these assertions is “in case the valve and seals are not in proper working order.” The day after a pressure test you can be confident: but 10 months after? 20 months?

But for you, unless your watch was defective from the factory or sat in stock so long as to have degraded seals, there is a low chance of issues on a brand new watch, even with the He valve fully open and swimming, or a very low chance of issues with it only quarter-turn “open” and splashed with a spritz of water.

If that’s not comfort enough, you can find absolute comfort by taking it to a watchmaker to have it dry pressure tested for seal; if it passes, you can be more comfortable; if it fails, you’ll already be at the watchmaker to leave it for care.

If it were me, I wouldn’t think twice about it having just purchased the watch, but understand your concerns.

Thanks a lot for this. Super helpful breakdown. Do you suggest pressure testing with the He valve open or closed? My thinking is testing with it open will test the true WR of the valve when unscrewed. Am I wrong in thinking this? I mean I think a lot of the feedback here is helpful and reassuring so I might not even bother but still curious nonetheless

cvalue13 · Oct 19, 2021

POinNY
Thanks a lot for this. Super helpful breakdown. Do you suggest pressure testing with the He valve open or closed? My thinking is testing with it open will test the true WR of the valve when unscrewed. Am I wrong in thinking this? I mean I think a lot of the feedback here is helpful and reassuring so I might not even bother but still curious nonetheless

Don’t bother, as Archer said, your watch is fine.

I wrote out all the above in an effort only to catch your mind up to the reality that your new watch, even with the He valve a quarter turn open, can withstand a lot more that washing your hands.

Just don’t make a habit of it (leaving the crown open), because as time goes on the chances increase that the seals wear down.

rahul718 · Oct 19, 2021

I would say if you haven’t noticed any ill effect after a few days it’s probably fine. My theory is if there was really something wrong, you would know and you wouldn’t have to search for it

vitriol · Oct 19, 2021

Yea, everyone is talking about water-resistance but what about that helium which has leaked away while a cap was open?
Wouldn't it be good idea to ask Omega for refilling, before next price hike..

New Planet Ocean 8900 Helium valve inquiry

POinNY

Evitzee

DoctorEvil

Scooterino36

cvalue13

POinNY

cvalue13

POinNY

cvalue13

Archer

POinNY

cvalue13

rahul718

vitriol

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