Quartz Watch Batteries

[mcoulton]

Hello

My cousin has asked me to help him with a battery issue he’s having with two quartz watches. His issue is the replacement batteries won’t last long. I’ve included pictures of the case backs and the batteries he’s using. The first watch is a Kenneth Cole KC3282 and it requires a SR621SW (364) battery. This requirement can be seen on the case back. The second watch is a Festina F16489 and presumably he’s using the SR626SW (377) battery. I can’t find anything on the WWW as to which battery this watch should use. Does anyone have a refence chart they can point me to?  Both batteries are the same diameter (6.80mm) however the SR626SW is “taller” at 2.60mm vs SR621SW at 2.15mm. My understanding is these batteries will operate in either watch, however one of them maybe to big (height wise) to allow the case back to be closed properly.  If he’s using the correct battery in each watch and installing them properly (positive side facing upwards), then what would cause the batteries to die after six weeks? I’ve told him he might have old batteries and should replace them with the Renata brand. Am I on the right track?

Thanks in advance for any help that can be provided.

[jdm]

3 hours ago, mcoulton said:

first watch is a Kenneth Cole KC3282 and it requires a SR621SW (364) battery. This requirement can be seen on the case back. The second watch is a Festina F16489 and presumably he’s using the SR626SW (377) battery. 

These "brands" means nothing to identify a quartz module, to do that one needs to open the watch and look at that's inside.
First recommendation is to only first brand batteries like Seikazen, Energizer, Maxell, Renata, Sony, Murata. What can be done to extend battery life is to use the type carrying a -W suffix, not -SW. For the sizes you mentioned these are only made by Maxell and Renata, and not sold at regular shops, only by material houses like Cousins UK.
Over the years it can happen the lubricants dry up and cause more current drawn, since it's not practical to measure and even less to service this class of quartz modules, if one is bothered by more frequent changes the entire module can be replaced starting at few Euros.

[oldhippy]

We have had a discussion not long ago about what are the best watch batteries and Renata came out on top. Many are the un branded type with just the numbers printed on them and nothing else, leave them alone I expect they are made in some far of country such as China and are low quality, China are flooding the market with cheap crap another is India.    

Going off the subject of batteries. 

I bought a USB plug  of ebay to recharge a device, after 30 minutes it exploded, knocked out my power in my home and knocked out my fuse box. I reported it to ebay and nothing was done they are still selling the buggers. At the time I didn't realise they came from China.  So be careful with Chinese stuff some of it is pure CRAP.  

[clockboy]

Many a watch has been destroyed by having a cheap battery fitted. When they leak the acid attacks the circuitry. I always fit Renata or Seizaiken. 

[watchweasol]

The previous advice regarding Watch Batteries is sterling,Avoid cheap batteries

, unless you don;t care about the fact that the watch may be ruined as mentioned by clockboy

[HectorLooi]

Even when buying Renata batteries, get them from a reputable source. Don't buy them online from websites like AliExpress and Amazon. I suspect some of them could be fakes.

[mcoulton]

Wello

Thank you all very much for the excellent advice. Oldhippy what a horrible experience with the USB plug. I always try and buy quality even if it's more expensive in the short term. There's a saying I love; "I'm to poor to buy the cheapest hammer" or something along those lines. I'll look into the difference between a -W vs a -SW suffix. I did send the Cousin's link to my cousin. He lives in Scotland and it should cost that much in shipping. 

Edited May 28, 2021 by mcoulton

[fjseal]

Check that the battery has not been handled with the fingers or metal tweezers, and avoid alkaline batteries.

[mikepilk]

This site https://www.great-british-watch.co.uk/how-to-spot-and-deal-with-watch-battery-leaks/

has the results of a survey on battery leakage from various makes.   Renata come out below average performance for leakage.

Edited May 30, 2021 by mikepilk