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Ultrasonic Cleaner - FML

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Hi All,

I recently bought an ultrasonic cleaner and I must say it was a good investment. I cleaned all my watches and jewellery and it does work. I cant believe how much grime it removes.

However while cleaning my Seiko 5, water managed to get inside and by the magic of condensation my watch is kinda dead now, even though its still moving.

Sending it to Seiko for a service would cost me around £150, not worth it since the watch is only about £40 if am lucky.

So the next best thing is to strip is all apart and sort it out myself, there are plenty of YouTube videos about servicing that particular movement. But it will cost me around £40 for the parts.

Anyway am not really looking for a solution here, just thought I'd share my experience with an ultrasonic cleaner, and how great it is at cleaning and... well at the same time destroying your watch. Also the watch is about 20 years old so its long overdue for a service. I might actually buy the parts just to have fun with it lol.

also I noticed behind the glass where above the number 6, there is a "Seiko 5" hologram, which is pretty cool.
 
Davidt
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You put a full, working watch in an ultrasonic cleaner?
 
Internet
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Davidt Davidt
You put a full, working watch in an ultrasonic cleaner?

Yeah lol was that wrong?

EDIT: Epic face palm, I just googled it and its not advisable... lucky I learned the hard way and only my Seiko got damaged, the rest which are more expensive did not... lessons learnt!
Edited:
 
WestCoastTime
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OK, so tap the brakes here.

You absolutely do not want to be putting a complete watch in the ultrasonic cleaner. Doing this is going to cast about the lubricant from the jewel holes where it is supposed to be to everywhere else in the wash where it's not supposed to be.
 
DaveK
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Do you want to get those Spring Break adventures off your chest now too? 😉
 
Donn Chambers
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1 out the 14 watches I have... I would say never again...

I would keep a close eye on those other 13, even if you think they weren’t damaged. As others have said, the ultrasonic can mess up a lot of things in a cases movement that might not be immediately obvious.

keeping fingers crossed for you. I’m really surprised you did this without googling it first - there are warnings all over the place not to do this.
 
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DaveK DaveK
Do you want to get those Spring Break adventures off your chest now too? 😉

Haha no... what happened in spring break, stays in spring break!
 
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Donn Chambers Donn Chambers
I would keep a close eye on those other 13, even if you think they weren’t damaged. As others have said, the ultrasonic can mess up a lot of things in a cases movement that might not be immediately obvious.

keeping fingers crossed for you. I’m really surprised you did this without googling it first - there are warnings all over the place not to do this.

Well googling it now... there are a lot of mixed messages.

Some say they have done so and had not issues, some say most watches are designed to withstand immense water pressure and an ultrasonic cleaner should not cause any damage, some say the cleaning solution would seep through...

but like I said never again and its been a week so far, the rest seem to be still ok.... fingers crossed
 
Davidt
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Yeah lol was that wrong?

EDIT: Epic face palm, I just googled it and its not advisable... lucky I learned the hard way and only my Seiko got damaged, the rest which are more expensive did not... lessons learnt!

As far as I know, ultrasonic cleaners basically use high frequency vibrations to open up cavities in the water. Using friction these bubbles then clean the surfaces within the tank.

My concern would be if the vibrations are harsh enough to create bubbles in water, then can also shake other things lose. For example I’ve lost numerous small stones from jewellery in ultrasonics. I would think it could also loosen movement parts, hands, crown/case back seals etc.
 
JimInOz
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I think it would be wise to do a condensation test on your other watches.

Just because you can't see water sloshing around the dial doesn't mean it's not there and even the smallest amount can initiate degradation.

You need to warm the watch to about 45ºC for 30 minutes, then use an eye dropper to place a drop of ice cold water onto the crystal, leave it for 15 seconds and wipe it off with a soft tissue.

If there's any moisture in the watch there will be a condensation spot under the crystal.

https://omegaforums.net/threads/on-my-bench-tudor-submariner-7928.105106/page-5#post-1395767
 
Internet
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JimInOz JimInOz
I think it would be wise to do a condensation test on your other watches.

Just because you can't see water sloshing around the dial doesn't mean it's not there and even the smallest amount can initiate degradation.

You need to warm the watch to about 45ºC for 30 minutes, then use an eye dropper to place a drop of ice cold water onto the crystal, leave it for 15 seconds and wipe it off with a soft tissue.

If there's any moisture in the watch there will be a condensation spot under the crystal.

https://omegaforums.net/threads/on-my-bench-tudor-submariner-7928.105106/page-5#post-1395767
Thank you will give it a go...
 
11b1p
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I haven’t had problems with my speedmaster, but I didn’t put the head in there. I just dipped the bracelet in while holding on.
 
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