The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Posted this on WUS last night, thought it might be helpful here too...



I got this B-1 today from sonyman, and let me say that I am just thrilled with Phil and his communication. The watch arrived as described, but the EOL was flashing when I opened the box. Bummer, but I'm up for a challenge!!

Okay guys...I'm gonna be the one to dispel the myth that the B-1 MUST go to Breitling to have the $2 battery changed, and document it online (Breitling...I'm a loyal customer, love the watches, and will send it in for overhaul someday, but a battery change for $125...c'mon...). Sorry in advance if I offend anyone, but this has to be one of the easiest batteries I've ever changed...I will say tho, that if this were an M1, there is NO WAY I would've done this.

Before anyone asks...I do have A LOT of watch tools, and I've been amaturely playing with and rebuilding watches for years, so having the right tools is a prerequisite...and they aren't expensive ones. I needed four tools-the case holder, a case opener, a mini common screwdriver, and a springbar tool.

The first pic here shows the caseback already off. It was a bit of a chore to get the tool positioned properly, but once I had it, it came off with ease. Notice how dirty it is inside...and this was taken after I cleaned the inside of the caseback. Many years of dust, grime, and some arm hair on the inner movement cover...



Before I get to the battery...take a closer look at the caseback. The slots are open to the world!! I didn't know this!! Would be the reason for all the dust and arm hairs entering...



Okay, on to the battery. This is the soon-to-be dead battery...easy access, huh!!??



Once I had the caseback off, I put the B-1 in to "BATT" mode to allow the time and date info to be stored in the capacitors. I was a bit nervous at this point because I didn't know exactly how many seconds I had of stored energy, but had heard 10-15 seconds. That's really a long time to pop one battery out, and put another in.

All done! New one in, old one out...



Caseback back on, and functions checked, it stored the date and time as it's supposed to. Pic taken with the caseback tool...



I guess if I get flamed out of existence for this by the B community, so be it. But I've long thought that the charge for a battery change was absolutely out of line, even with having them look it over (yes, I do know exactly what they do when it is sent in, and paying for someone to look at it is part of it...but then you may get dinged for an unexpected additional service, which is okay if you're okay with it, and knew it was a possibility, but if you refuse, they won't change the battery either). I would say with the 2-3 year battery life, that I would send it to BUSA every other time for overhaul, but this was just so stone simple that I had to put it out there.

Flame suit is on...

_________________
Chad Jensen
Chronospace

Past B's-
Gray Aerospace SQ
Black Colt GMT
Gray Aerospace SQ
Black SO
Black B-1
Yellow Seawolf Ti
White B-2
Silver Colt GMT
Black Aerospace Avantage LE
Blue Aerospace Avantage
Yellow SO
Blue Aerospace II
Gray Aerospace I
Jupiter 2300

Certainly wont get flamed by me mate. Good that you're willing to have a go for such a simple operation.

As long as you mention to the next owner (if there is one) that you changed the battery then I think theres nothing wrong with it at all

How do you put the B1 into Batt mode? Assume this might be the same for the Airwolf

Oh yeah, full disclosure is the only way to go!

To put it in BATT mode, set the display to the blank screen, pull out the crown to display the time. There will be an "R" in the top display. If you push the top pusher, "BATT" will display on the top window, and the time will disappear on the bottom. Hold the pusher until the display shuts off, and the analog time stops. This is BATT mode. I changed the battery in less than 10 seconds, and the time and date info was stored. I don't know exactly how long the capacitors will hold energy, but wouldn't expect them to last much longer than 15 -20 seconds or so.

_________________
Chad Jensen
Chronospace

Past B's-
Gray Aerospace SQ
Black Colt GMT
Gray Aerospace SQ
Black SO
Black B-1
Yellow Seawolf Ti
White B-2
Silver Colt GMT
Black Aerospace Avantage LE
Blue Aerospace Avantage
Yellow SO
Blue Aerospace II
Gray Aerospace I
Jupiter 2300

great job on the battery change...pro service

i wish i had the right tools that way i didn`t have to pay 52euros for a battery change

_________________
Breitling Chrono Avenger Black Dial whit Pro II Ti, Diver Pro I
Breitling BlackBird Big Date brushed whit SS Bracelet, brown croco
Breitling BlackBird Blacksteel 528/2000 Whit Dp2 Deployment
Omega Planet Ocean Chrono 9300 Co-axial Ceramic on SS bracelet

That would easily pay for the tools needed...BUT seeing as though you have an M1, I wouldn't do it. I was eyeing an M1 a while back, and had I ended up with it, there is no way I'd attempt a battery change in that beast. The WR rating is too crucial and deep on the M1, and it would have to be pressure tested by Breitling for me to trust it. The WR on the B-1 is only 50M, so it's not a big deal...

_________________
Chad Jensen
Chronospace

Past B's-
Gray Aerospace SQ
Black Colt GMT
Gray Aerospace SQ
Black SO
Black B-1
Yellow Seawolf Ti
White B-2
Silver Colt GMT
Black Aerospace Avantage LE
Blue Aerospace Avantage
Yellow SO
Blue Aerospace II
Gray Aerospace I
Jupiter 2300

Heres a question from a novice when it comes to the inside of the watches. If the caseback is sloted and open to the world, how in the world does is have any water resistance let alone 50atm?

_________________
Breitling Steelfish(black)
Breitling Steelfish(silver)
Panerai PAM 312
Bell & Ross BR03-92 Phantom
Steinhart BreitlingSource LE #5/15

The inner movement cover (the thing with all the dirt on it above) is pressed down to the gasket (can be seen in the battery pic) when the caseback is screwed down.

_________________
Chad Jensen
Chronospace

Past B's-
Gray Aerospace SQ
Black Colt GMT
Gray Aerospace SQ
Black SO
Black B-1
Yellow Seawolf Ti
White B-2
Silver Colt GMT
Black Aerospace Avantage LE
Blue Aerospace Avantage
Yellow SO
Blue Aerospace II
Gray Aerospace I
Jupiter 2300

Nice work.

If you don't mind me asking, how much (grand total) did all of the watch tools cost you. Most of us don't have the tools to perform said swap so we're willing to send it out to somebody who does. How quickly does this pay for itself? After 1,2, 3 battery changes?

_________________
“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.” - Albert Einstein

I have about $75 in watch tools (all purchased from Amazon.com)...however, the four tools that I used to do this was less than $20.

_________________
Chad Jensen
Chronospace

Past B's-
Gray Aerospace SQ
Black Colt GMT
Gray Aerospace SQ
Black SO
Black B-1
Yellow Seawolf Ti
White B-2
Silver Colt GMT
Black Aerospace Avantage LE
Blue Aerospace Avantage
Yellow SO
Blue Aerospace II
Gray Aerospace I
Jupiter 2300

The slotted caseback is to help with amplification of the alarm I believe.

Nice easy access to the battery as well - good job.

As all of mine are mechanical I think I'll stick to the old (cheap) pocket watches until my skills are honed a little more.

really glad it turned out mate and thanks once again for a super smooth deal

_________________

You beat me to the question, thanks for asking; I really didn't want to show noviceness(ssp?) too and that was the first thing I thought too. If I had been shopping for that watch and saw those slots; that might have been a deal breaker.

_________________
UN Maxi Marine Ti
B01, BEB
SOH
Aerospace Ti
Chrono SO
Omega 300 Master Co-Axial Chro
Omega PO Chrono.
AP ROO Diver
Titan Black Rolex DSOD Honeycomb Dial

There are no dumb questions. Ive picked up quite a bit of info over the years, but I still have a fair amount of dumbness willing to come out at any given time

_________________
-RJ

Great post! No reason if you're confident enough to do something like this then I can't really see the problem, great job!

Cheers

_________________

Currently:
Avenger Skyland(Black)
Super Avenger(White)

Moved on:
Montbrillant Legende(Silver)
Panerai 312
SOHC 125th Ann. LE(Silver)
Navitimer World(Pearl)
Panerai 441

Agreed.

I think that the watch needs to be considered for service after 5 - 7 years because the oils will have broken down, but with the right tools, and the right knowledge then it's no big deal. What scares me is the people with no knowledge and a $5 Chinese 'watchmaker's tool kit' from eBay.

In terms of cost, OP can obviously tell you what he paid, but a good Jaxa style case opener is only about $50 - $60 and I assume that it's just tweezers to get the inner caseback and battery out. Movement holders are readily available for no money - I think I paid about $10 or so (used) for each of mine.