Pressure Testing Pams

[Hazing]

Take the movement and dial out before you test so if you get a leak, it’s not bad and you won’t ruin anything.


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[mrsullivan]

Just greased gaskets and pressure tested my recently received Hfac 243 to 6ATM.
Perfect occasion to dig a bit inside the watch.

Very nice build from Hfac (as most of the time), I was surprised the case actually has a functioning He valve.

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[KOT1917]

Thanks, mrsullivan , what they shared. Interestingly, the internal design of noob 243 is different, including the design of the valve, although it is also (not ready to say that it is functional), but it has a workable design. By the way, does the caseback on the HF have 1 rubber gasket?

HE NOOB 243 valve inside:

 

[mrsullivan]

Thanks, mrsullivanBy the way, does the caseback on the HF have 1 rubber gasket?

Yes, Hfac has a second thinner gasket at the base of the CB thread too.

The He valve is springed for what seems to be a proper gaz escapement. I don't know if the tension would be properly scaled if the watch was surfacing after a dive at great depth, but mechanically it looks like it works.

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[Rupert Fripp]

Just greased gaskets and pressure tested my recently received Hfac 243 to 6ATM.
Perfect occasion to dig a bit inside the watch.

Very nice build from Hfac (as most of the time), I was surprised the case actually has a functioning He valve.

That’s amazing!!!!

Can I ask where you got the 243 from? M2M? I assume the factories are not producing them anymore?

 

[mrsullivan]

Yes I got it on RG. Those were produced by old timers Noob and Hfac and are only seen on M2M now.

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[Rupert Fripp]

Yes I got it on RG. Those were produced by old timers Noob and Hfac and are only seen on M2M now.

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Ah okay. Great watch!

 

[whitegold]

Thumbs up for Ado213. He has tested and proofed a couple of watches for me.

I have 2 HFac 243's, one of them failed 50m, the other one easily passed 100m
A VSF441 that passed 50m
A 326 passed 30m (wouldn't swim with it, but wouldn't worry if it was raining)

SuperOcean 2 Chrono, passed 70m (tiny leak when pushed to 80m. Ado213 advised not to dive with it, swimming should be OK.

I have a Planet Ocean from 2013, easily passed 100m's. Have been swimming with it regularly.

I would be fairly confident wearing anything that's passed 50m in a pool.

I've also heard some watchmakers don't like working with rep watches that have bezels, due to the risk they could break.

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[Rupert Fripp]

Thumbs up for Ado213. He has tested and proofed a couple of watches for me.

I have 2 HFac 243's, one of them failed 50m, the other one easily passed 100m
A VSF441 that passed 50m
A 326 passed 30m (wouldn't swim with it, but wouldn't worry if it was raining)

SuperOcean 2 Chrono, passed 70m (tiny leak when pushed to 80m. Ado213 advised not to dive with it, swimming should be OK.

I have a Planet Ocean from 2013, easily passed 100m's. Have been swimming with it regularly.

I would be fairly confident wearing anything that's passed 50m in a pool.

I've also heard some watchmakers don't like working with rep watches that have bezels, due to the risk they could break.

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I’ve heard great things about Ado. Definitely going to use him in future.

 

[Rupert Fripp]

Ciao Paneristi,

A new entry:
This is the first Panerai I’ve tested to 10ATM/100m and it passed!

I felt more comfortable pushing it beyond 6ATM due to the fact the back is stainless steel.

I really hope this is helping to change the perception of reps, or at least Panerai reps, being definitively non-water safe out of the box.

 

[superspark69]

Ciao Paneristi,

A new entry:
This is the first Panerai I’ve tested to 10ATM/100m and it passed!

I felt more comfortable pushing it beyond 6ATM due to the fact the back is stainless steel.

I really hope this is helping to change the perception of reps, or at least Panerai reps, being definitively non-water safe out of the box.

I’ve always tested my pams when I get them apart from rads and never had one out of the 80 or so I’ve owned fail, all fine in my own tester to 6atm, the simplicity of the cases lend themselves to wr imho

 

[Rupert Fripp]

I’ve always tested my pams when I get them apart from rads and never had one out of the 80 or so I’ve owned fail, all fine in my own tester to 6atm, the simplicity of the cases lend themselves to wr imho

That’s a serious sample size. Very good point about the simplicity. In many ways helps us have so many super reps as Paneristi too.

 

[superspark69]

That’s a serious sample size. Very good point about the simplicity. In many ways helps us have so many super reps as Paneristi too.

it is , ive still got 46 pams now lol

 

[Rupert Fripp]

it is , ive still got 46 pams now lol

Damn! Let me know if you ever want to shift any! I’m after a carbotech sub to complete the collection. Ideally a 979!

 

[superspark69]

Damn! Let me know if you ever want to shift any! I’m after a carbotech sub to complete the collection. Ideally a 979!

I don't have any carbotechs im afraid Ive had all of them and they are ones ive let go. I couldn't get on with the new subs with their issues, the old ones were the best in terms of how close they were to gen.

 

[Rupert Fripp]

FYI Guys I was speaking with U.K. watchsmith Rolie (from RWG) and he was basically saying the dry pressure test (which I was getting for the posts on this thread) are pointless without also testing when submerged in water.

Apparently both, or just the submerged in water test, is how you’ll know you can swim safely.

 

[Oascom]

If it passes 5 bar, 95% of the time it will pass 10 bar.

 

[Rupert Fripp]

If it passes 5 bar, 95% of the time it will pass 10 bar.

Would you feel safe getting into the water with a 5ATM dry pressure test?

 

[graukater]

Would you feel safe getting into the water with a 5ATM dry pressure test?

The tricky part about water resistance is that you can technically generate more "pressure" (I use the term loosely) by swimming or moving your arms throughout the water. That's usually why a lot of pieces recommended for ~3ATM aren't really recommended for swimming: you can create more than that level of force (once again using that term loosely) by moving your hands underwater while you swim.

That being said, I think that if you were to reseat the gasket and case properly you should be good. I wouldn't go all out diving with it just to be safe, but a pool would be fine IMO.