Seiko Kinetic. The original Kinetics had a Capacitor that held an amount of electricity for the watch to work for a while off the wrist (72 hours) but it soon became apparent that these capacitors would fail in time. Lack of use, too much use and extreme temperatures seemed to cause them to fail much to the disgust of many customers. I own two kinetic watches. This one and the same model but with the pepsi bezel and blue dial. Because they only get worn a couple of times a year, when I come to put them on they are flat and require more wrist action than I'm prepared to give them to get going.
The Seiko line of kinetic watches feature a movement that converts kinetic energy into electrical energy, which means these watches are powered by the movement of your body and not by the power of a battery. Problems have arisen over the years with these timepieces, such as capacitor leakage, capacitor failure, LiOn cell movement requirements and water resistance problems.
Seiko Kinetic Watch Capacitor Leakage Problems
In the older models of the Seiko Kinetic line, the watch capacitors are known to leak and movement will perpetually slow down and stop within a matter of a day. According to the Yellowstone Watch Co, Seiko Kinetic watches won’t hold a charge after any type of leakage from the capacitor and therefore will need to be brought in for repair to receive a replacement LiOn (lithium ion) cell.
Seiko Kinetic Watch Capacitor Failure
If the Seiko Kinetic watch isn’t keeping time, especially if it is sitting overnight (perhaps while you are sleeping), it is because the capacitor isn’t working. Capacitors need movement to keep time. According to It’s About Time, before you bring your watch into the repair shop, fully charge your Seiko Kinetic by shaking it up to 2,000 times. If the watch fails to run within 24 hours it will need a new capacitor, which will actually be replaced by a LiOn cell.
Seiko Kinetic Watch LiOn Cell Movement Requirements
Seiko’s newer line of Kinetic watches feature LiOn cell rechargeable power resources instead of the older capacitors. When the Kinetic watches are brought in for repair, the capacitor is normally replaced with the LiOn Cell. The LiOn Cell, according to the manufacturer (Maxell), needs about 25,000 swings of the watch for it to be fully charged, whereas the old capacitors for these timepieces needed only 800 swings for the movement to work properly. With such a power requirement, the watches have the ability to stop working properly much quicker, if they aren’t perpetually in motion or set upon their charging station (sold by Seiko).
Seiko Kinetic Watch Water Resistance Problems
Seiko Kinetic watches usually come with sapphire crystals and are marked as water resistant without an ATM rating (i.e. how much water can the watch actually resist?). When Seiko Kinetic watches go in for repair and their crystals are removed, water resistance tests are performed and usually fail the test. Crystals are then needed to be replaced so the watch can resist water properly upon return.
Most Recent
I recently bought a black Seiko SKA427P2 a.k.a. the Seiko BFK ('Big Fucking Kinetic') PVD. I'm getting a little bit of OCD with not reaching a full charge (full charge is 4-6 months as indicated by the power reserve sweeping the second hand 180 degrees).
I searched for watch winders and Seiko makes an expensive $250 induction based recharger that I don't care for. Traditional rotating automatic watch winders won't work with Seiko Kinetic because they move too slowly and the power generator in a Kinetic watch needs more sudden movement to charge. Has anyone found a solution to charging these aside from wearing them?
I've actually thought of stuffing my watch into a couple of zip-lock bags and then stuffing that into a tennis ball and throwing it into the laundry for a cold water wash with my clothes, but I'm not sure the watch is designed for the abuse of tumbling inside a washer machine. Does anyone know the acceptable tolerances of a heavy duty kinetic dive watch?
EDIT: I know I should quit worrying and just wear the watch, but I thought this would be a helpful post for people with Kinetic watches that rotate their collection and don't wear their watches often enough to keep their batteries charged enough to prolong healthy battery life.