How To - Hydro Mod The Oil-Filled Watches #1 

For those wondering why you might do this, the Hydraulic Press channel stuck an oil filled 200m rated watch in the test chamber and took it to the equivalent of 3,000m and it survived. Most 200m rated watches can go deeper out the box, but only to around 600m before the glass cracks or the case back collapses under the pressure. An oil filled watch with an electromechanical movement will suffer a severe reduction of battery life, so an all digital model or solar powered movement might be the best way to go. A solar digital watch would probably be the most suited for this type of modification. Lacking any bubbles inside the case, the watch will suffer severe internal pressure changes with heating and cooling. This may cause seals to fail prematurely as fluids are essentially incompressible and that excess pressure has to be relieved somehow. An interesting idea that can greatly increase the depth rating of a watch but probably not something that is suitable for an everyday beater.

After watching this, I went to eBay and bought an MRW200H and Microlubrol. I don't even really care if there's any actual improvement to the watch that I'll ever use, it's just fun to tinker and learn new skills. Cheers mate, should be a hoot.

some times i did this procedure, i prefer to have more oil and a bigger container, where you can just move the watch pieces inside the oil in some directions, to send the bubbles out of the watch easier. Anyway, very good video! Thanks!

Good timing, I've just bought an MRW-200H and want to give this a go. Thanks!

I’d use a deeper container so the dial and case back can be rotated to get rid of bubbles. That’s use more oil of course.

This is by far the best and most informative video for oil filled watch mod. Excellent job.

Really cool, I have a vacuum pump and a small chamber. I'm going to try this with vacuum

Super idea, i bought the SDW Hypertec Shark with oil filling.

Watches look great man, I was reading that you can put the MRW200H dial/movement into the MDV106 body, maybe try that next so you get the look of the 200 in the Duro body, might be worth a video :D

Super injoy coz tomorrow i buying a casio duro ang i going like your doing hahahahha thanks,, now i know

Glad to find you again - I’m still looking for a small bottle of Fluorinert 76 I think - but cheapest is about £50 for 500ml (way too much). As before, great vids BTW 👏👏👏👏👏

It might be the sun burst effect on the dial of that duro that makes it a little underwhelming, since it catches light differently under the different refractive index of the oil. Excellent video btw! Appreciate it

really cool 👍 ..well done !

Interesting. Looks great.

I know ill never do this to any of my watches but this was very informational and would be a great video for anyone actually wanting to do it.

I have done this on two watches. Once on a quartz Casio Marlin and once on a Casio G-Shock ani-dig watch. Only do this mod on a fully digital watch. Even the thinnest silicon oil will add resistance enough to drain the battery on an analog quartz watch. On both of mine, with new batteries, they died in 6 weeks. After a thorough cleaning and fresh batteries, they worked fine. A full LCD would be great.

Thank you, Darak for this video. I think it's very helpful, and (as far as I know now), you do it quite properly. I already moded a Casio F-91 years ago, filling it with Olive Oil !. At the moment, still it's working quite fine. Visibility doesn't change as much as with analogics, but oil improves dramatically the submergibility of the watch. This just "water-resistant" Casio has gone diving with me down to 40 meters more than five times. And many more, a bit shallower. But now, I and a group of friends want to hydrolyze some analogic watches. First I decided to start with the MRW-200 that you fill here, because (as you say) the effect looks better than on the MDV-106. But after thinking about it, I'd rather prefer a watch like the Duro, with a screwed crown (even though a screwed-down case back is trickier to close than a case back with screws). I'm more confident about avoiding future oil leaks with a screed crown. Let's talk about the procedure. I like very much the box you used. I think it's the perfect size, and I hope to find something similar. I like also the way yo refill the leaking oil with the syringe. I guess that I will manage to close the screwed down back case properly (without leaving bubbles), and that I will set in position the crown, because I see that you close the case, before closing the crown. Is this to avoid excess pressure inside the watch, while you are closing the back, and let the oil leak through the crown's hole, in case of necessity? And finally, my biggest doubt: I don't see that you leave any bubble inside. The dial looks gorgeous in that way. But, aren't you afraid that with warmer temperatures, the oil expands inside the watch, and can cause problems (or leakings)?. In other oil modding I've seen that they leave bubbles (bigger or smaller), and (for instance) Sinn has patented a special piston for dealing with this issue. Tell me what you think about it. Maybe this oil doesn't expant¡d too much with the temperature changes. Finally, as I've seen in some other vídeos, I think that you are right with the density ot the oil. 50 cst seems t have the right amount. But I wonder why they don't use even less dense oils. If they keep the same conditions about conductivity, I don't see any problems to use them, and the hands would find less resistance in moving. Anyway, thank you for this vídeo, And I hope to read your answers.

I have a Casio MRW 200H watch, exactly the same as the one in this review. the watch is very powerful

Really interesting stuff.

Very interesting, I would imagine doing so would make the watch more water proof in a way, right? Also won’t the oil cause friction and delay the whole watch by a bit over time? Also what happens when you change the battery? I’ll you need to have extra oil at hand to fill to avoid bubbles during battery changes, also would this work with a mechanical watch????

Nice vid and it works great BUT it eats batteries. I've done a few of these and the battery has lasted as little as a year. I'm guessing because the motor is using a lot more torque.

this is just amazing

Im glad you are back! You are one of the most unique channels on RU-vid.

Nice job 👍

Can one do this to a solar-powered watch? I ask because I don't think I'd like to do a do-over every time I need to replace the battery. If not, I'd recommend replacing the battery with a new one before doing the mod to make it last longer before the next reapplication of oil. Nice video and thanks! Thumbs up!

The MDV-106 doesn't "pop" because it's dial has very fine starburst etching that reflects light at all angles. It's really a cool watch for the price. Great job, bro. I'm confident to do my watches like that.

If you add more oil to a container so you can assemble the whole thing fully submerged you can never get a bubble of air. The results where surprising on the first watch! Really cool, wonder how the durability is affected by this :)

I wonder if it work well in my Bulova curv. I’ve been thinking about doing it as I think it would really make it pop.

Great video!

😛 ¡Saludos!. ¡Excelente video!.

Found YA! Nice recovery bro

Awesome!!!

For added points do this on a glass table so you can see underneath ;)

Here you are! - subbed.

I wonder how much the weight changes. Thank you for the informative video.

I´m not an expert either, yet i think you need a convex lens in order to get the full effect like the watch on this video. Also, looking for viscosity and interaction with materials might be the kind of oil your looking for. Secondly, experimenting with the refraction index of the oil, in relationship with the kind and thickness of glass you´re using might create a more desirable outcome

Can we do the automatic watch like this, I wonder if its effect the tourbillion and make accuracy change?

due to oil viscosity, how accurate the time will be? Kindly validate plssss im guessing it will be delayed few minutes per day due to added resistance of the movement?

You could close that container and turn it sideways so that the air can go out through the crown. Maybe it would take a couple minutes though

Don’t you need a high torque movement to compensate for the fluid density and avoid the gearing and step motor from wearing out prematurely? Also, when you adjust the time, does it leak?

Great video, thanks for showing us how you did it. Did you oil fill the digital watch too? If so, can you press the buttons when submerged under water? Does the light still work?

very nice

just wondering if this mod would improve legibility of a white dial/golden hands combo? thank you

Does the watch tick slower when oil inside? it seems as if the seconds hand is a bit more "lazy". Don't know whether this affects the timekeeping...

I wonder about power usage increase due to higher resistance of oil vs air ... and how you will change battery?

Adding some uv reactive or glow in the dark dye to the oil could be cool

Hello Darak, I was wondering can I use this silicone oil as a refill for my lubricating foam for watches? the ones inside the foam were liquid clear type silicone not the typical white ones.

Ok looks great but how do you adjust the time

can it cause leaks in the watch in the long run?

Replacing the battery will be messy

So, a watch with a screw down crown doesn't leak oil when you un-screw it it?

Hey Derek. Great content thanks for sharing. I'd like to mod my GW5600J but not sure if it's possible.

how would you set the watch thou. wouldnt the oil flow out if you hold it wrong?

Does oil leak out if i am adjusting the time by pulling the crown out?

It’s kinda relaxing watching this

Can a Hydro Mod work on a Casio DBC 150 and DBX 112 for Water Resistant

Quick question: what if you have to change the date or hour? Does it become a mess?

Would this be suitable for a Marathon GPQ?

Great video! Thanks for making it.

What about changing the battery? That seems like that would be a problem.

How does this not mess up the dial printing and hands lume?

I wonder how the analogue models respond to the medium viscosity increase after oil filling. Do they become less accurate or does the battery life decrease after such a mod?

Does it affect the accuracy of the watch??

how does this watch continue to work? does the oil create resistance in mechanism?

It is make battery drain faster ?

Hey mate Any updates on the watches? Did they leak?

What happens when you loosen and pull out the crown to adjust the time. Does oil seep out?

I got question. If you hydromod a date watch, would it mess up the liquid if I were to adjust the date?

Which soap and material did you use to wash the excess oil

Can the same technique be used for a rangeman 9400?

Are there any websites that sell diy watches? You buy what you want and you put them together to become a watch of your own design?

What happens every time the clocks go backwards or forwards? Or even date detting. The crown coming out will introduce air won't it?

I sell silicone fluids and might try this with something with a lower viscosity. I’ve got 0.65, 1.5, 5 that might work better

I wonder if the movement of the Seconds Hand and the mechanical gears, while they move through the oil, would create enough drag to make it use up more battery power, and shorten the battery life?

Will oil create a drag on gear train.? & Stepper motor !

That looks great!! Does it effect the battery life or accuracy ?

Will the oil run out if you try to set the time?

Newbie here asking a question, will the watch still keep time correctly due to the increased resistance of the oil against the seconds hand?

Whow, no triple whow. Unfortunately i could'ot give that super positive comment on your DARAK Watches II channel. Therefore i do it here. Your video work is perfect, your comments reflecting your ambition , to do perfect work. It's perfect what you do. Of course subscribed. You got a new fan.

will it not damage the mocement?

Did you change your channel's name? Glad to see such great contents 😊😊

So what happens now when you pull out the crown to adjust the time? Wouldn't the oil leak out? And you have to do this again when it is time to replace the battery?

Can u show us to test the lume ?

Surely this affects time keeping? Might b low friction but it’s more friction than air?

I have a Question, dose the oil escape when resetting the Time ???😊

Does oil leak from the buttons or the crown when you pull it out to adjust the time?

Wouldn't the electronics components fail if submerged in oil? And if the crown is pulled out to adjust date, the oil will flow out?

great stuff but changing battery will be a pain, at least it is not going to be that often

How do you reverse this in case that it does not work out well? I guess a lot of rubbing alcohol and work?

Digital watch don't get grounded when filled with oil? Will this work on digital watch G-Shock?

The Duro MDV-106 has 200m depth to begin with, I wonder if anyone has put a hydro mod Duro in a pressure chamber to see what its depth rating is? I saw one video where a hydro mod Dive watch with a depth rating of 300m (without liquid fill) continued to function at 1000m (with liquid fill). I think you chose the right silicone oil for the job 50 cst is low enough viscosity (though lower might be better if obtainable) Silicone or poly siloxane based oils are good because they have a very high wetting coefficient , do not conduct electrically, and should not attack plastics. I think I'm going to try this on a MDV-106 and a MW200. Thanks!

This can't be done on mechanical watches, can it? Also, I guess, changing the battery becomes more involved.

would the oil slow down the movement ?

Have you tested this on a timegrapher?

You should also install a domed crystal for the full effect. What happens if you pull the crown? Will it leuk? Thanx for this vid!

I reckon we have great results in both cases. The digital did not. The thing with the other two is that one of them has numbers to pop which the metal one has not.

I'm curious to try pentane in a mechanical watch. it's still significantly more viscous than air, but only about 15 times more viscous rather than the 300 or so times the viscosity of the least viscous oils. it's also only about $35 for half a liter of the reagent grade stuff. I'm thinking it might be close enough that I can regulate it out and just live with not much power reserve. the only problem is I absolutely know it'll eat plastic parts and I'm not sure I'm willing to try it on anything that's got a metal movement holder.

Oil works better in digital watches. The oil forces the movement and the battery ends quickly.

ok, but what happen when you extract the crown for adjust the time? the oil escape?

Will this work for automatic movements?