Titan 1000m He valve a risk?

[jganovsky]

does anyone think that the He valve is a water tight risk for the 1000m Titan? Stems need to be screwed in for water tightness. anyone ever accidentallly bump or open the He stem?

[r1lee]

The He valve is one way only. If you are diving, there will be helium buildup inside the watch. Upon ascending from a dive, one should open the valve and release the He buildup. Supposedly if you leave the valve upon, water shouldn't get in, but I wouldn't try this.

[jaws revenge]

yeah, it's screw in. besides, if you could accidently bump it, the same could be said for the regular crown which is also screw in. i like mine:

[Eric L.]

It shouldn't be an issue if the valve is working correctly. I actually prefer this to the external uncovered valve since the crown gives it an extra measure of protection when you do not need the valve (which for most folks is pretty much always).

[NeddyF]

Actually that is wrong , you never use the HE valve while in the water. It is only meant to be used in the otmosphere of a diving bell where you are breathing a mix of oxygen and helium. The helium molecules being smaller get into the watch easier and if not allowed to escape on assent of the diving bell it can pop the crystal out of the watch.
For this reason it is the most useless addition to any dive watch.
No sports diver is certified to dive deep enough to even warrent the use of breating a mixed gas . Let alone the use of a diving bell.

[Eric L.]

Actually that is wrong , you never use the HE valve while in the water. It is only meant to be used in the otmosphere of a diving bell where you are breathing a mix of oxygen and helium. The helium molecules being smaller get into the watch easier and if not allowed to escape on assent of the diving bell it can pop the crystal out of the watch.
For this reason it is the most useless addition to any dive watch.
No sports diver is certified to dive deep enough to even warrent the use of breating a mixed gas . Let alone the use of a diving bell.

If this is the case, what is the point of a screw in HE valve then? Why not just unscrew the normal winding/setting crown?

[NeddyF]

If this is the case, what is the point of a screw in HE valve then? Why not just unscrew the normal winding/setting crown?

The HE valve on the vast majority of watches today is with out doubt the most useless addition to a watch to date.
It is nothing more than a bizar fashon statement.
I'm not saying it doesn't work , what I am saying is that the only place it can ever be used is in a diving bell where you are breathing a mixture of oxygen and helium.
Helium does not get into your watch on a regular dive , therefore it is not meant to be used while in the water.
It is a common missconception that the HE valve is used to allow helium to escape while coming up from a sports dive.
Do your selves a favor and never fiddle with any crowns on your watch while in the water, and if you are in a diving bell take some pictures we'd all like to see that.

[Maple]

I think the whole helium valve thing started with the Rolex Sea Dweller, which were being used by professional COMEX saturation divers who had watch crystals pop off when pressure was reduced in diving bells and decompression chambers.

As to why they didn't just unscrew the setting crown, I believe the answer is that the setting crowns on dive watches have gaskets. This is what keeps water out. Helium (which is used in breathing gases, but is not found in water) "seeps" in over time through gaskets when the atmospheric pressure is higher than the pressure inside the watch. When ascending (either in RL, or "artificially" in a decompression chamber), the pressure inside the watch can end up being more than the chamber pressure. If the pressure reduction occurs faster than the He can seep back out, the net result can be critical overpressure inside of the watch, and the resultant pop.

The Rolex He valve automatically pops open when the inside of the watch is overpressurized. The wearer did not need to do anything. In this way, it functions similarly to a pressurized cylinder's over-pressure valve that vents excess gas pressure to prevent explosions. Helium valves that need to be manualy unscrewed seem like just one extra thing to be remembered, and also seem to me to be a poor man's way of engineering a release valve.

The take home messages about Helium valves:

1. Helium does not enter watches in open air on land.
2. Helium does not enter watches when in the water.
3. Helium does not need to be vented in the water.
4. Therefore, Helium valves have no purpose in 99.9999% of diving, and no purpose at all in recreational diving.

[Eric L.]

Agreed with all the above, but my question was on the water-tightness of a watch with the He valve unscrewed - I think it should be 100% watertight to its rated depth even if the He valve is unscrewed (it is a one way valve after-all).

[NeddyF]

Well yes , one way in an atmosphere but it's still not meant to be used in the water.
I really wouldn't trust that assumption.