What to do with my old Monster

[reklawg]

Tuesday.jpg

Bought my Orange Monster back in 2008 s/h from an eBay seller.
My first "proper" watch. Loved it then and still love it now.

It was always a watch that liked to be busy. If you were on the go 12-14 hours a day the timekeeping was good and power reserve was to spec. If you were day off...not so much.
I'm finding these days I'm spending way too much time drinking coffee and watching the world go by and the Monster isn't liking it. Time keeping is -45s , and worse, a day and power reserve is poor.
It was serviced 3 years ago so I don't think that's an issue.

I've been reading some about NH36 movement swaps into SKX007's.
Has anyone any experience of swapping that movement into a Monster ?.
And if so could anyone recommend who to do the work for me

[MR.YODA]

Replacing the mechanism is pointless.
Take to the watchmaker to see if the mechanism requires service, if not the regulation itself is enough.
ten minutes of work


Seiko 7S26 caliber is one of the automatic movements introduced in 1996. It is non-hacking and non-winding mechanism, with its accuracy ranging from -20 to +49 seconds per day

[Spilled Fluids]

Originally Posted by reklawg

Attachment 416321

Bought my Orange Monster back in 2008 s/h from an eBay seller.
My first "proper" watch. Loved it then and still love it now.

It was always a watch that liked to be busy. If you were on the go 12-14 hours a day the timekeeping was good and power reserve was to spec. If you were day off...not so much.
I'm finding these days I'm spending way too much time drinking coffee and watching the world go by and the Monster isn't liking it. Time keeping is -45s , and worse, a day and power reserve is poor.
It was serviced 3 years ago so I don't think that's an issue.

I've been reading some about NH36 movement swaps into SKX007's.
Has anyone any experience of swapping that movement into a Monster ?.
And if so could anyone recommend who to do the work for me

I just serviced an older 7002-7000 that had the exact same problems; losing time and crappy reserve. The same is happening to my SKX173.

When new, the magic lever system worked very well and easily achieved full reserve with as little as one day of wear. Over time the become less efficient due to wear and aging lubricants.

The 7002 got a complete tear down and service. The timing improved a lot and I got a pretty reliable 230+ amplitude with 0 beat error and +/- 6 sec depending on position. But the reserve did not improve. The mainspring gave about 44 hours when manually wound so I know it has to be the auto winding system that is to fault.

One thing to note is that all these movements have the smaller 1/3 sized rotor. I have not seen a properly serviced auto with the half moon rotor exhibit short reserve.

As for swapping in an NH or 4r movement; I think you will be exchanging one set of problems with a bunch of others.
For entry level autos, you simply cannot beat the 7s26A.

The 7s26B in your watch has it's own set of issues. If I were to do a swap, my choice would be for a 7s26A.

[Katgirl]

If it were me, I would just send it to Seiko, USA for a full service, and it will likely give you another good 11 years...


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[Hate_CBN]

In the past i just bought a cheap donor watch and swapped movements. Spot on timing now.

[nzwatchdoctor]

If it was serviced properly that would be a complete overhaul and it would be good for say 10 more years.
They're very good movements but oil does dry etc.



Regulating it (as poster above said) is an easy 10 min job.

[ivorbiggin]

Get in touch with Rob @ monsterwatches. Im pretty sure he did service exchange movements at a reasonable price, and will do the work for you if required.

If its got the dreaded "B" movement then swap it out for the more reliable "A" movement.

[nzwatchdoctor]

Originally Posted by ivorbiggin

Get in touch with Rob @ monsterwatches. Im pretty sure he did service exchange movements at a reasonable price, and will do the work for you if required.

If its got the dreaded "B" movement then swap it out for the more reliable "A" movement.

Might as well have an NH35 put in it by someone local.

[ivorbiggin]

Originally Posted by nzwatchdoctor

Might as well have an NH35 put in it by someone local.

It would be better to use the NH36, at least the day date wheels will match and you wont have a shiney new date wheel alongside a faded old day wheel. Yes you can use the old wheels from the original movement but thats extra work = more expense.
If going down the NH route, i think you may have to source a crown/stem assy for the later 4R Monster as im pretty sure the original 7S stem will not work in the NH movement. Crown and stems are a one piece unit on the monster they dont seperate.

[3366carlos]

I'm in a similar situation with my srp777. I haven't decided what to do.

[reklawg]

Originally Posted by MR.YODA

Replacing the mechanism is pointless.
Take to the watchmaker to see if the mechanism requires service, if not the regulation itself is enough.
ten minutes of work


Seiko 7S26 caliber is one of the automatic movements introduced in 1996. It is non-hacking and non-winding mechanism, with its accuracy ranging from -20 to +49 seconds per day

A service it has had Master Yoda.....
The Force is weak with this one. Regulation will not save him........

[scubarob99]

Swap the movement, if you can do it yourself it's a lot cheaper than a service.

Rob

[reklawg]

Thank you all for your valued input.
You've given me much to think about.
I had thought the NH36 swap would have been favourite, but a move to 7s26A ( currently a 7s26B ) definitely has it's merits too.
I'm not brave enough to try swapping movements myself so I'm gonna have a look round and see what options I can find.

Many Thanks again though

[nzwatchdoctor]

Originally Posted by ivorbiggin

It would be better to use the NH36, at least the day date wheels will match and you wont have a shiney new date wheel alongside a faded old day wheel. Yes you can use the old wheels from the original movement but thats extra work = more expense.
If going down the NH route, i think you may have to source a crown/stem assy for the later 4R Monster as im pretty sure the original 7S stem will not work in the NH movement. Crown and stems are a one piece unit on the monster they dont seperate.

You're right "Daddy didn't think that one through very well....."

[JaSharp]

If you want to do it yourself, its a lot of fun and rewarding. I would suggest getting an ugly, well running seiko 5 off of ebay; would he similar price, but you can practice getting hands off/ putting them on with the donor dial and hands, to get a feel for it.