Power Reserve

alam · May 3, 2012

Ok gang,

Omega states that my [3570] Speedmaster has a power reserve of 48 hours. It seems I’m getting close to 30 hours from mine on a good day once is put down for over a day - so now I’m about to put it to the test and under observation to see how many hours it really stays running. But I will need some advice from the experts around here.

First, I normally do 40-45 turns during winding, is this enough to make it last for 48 hours? or should I keep winding until I feel a slight resistance? Second, does it matter the position of the watch while at rest? Should it be placed with the dial facing up or on its side? Does the age of the watch make any difference on the “vitality” of its power reserve? Mine is almost six months old and I’m the first owner.

So, let me hear it……

dsio · May 3, 2012

At six months it should be nearly perfect, I'd just make sure it is in fact fully wound, but it'd be interesting to time it

alam · May 3, 2012

dsio
At six months it should be nearly perfect, I'd just make sure it is in fact fully wound, but it'd be interesting to time it

fully wound = until slight resistance is reached?

dsio · May 3, 2012

alam
fully wound = until slight resistance is reached?

I'm not entirely certain on Speedmasters as I've never had one, maybe one of the other guys can chime in.

ulackfocus · May 3, 2012

alam
fully wound = until slight resistance is reached?

No, wind it until the crown stops. Unless you're using vice grips you won't damage it. My Seamaster 321 had over 50 hours of reserve on a full wind.

alam · May 3, 2012

U ulackfocus
No, wind it until the crown stops. Unless you're using vice grips you won't damage it. My Seamaster 321 had over 50 hours of reserve on a full wind.

thanks - I'll test this weekend.

dsio · May 3, 2012

U ulackfocus
No, wind it until the crown stops. Unless you're using vice grips you won't damage it. My Seamaster 321 had over 50 hours of reserve on a full wind.

Ah, so do the Cal 861/1861 have a stop point rather than a friction slipping mechanism once fully wound?

ulackfocus · May 3, 2012

dsio
Ah, so do the Cal 861/1861 have a stop point rather than a friction slipping mechanism once fully wound?

Yes, most manual wind movements do. Automatics can't or the mainspring would break.... or maybe another weaker part in the winding system.

Steve · May 4, 2012

Yes you find when you first wind the crown it moves very easy, then after a few turns you will feel slight resistance, at this point I ease off with the turns, turning more gently until eventually the crown will stop. Hope this helps ?.

alam · May 4, 2012

ok, it got a full wind at 2120 EST today. Lets see for how long it remains ticking.....

alam · May 6, 2012

alam
ok, it got a full wind at 2120 EST today. Lets see for how long it remains ticking.....

48 hours and 29 minutes, and still ticking...

dsio · May 6, 2012

Maybe make a note of what the time is now, and how many hours its been running, then when it does stop some time in the next 10 hours add the difference and you'll have the exact value without having to watch it.