Induction chargers that work with Seiko Kinetic

[ptwang]

It seems that Energy Supply's kinetic charger is discontinued, and the available stock remains very pricey ($230-ish). I'm wondering what are the alternatives for those of us who only wear Seiko kinetic occasionally.

Some people have some success with toothbrush chargers, but seeing that there are a lot more induction chargers available now, I thought maybe it's time to start a thread to keep track of people's experiments. Currently I'm aware of the following chargers but haven't personally tried them:

(1) Wii controller chargers. For example, Energizer made something called flat panel for Wii.
(2) Powermat or other iphone induction chargers.
(3) MTM Special Ops watches come with their own induction chargers which can be purchased separately directly from them. I'm wondering if they will work for Seiko kinetic.
(4) Fossil also made a line of watches with their own induction chargers: has anyone tried them on the Kinetics?

All of the above options, if they work, would be significantly cheaper than getting a dedicated Seiko charger like the Energy Supply ones

[rfwhite]

I would be interested in reading about any trials of these devices. I also have problem keeping my Seiko Kinetic charged as I only wear it about every ten days.

[ptwang]

I tried to charge my 5m42 caliber with a sonicare elite charger without any luck. I had the watch case facing up and with the crown in the 12 o'clock and then the 6 o'clock position. The watch wasn't even warm (which was supposed to happen if it's charging), so I gave up.

Has anyone tried something similar? Anyone?

[ptwang]

Okay, I've some news to report. I bought a charging stand from the Dakota Watch Company (google Dakota Watch REQ charging stand and you'll find the product) which I believe is made by Ricoh Elemex Corp--less than $30 shipped. Rumor has it, this is the same charger for the MTM special ops line of watches. I placed my Seiko SKH060 (5m42, original capacitor replaced with Maxell li-on battery) on it the way you would normally charge the Dakota line of watches (case face up). After 2 hours, I checked the indicator and got no improvements. I turned the Seiko 180 degree and tried again--still nothing. Then I opened the charging stand, and saw that the coil was located at the dead center. This time I moved the Seiko off center slightly so that one of the coils in the watch would lie across the center of the charger. 5 minutes later, bingo! The indicator moved from 20 unit to 30. I don't know how much the battery is charged within that time, since the indicator was designed for the original capacitor (holds 7-14 days worth of power), not the new rechargeable battery (6 months on full), but it's certainly doing something. I think I'll leave the watch on the charger overnight. Hopefully, Seiko has some kind of over-charging prevention mechanism. I don't know if there's any risk to this experiment. I just thought I'd share my observations. YMMV.

[WNUT]

Thanks - that's good to know. I had given up on using a charger because of the cost.
I'll have to check that Dakota charger out!

[SeikoPete]

ptwang:

Please update when you have more info. Thanks.

[ptwang]

Three days later...indicator still shows full charge (30 units). Watch ticks happily and accurately; no discernable ill effects.

[ytwokc5]

Three days later...indicator still shows full charge (30 units). Watch ticks happily and accurately; no discernable ill effects.

I was so excited when I saw your post. I have a 5m42 kinetic and I also replaced the capacitor with a lithium battery. I don't wear out often enough to give it much of a charge. My dakota charger arrived today. How exactly did you position your watch? I didn't do the battery replacement myself, so l am not sure where it is on the case. Do I place out off center with the 3 facing the stand or do I face the 9 towards the stand? Thanks for finding this. I have been looking for an economical solution to this for awhile.

You also mentioned charging case up. Did you charge case up or crystal up?

[ptwang]

I was so excited when I saw your post. I have a 5m42 kinetic and I also replaced the capacitor with a lithium battery. I don't wear out often enough to give it much of a charge. My dakota charger arrived today. How exactly did you position your watch? I didn't do the battery replacement myself, so l am not sure where it is on the case. Do I place out off center with the 3 facing the stand or do I face the 9 towards the stand? Thanks for finding this. I have been looking for an economical solution to this for awhile.

You also mentioned charging case up. Did you charge case up or crystal up?

The position of the battery doesn't matter; it's the coils that must be positioned close to the center. There's a see-thru back on my skh-060, and I can see two coils. One of them runs along the imaginary line from the crown to about the 35 or 40-minute mark. I placed the watch off-centered on the charger so that this line comes very close to the center of the charger. Experiment a little bit to see what works for you.

Hope this helps.

[Steadyhands]

Thanks for the info, might pick up a Dakota Watch charging stand myself.