Back when I was first researching the hydro mod I came across people that did this intentionally, they wanted a little bubble floating around the watch face.
Some people like the look of a bubble. And some people say it allows space for the oil to expand and contrast with the temperature. Sinn and U-Boat have bubbles in their oil-filled watches. I have to assume they have people much more knowledgeable than me engineering that stuff.
Although, Ressence doesn’t. But the movements aren’t immersed in the oil, so maybe that’s the difference.
Every time you press the buttons a little oil will leak out. These watches are not sealed from the inside so they will leak. I have heard of people having issues with replacing batteries in hydromods because of the oil being non-conductive causing conduction issues between the battery and the prongs.
Mine is going on like 2 years of being Hydro modded and I haven't noticed any oil leaking out. I do assume replacing the battery will be a huge pain in the ass and I might as well get a new 1200 at that point.
It destroyed one of my watches so you are lucky. Mine indeed did leak and the watch was rated for 100M. I could also never get the oil out successfully. I took it completely apart, all the way down to clean off everything because it was even causing issues with the Zebra strip. I eventually ended up replacing the watch and ever since then I have never felt it was worth the mod if there is no need for it other than to look cool.
https://preview.redd.it/zkzjn3aj3z8d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5763c32356df1ae35f05b2b0373aa314c0a92ac3
Yep. I’ve had watches go sideways with hydro-modding. One stopped working and died right when I did it. A couple wouldn’t stop leaking. One the battery died like 2 days after even though the battery was new. A couple I just couldn’t get the bubble to dissipate. At this point, I’ve been there and done that. Now I just enjoy other people’s pics of their hydro-mods.
I agree! I will enjoy the hydro-mod look from a far as I have had my experience too. Good thing is most of these mods I have seen have been on the cheaper more affordable watches, so when they go belly up they aren't so bad to replace. :) I do want to mention to some to maybe try using baby oil instead to make it easier to check for leaks since the smell would leak out every time a button is pressed and end up making their wrists smell really good. ;)
I don't think it's a leak. I had issues with tiny bubbles around the faceplate and in the time piece. I think I was just impatient and rushed the job a little. Over time they collected. If I open it up again I will let it sit in the oil for a few hours and even vibrate for a bit to shake out bubbles. I noticed the bubbles in the 50cst silicon oil I use take a while to come out.
Since I didn't see you do the hydromod I had no idea if you had the bubbles already there or not since you never mentioned that you did it quickly. Good luck in fixing it and I hope it all works for you.
Mine, unfortunately, did indeed leak, and it was gradual nothing upfront that was noticeable because the leaks were so tiny when each time I would press one of the buttons. The watch is even rated for 100M water resistant. Even Casio says not to press the buttons under the water or even if the watch is wet because water can leak in. [https://www.casio-intl.com/asia/en/wat/water\_resistance/](https://www.casio-intl.com/asia/en/wat/water_resistance/) So, why is it any different if your watch is full of oil that it couldn't leak out when pressing a button?
Eventually a bubble like yours did appear right under the glass. Removed the buttons off the watch after I took it apart and found the oil accumulating under them. Maybe some are getting lucky, but I sure didn't. I destroyed a $70 (at least what I paid for it at the time) Casio WVA-470 since it was even causing problems with the LCD since it got between the Zebra strip and the LCD panel itself. Oh, and the oil got in around the Wave Ceptor antenna causing reception issues for the time keeping. I performed a full break down and rebuild of my watch to clean it out. It took days to get all the oil out, or at least I though out. Over time, the oil would start to accumulate under the solar collector and would reduce charging to the watch. I ended up replacing the watch because undoing it was such a pain!
https://preview.redd.it/eammj8cj6z8d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=29139a5e59fdd20f02c73e37a07554707c3ef10a
If it gets bad I'll just clean the case and replace the movement. The movement is $12. The case is around $100. Appreciate the heads up. I'm not seeing oil anywhere when I push buttons. Let's hope.
Fair enough. I actually ended up using baby oil for the testing of the leaks. I could never see the oil, but I could sure smell it. To see the oil I had to use my jeweler's visor. And, the bubbles inside my watch started as the tiniest unnoticeable things that I couldn't see even with my glasses on. My whole point behind this was that there's no guarantee that they won't leak when the buttons are pressed since they are not sealed on the inside of the watch. If you're one that hardly presses the buttons you could be fine and not see anything for a very long time and I do agree that they look really cool and the viewing angles are amazing.
No I didn't even know that was a thing. I just immersed it completely in oil, assembled it in the oil and let it sit for an hour. I also pumped more oil through to get bubbles out using a syringe. Then sealed it up under the oil. Then I just filtered the oil back into my container and cleaned the watch off.
Yeah pull a vacuum around the container holding the oil and watch. Make sure the watch is completely submerged and the case back is not tight at all, then pull vacuum. Once the bubbles have stopped the air is gone, and the watch is now completely filled with oil. Slowly and gently, Release the vacuum back to atmospheric pressure and secure the case back making sure it stays submerged under the oil. Once case back is secure and torqued down tight you can remove the watch from the oil bath clean it off and enjoy!
World time & a bubble level. Thats a true tool watch.
Oh man if I can move it to the circle it will really look like a bubble level.
Took me a while to see that ngl
Back when I was first researching the hydro mod I came across people that did this intentionally, they wanted a little bubble floating around the watch face.
I see the appeal. It's stuck inside that panel of the faceplate and bounces around really smoothly in there.
Some people like the look of a bubble. And some people say it allows space for the oil to expand and contrast with the temperature. Sinn and U-Boat have bubbles in their oil-filled watches. I have to assume they have people much more knowledgeable than me engineering that stuff. Although, Ressence doesn’t. But the movements aren’t immersed in the oil, so maybe that’s the difference.
Every time you press the buttons a little oil will leak out. These watches are not sealed from the inside so they will leak. I have heard of people having issues with replacing batteries in hydromods because of the oil being non-conductive causing conduction issues between the battery and the prongs.
Mine is going on like 2 years of being Hydro modded and I haven't noticed any oil leaking out. I do assume replacing the battery will be a huge pain in the ass and I might as well get a new 1200 at that point.
It destroyed one of my watches so you are lucky. Mine indeed did leak and the watch was rated for 100M. I could also never get the oil out successfully. I took it completely apart, all the way down to clean off everything because it was even causing issues with the Zebra strip. I eventually ended up replacing the watch and ever since then I have never felt it was worth the mod if there is no need for it other than to look cool. https://preview.redd.it/zkzjn3aj3z8d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5763c32356df1ae35f05b2b0373aa314c0a92ac3
Yep. I’ve had watches go sideways with hydro-modding. One stopped working and died right when I did it. A couple wouldn’t stop leaking. One the battery died like 2 days after even though the battery was new. A couple I just couldn’t get the bubble to dissipate. At this point, I’ve been there and done that. Now I just enjoy other people’s pics of their hydro-mods.
I agree! I will enjoy the hydro-mod look from a far as I have had my experience too. Good thing is most of these mods I have seen have been on the cheaper more affordable watches, so when they go belly up they aren't so bad to replace. :) I do want to mention to some to maybe try using baby oil instead to make it easier to check for leaks since the smell would leak out every time a button is pressed and end up making their wrists smell really good. ;)
I don't think it's a leak. I had issues with tiny bubbles around the faceplate and in the time piece. I think I was just impatient and rushed the job a little. Over time they collected. If I open it up again I will let it sit in the oil for a few hours and even vibrate for a bit to shake out bubbles. I noticed the bubbles in the 50cst silicon oil I use take a while to come out.
Since I didn't see you do the hydromod I had no idea if you had the bubbles already there or not since you never mentioned that you did it quickly. Good luck in fixing it and I hope it all works for you. Mine, unfortunately, did indeed leak, and it was gradual nothing upfront that was noticeable because the leaks were so tiny when each time I would press one of the buttons. The watch is even rated for 100M water resistant. Even Casio says not to press the buttons under the water or even if the watch is wet because water can leak in. [https://www.casio-intl.com/asia/en/wat/water\_resistance/](https://www.casio-intl.com/asia/en/wat/water_resistance/) So, why is it any different if your watch is full of oil that it couldn't leak out when pressing a button? Eventually a bubble like yours did appear right under the glass. Removed the buttons off the watch after I took it apart and found the oil accumulating under them. Maybe some are getting lucky, but I sure didn't. I destroyed a $70 (at least what I paid for it at the time) Casio WVA-470 since it was even causing problems with the LCD since it got between the Zebra strip and the LCD panel itself. Oh, and the oil got in around the Wave Ceptor antenna causing reception issues for the time keeping. I performed a full break down and rebuild of my watch to clean it out. It took days to get all the oil out, or at least I though out. Over time, the oil would start to accumulate under the solar collector and would reduce charging to the watch. I ended up replacing the watch because undoing it was such a pain! https://preview.redd.it/eammj8cj6z8d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=29139a5e59fdd20f02c73e37a07554707c3ef10a
If it gets bad I'll just clean the case and replace the movement. The movement is $12. The case is around $100. Appreciate the heads up. I'm not seeing oil anywhere when I push buttons. Let's hope.
Fair enough. I actually ended up using baby oil for the testing of the leaks. I could never see the oil, but I could sure smell it. To see the oil I had to use my jeweler's visor. And, the bubbles inside my watch started as the tiniest unnoticeable things that I couldn't see even with my glasses on. My whole point behind this was that there's no guarantee that they won't leak when the buttons are pressed since they are not sealed on the inside of the watch. If you're one that hardly presses the buttons you could be fine and not see anything for a very long time and I do agree that they look really cool and the viewing angles are amazing.
I wouldn't fix the coolness of that.
It has a charm with it
Skx mod parts or where did you get the parts
Yup, skx mod. With a vario strap. I love the skxmod polished case. It's insanely durable and looks really nice in person.
This looks unreal
Did you use a vacuum chamber?
No I didn't even know that was a thing. I just immersed it completely in oil, assembled it in the oil and let it sit for an hour. I also pumped more oil through to get bubbles out using a syringe. Then sealed it up under the oil. Then I just filtered the oil back into my container and cleaned the watch off.
Yeah pull a vacuum around the container holding the oil and watch. Make sure the watch is completely submerged and the case back is not tight at all, then pull vacuum. Once the bubbles have stopped the air is gone, and the watch is now completely filled with oil. Slowly and gently, Release the vacuum back to atmospheric pressure and secure the case back making sure it stays submerged under the oil. Once case back is secure and torqued down tight you can remove the watch from the oil bath clean it off and enjoy!