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Stufflers Mom
·Archer we’re told here in the US there’s a decearnable difference between Swiss batteries and Japanese? Is this true or BS? Thanks
Does Switzerland have a battery producing facility?
Watch Battery blew open
Does Switzerland have a battery producing facility?
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dennisthemenace
·Does Switzerland have a battery producing facility?
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JimInOz
··Melbourne AustraliaRenata batteries are Swiss made and are the brand Omega use and recommend.
Correct.
Made in Switzerland and owned by the Swatch Group.
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Archer
··Omega Qualified WatchmakerIt is a renata 357 battery. I purchased them in October of this year. I have only used the watch once in rotation previous to yesterday.
Renata are known in the watch community as being prone to leakage, at least in with the watchmakers I'm familiar with. I typically use Maxell, and have never had one leak.
This was likely due to some internal defect causing a short inside the cell itself, and not related to the use or age of the battery.
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lillatroll
·Well I got a reply from Renata. Its quote long but basically the message is...get the watch tested before changing the battery.
Here is what they said:
Thank you for your message.
We are very sorry for your disaster with your watch.
Please note that Renata SA produce around 4 million 357 batteries per Year.
We can assure that under normal condition this kind of battery is not exploding.
The only reason why such kind of button cell are exploding are mishandling of them.
The popping up of a silver battery is only caused by a high current load or a short circuit, as this mistreatment causes a gas to form in the battery.
This watch was developed in the 70s with the batteries available at that time.
One of the reason could be a blocked movement. Therefore the motor was draining the battery by to high current.
Now the situation is unfortunately that until 2010 batteries were still mercury-containing. The production of such batteries was forbidden for environmental reasons from 2010 worldwide.
Batteries without mercury are generally more sensitive to short circuits and high constant currents. Before changing the battery of a watch, the movement should be checked for current consumption for example with a Witschi measuring device to check how the current consumption has changed over the years and whether the manufacturer's recommended values are still being adhered to.
Here is what they said:
Thank you for your message.
We are very sorry for your disaster with your watch.
Please note that Renata SA produce around 4 million 357 batteries per Year.
We can assure that under normal condition this kind of battery is not exploding.
The only reason why such kind of button cell are exploding are mishandling of them.
The popping up of a silver battery is only caused by a high current load or a short circuit, as this mistreatment causes a gas to form in the battery.
This watch was developed in the 70s with the batteries available at that time.
One of the reason could be a blocked movement. Therefore the motor was draining the battery by to high current.
Now the situation is unfortunately that until 2010 batteries were still mercury-containing. The production of such batteries was forbidden for environmental reasons from 2010 worldwide.
Batteries without mercury are generally more sensitive to short circuits and high constant currents. Before changing the battery of a watch, the movement should be checked for current consumption for example with a Witschi measuring device to check how the current consumption has changed over the years and whether the manufacturer's recommended values are still being adhered to.
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Willbur
·it's quite a complete answer from them.
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lillatroll
·it's quite a complete answer from them.
To be honest it is quite cheap fix so that is a small blessing. Around 100 euro. Of course I would prefer to be spending my 100 euro on other things but sh#t happens.
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Archer
··Omega Qualified WatchmakerYes and a good heads up for everyone who has one of these watches.
To be honest it is quite cheap fix so that is a small blessing. Around 100 euro. Of course I would prefer to be spending my 100 euro on other things but sh#t happens.
Has your watchmaker conformed that the movement's overall consumption is not outside normal specs? I recently had a watch in the shop where the consumption was 3 times what the allowed amount was (movement totally blocked), and the battery was somewhat drained (1.41 V) but it had in no way "exploded" so to me the answers you were given were designed to sidestep any responsibility, more than get at the real cause...
Again in my view this is most likely an internal flaw in the battery that lead to a short.
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lillatroll
·Has your watchmaker conformed that the movement's overall consumption is not outside normal specs? I recently had a watch in the shop where the consumption was 3 times what the allowed amount was (movement totally blocked), and the battery was somewhat drained (1.41 V) but it had in no way "exploded" so to me the answers you were given were designed to sidestep any responsibility, more than get at the real cause...
Again in my view this is most likely an internal flaw in the battery that lead to a short.
I have not sent it off yet, very busy time of year at work for me. But I will contact them again. I doubt I will get very far, I would have thought though, that they would be interested in getting to the bottom of the problem rather than trying to excuse themselves, perhaps I am a bit naive.
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ExpiredWatchdog
·Before changing the battery of a watch, the movement should be checked for current consumption for example with a Witschi measuring device to check how the current consumption has changed over the years and whether the manufacturer's recommended values are still being adhered to.
That's rich! I'm sure now that your movement is ruined, you can get an accurate reading on current consumption. My guess is "none"!
Not sure about silver oxide batteries but other batteries can suffer from metal whiskers forming between the plates. Once a whisker grows to connect the plates, it shorts the battery. If the resistance is high enough, it will just drain the battery. Lower resistance usually results in the whisker overheating and melting, disconnecting the short. I suppose it's possible to get just the right resistance to vaporize some electrolyte before melting.
Back in the day, you could "refurbish" a rechargeable battery by hooking it to a car battery in the charging direction for a fraction of a second. The car battery provides enough current to vaporize the whisker that's causing the problem. Only trouble is that it has many brothers that are very close to making contact and shorting but don't get vaporized as they aren't in contact yet. It's kinda like patching a leaky water heater.
Sorry for your loss.
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lillatroll
·I sent a new email. In the first reply they basically said: it's an old watch not our responsibility.
I told they were just fobbing me off and that they need to try harder.
The reply to my second email was a little more co operative, so perhaps they will be a bit more proactive.
Who knows maybe they will help me out.
I told they were just fobbing me off and that they need to try harder.
The reply to my second email was a little more co operative, so perhaps they will be a bit more proactive.
Who knows maybe they will help me out.
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JimInOz
··Melbourne AustraliaRenata are known in the watch community as being prone to leakage, at least in with the watchmakers I'm familiar with. I typically use Maxell, and have never had one leak.
This was likely due to some internal defect causing a short inside the cell itself, and not related to the use or age of the battery.
Just removed one today.
Electrolyte leaking.
The owner doesn't wear the watch and I suggested he get the battery removed.
Just got it time I think.
Now with the battery removed and the inside cleaned he can store it for as long as he wants.
Edited:
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Willbur
·My faith in Renatta quality has just exploded........
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kneegloc
·Hi! I know this is an old thread but, I recently had a "watch" battery "explode" on me, and I'd like to let you know, because I now believe it is possible. I found this thread while searching on Wednesday, when it happened. I don't have any pictures, but I have witnesses (as if that matters). Okay, I was at work, and I had a ghost keychain that a friend gave me, from the dollar store. I pressed its button and it slowly died and, I thought I had some batteries to replace it, so I opened it up (the battery compartment had a screw-in design) and got the 3 batteries out (which were stacked together). I don't know what brand of batteries they were, but it said 1.5v on the cover. So, the 3 batteries were on my desk, and I started to open a pack of batteries that I thought would fit, when POP! Something flew past the right side of my head, and my ears were ringing (as they would for 10 minutes afterwards). My co-workers were asking what happened and if I was okay, and the woman across from my cube was looking around. I asked her if she was okay, and she gave me the "bottom" of the battery (the thicker part). There were small black pieces all over my desk. I looked behind me and, on the floor behind me, was the "top" of the battery. I instantly gathered it all up and threw it in the trash, just in case. So, that's my story. Thanks.
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ckhaing
·thanks OP and the todays update / bump message
i will continue to stay away from renatas, which i never had confidence it them in the first place
i will continue to stay away from renatas, which i never had confidence it them in the first place
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ghce
·Have seen it before with batteries in normal usage bulging upto a 1/3 of their thickness due to the pressure inside but have not as yet found one that had ruptured explosively though I have managed to make some explode in the normal course of my work and yes they can be quite loud.
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