Easier way to charge Seiko Kinetic?

S

SuzukiGS750EZ

Joined
Dec 30, 2008
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I know they sell a charger for them, but i don't have the money. i was wondering if anybody here knew any tricks to charging them besides for sitting here and shaking it in my spare time. It's totally dead, i just shook it for a few mins to get it to run and set the time. I want to get it fully charged up and keep it there, but i want an easier way!
 
Wear It.

I own and wear one. The only time I have had this problem is when I first got it and like a new car, I didn't want to bang it up at work so I parked it and wore another watch instead. Needless to say to fix this problem I had to break down and wear it.
It's a great watch, wear it, enjoy it, Charge it. :D
 
Leave it in the washing machine and it will get wound every time your wife does laundry. :D
Just kidding but there's got to be a creative way. I have a seiko black monster and just wear it. If I bought another mechanical watch that didn't get worn as often I'd make sure it had hand winding capability also so I could keep it wound every day or two.
 
winder2.jpg


I found this. :D

Making Your Own Watch Winder

I've been looking at watch winders for a little while now - I'm getting to the point now where I struggle to keep my automatics running purely by means of my daily rotation.

Watch winders seem pretty pricey, even the inexpensive ones cost at least 40 quid for a single winder that can be switched between rotations in either direction, and go up from there. I'd want at least a two-watch winder (or two singles), so I'm looking at close to 100 quid for a device that basically rotates slowly for a few hours before stopping. Plus, I keep reading about winders that stop working after a few months of use.

Hence, I'm thinking about making my own watch winder. :) My idea is to mount my watches on a large rotating circular holder, and mount it to a constant-velocity motor (such as from a cheap old turntable) using a belt-drive arrangement that will provide similar rotation speeds to a commercial watch winder. Because the rotation speed will be so low, the turntable motor should easily have enough torque, and turntable motors are easily and inexpensively replaced. Connect it to an automated on-off switch (such as you use to operate your lights when you're on holiday), and you basically have a uni-directional watch winder, right?
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Either find a friend who runs a jackhammer and have him wear your watch for a few hours each day, or forget it and buy yourself a Citizen Ecodrive.:D.
 
Be aware that the first generation ones had capacitors (?) or whatever that holds the charge from the generator. They were rated at different storage capacities such as 7 days when fully charged, two weeks etc.

These batteries, or capacitors or whatever wear out after a while and need to be replaced. My stainless steel model had a two week rating, but it only holds about a day now on a full charge. My Titanium had a 5 day rating, and won't take or hold any kind of meaningful charge now.

Speaking with warranty I found out they need replacement batteries which need to be put in at the US east coast service center. They told me that it would cost around $80.00 to $100.00, and be 6 to 8 weeks for return.

The upside is the newer capacitors/batteries will hold something like 30 days worth opf charge ( maybe two weeks, I can't remember)

Not really something that was in the paperwork when I bought mine around 10 years ago.

Other than that they are great watches. The Titanium one is light and beautiful, the stainless steel model is a solid tank of a knife that has held up better in the long run.

Still less troublesome and certainly more accurate than all but the finest mechanical "automatic" watches.

Joe
 
glockman99 said:
Either find a friend who runs a jackhammer and have him wear your watch for a few hours each day, or forget it and buy yourself a Citizen Ecodrive.:D.
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I think these are the better watches. I have an ecodrive for 10 years now and supposed to last 180 days on a single 1 day charge and still does.
 
alejandrino said:
I think these are the better watches. I have an ecodrive for 10 years now and supposed to last 180 days on a single 1 day charge and still does.
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I have the Kinetic Auto Relay:

Equipped with Sleep Function and Wake-Up Function [Kinetic Auto Relay]
An evolved form of the “Kinetic”; a quartz which features Automatic Generating System that winds automatically by the arm movement to generate electricity to operate the watch. A Kinetic equipped with the power save mode which is activated while the watch is not worn, aiming at continuous operation for a longer period of time.

A power save function (sleep mode) that automatically stops the movement of hands approximately 72 hours after the watch is taken off in order to preserve energy consumption. An automatic time relay function (wake-up mode) that perceives power generation by slight swing motion of the watch and automatically returns to its normal operation to show the present time, provided that the watch is used again within approximately 4 years (on a full charge) after it stopped. Kinetic auto relay is equipped with these two functions.

In our latest model, the technology of Kinetic has further evolved into “Kinetic perpetual” which features a perpetual calendar as well as the Kinetic auto relay function.
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http://www.seikowatches.com/technology/kinetic/kinetic_ar.html
 
SuzukiGS750EZ said:
Makes me wanna cry. I wear it but i guess i don't shake around enough. I need to find somebody with ADHD...
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Buy yourself a Chainsaw. Cheaper than a winder, productive, workout and save money on a Gym membership, Side benefit is producing energy for heat in the coming Winter.
BTW, Did I say your Watch will be fully Charged? :D
 
No need for those tires. Just put the watch on the lower fork of that Suzuki and take a ride down any road in southern Michigan.
 
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