In the world of diving, equipment has evolved to offer divers maximum safety and practicality. Among these innovations, we find the helium valve on certain diving watches. But what is its real use? This article invites you to explore in detail this functionality specific to diving watches.

Diving watches: essential allies

Diving watches are essential tools for scuba diving enthusiasts and professionals. They make it possible in particular to control the time spent underwater, the current time, but also to measure the depth at which the diver is located.

Some watches also have additional functions such as displaying water temperature or programmable alarms to signal important thresholds (dive duration, maximum depth, etc.).

The helium valve: an innovation for deep diving

The helium valve is a feature only found on certain high-end diving watches, intended primarily for professional or deep-diving divers. It was designed to respond to a specific problem linked to this type of diving: the saturation of the watch case with helium gas.

The helium saturation phenomenon

During deep, prolonged dives, divers breathe a gas mixture called Trimix. The latter is composed of oxygen, nitrogen and helium. The latter gas is used to replace part of the nitrogen in the breathing mixture in order to limit the risks associated with nitrogen narcosis, a state of confusion that can occur when diving at great depths.

As the diver sinks deeper, the external pressure increases and the helium molecules contained in the gas mixture tend to infiltrate into the available spaces, particularly within the watch case. diving.

Since watches are designed to be waterproof, these helium molecules cannot easily come out once they enter and end up causing internal overpressure.

The risks associated with helium overpressure

This overpressure can cause several problems for the watch and the diver. Firstly, it can cause the peeling or shattering of the protective glassthus exposing the internal mechanism of the watch to water and external elements.

Then, overpressure can also cause malfunctions in the watch mechanism, thus making the information it displays unreliable or even incorrect.

To avoid these inconveniences and guarantee the safety of the diver, it is essential to be able to release the excess internal pressure caused by helium. This is where the helium valve comes in.

How the helium valve works

The helium valve is a mechanical device installed on the case of some diving watches. It generally consists of a waterproof capsule containing a membrane and a spring.

When the internal pressure reaches a certain threshold, the spring compresses, allowing the membrane to open slightly to let excess helium molecules escape.

Thanks to this mechanism, the pressure inside the watch case is regulated and maintained at an acceptable level, thus avoiding the risks associated with overpressure. In addition, the helium valve only lets helium molecules escape: it does not affect the watertightness of the watch against water which could damage the system.

Automatic or manual activation?

There are two types of helium valves:

• Automatic valves: they are activated without intervention from the diver when the internal pressure reaches a predefined threshold. They are therefore particularly practical and safe, because they do not require any action on the part of the diver

• Manual valves: the diver must open the valve himself using a built-in mechanism (usually a screw-down crown). Although this solution may seem less practical, it nevertheless offers an advantage: the diver has total control over the management of the internal pressure of his watch.

Who is the helium valve for?

As mentioned previously, the helium valve is mainly intended for professional divers or those who practice deep diving on a regular basis. Indeed, classic recreational dives generally do not expose the diver to the risks associated with helium saturation.

However, if you are a regular diver and want to invest in a high-end diving watch, choosing a model equipped with a helium valve can be a guarantee of quality and reliability, even if you do not use this feature at all. daily.