# Seiko Kinetic Capacitor Lifespan?



## Matrim604 (Aug 9, 2008)

Hey everyone, just got my first Seiko watch as a daily wearer. I understand that their Kinetic watches have a capacitor that can store energy, allowing the watch to go without being worn for months. Does anybody know what the usual life span of the capacitors are? For people who own a $200-$300 Seiko, do you consider your watch to be a long term investment or something you'll replace in a few years when it stops working? I've seen some people post some pictures on this forum of some pretty old Seikos. I've always worn Citizen Eco-Drives as my daily wearer, but they seem to have problems after 6-8 years (or at least mine did, and i've owned 3), I was wondering what kind of experience other people had.

Here's a picture of the watch I picked up, I really like it except for the strap which I plan on replacing. (my steel strap kinda squeaks at the hinges).


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## the_rangdo (Jul 26, 2008)

I've got a kinetic Arctura that I bought in Gibraltar 1994-ish. It was a daily wearer so I can't say how long the watch could go un-worn before running down, however about 2 years ago it started to struggle getting through the night and then eventually wouldn't hold charge at all.

Seiko have since changed to using a rechargeable battery instead of capacitors, I just recently changed the capacitor for a battery and following a good shaking to charge it up it's just gone for over a week unworn.


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## feenix (May 27, 2008)

The capacitor in my favorite and longest owned kinetic lasted for around two years, I had an official service and battery upgrade and have had no problems now for around 8 years. There is also the added benefit that the charge last a lot longer on the batteries than it ever did on the capacitors.


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