Emett water clock...and other clocks


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Update on the Emett Clock.  Had an email from Vic Centre to say there had been some blue smoke and blown fuse for the small motor that drives the clock faces (same motor also initiates the chiming and performances).  They suspected a resistor and were asking me where I sourced the one that was fitted.  I told them it was the original part.

 

I offered to go in and have a look, saying there is also a capacitor in the motor circuit (not sure they were aware of that as it is a bit hidden).

 

By arrangement I went in this afternoon and decided best course of action was for me to take motor, resistor and capacitor home to investigate and then to advise them which bits are faulty.  All three parts are original, manufactured around 1969.  Capacitors of that age are prone to failure.

Watch this space...

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Yet another update! We've put some serious hours in this week, building the clock in Birmingham (Millennium Point - access is free if you are anywhere near but read on to understand what you might

Thank you for the kind comments, especially from those of you who have followed me on this journey. On location, I think the natural daylight is great - it is after all meant to be a sunflower, cobwe

Nope, not TT. On the matter of drinking, each day I've worked within that enclosure has been physically exhausting because of the heat and humidity - somewhere between a greenhouse and a sauna. Have

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Not quite as it appears...

 

I tested the little Crouzet motor (that drives the clock mechanism) at home and it was fine (not bad if it is the original as I suspect, running 24/7 with one or two breaks for over 50 years).

 

I concluded that it had not been the cause of any 'blue smoke incident' or causing any fuse to blow.  I queried with the guys as to which fuse had blown - the one they identified feeds the Parvalux geared motor that turns the big cobweb/butterfly wheel.

 

I took the Crouzet motor back last Monday (17th April) and refitted it (together with its resistor and capacitor).

 

I turned my attention to the Cobweb wheel motor - it looked (and smelt) okay (aside of a small oil/grease leak on its output shaft that I already knew about).  Not a very scientific assessment so (assisted by one of the techs) I removed it for bench testing.  In the process, the tech noticed what looked like molten plastic oozed out of the air vents of Parvalux geared motor for the petals - that was indeed suspicious so we removed that motor as well.  Its supply cable was a bit molten (having rested on its casing) so that was further evidence.

 

I refitted the clock mechanism plate and set the clocks.  We left it with clocks running and the 'Top Feature' rotating.  It chimed at quarter past the hour but I don't know if the Orchestra musicians did their twirling (didn't think to look up).  The CD player needed resetting (it defaults to zero volume after power cycle) so I don't know if the music will work (no reason for that to fail).

 

So, at home I now have two Parvalux geared motors to test (Cobweb Wheel and Petals).  Though the finger of suspicion points to the Petals motor, it should only run for 7 seconds twice (petals down, petals up) every 15 minutes.  A bit odd therefore if it cooked itself so I will need to think about potential failure of its capacitor, a mechanical overload or a fault that caused it to run continuously.  I was able to turn the shaft freely so it isn't seized.  We'll see.

 

 

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PROGRESS WITH MOTORS SO FAR

 
Petals geared motor (the one with residue of molten plastic)
I stripped this down and it's definitely burnt out.  Hard to say what the molten plastic was - all that remains is a lump!  I have a Parvalux catalogue from 2007 and have been trying to figure out nearest replacement model for size, wattage, speed, gearbox ratio, fixing holes, etc. (the original rating plate is missing).  Snag is that it is Imperial and the output shaft is 1/2" diameter (12.70mm).  A new metric geared motor will have 12.00mm diameter output shaft.
 
The geared motor was connected to a 5/8" drive shaft via a universal joint - that fell apart and looks like it needs replacing due to wear and tear.  It is 1/2" bore one end (for the geared motor) and 5/8" bore on the other end (for the drive shaft).  My thoughts are to turn a couple of centimetres of the drive shaft down from 5/8" diameter to 12mm diameter then we can get a new 12mm to 12mm universal joint to go between a new geared motor and the modified drive shaft.  That said, I don't have access to a lathe (one of the techs at Vic Centre says he knows someone who has one so should be okay though I have noticed other recent lathe-related posts hereabouts).
 
Cobweb/Butterfly wheel geared motor (the one with a leaky oil seal)
I connected this up with a spare capacitor and it runs okay.  I opened its gearbox to get the oil seal out.  It is marked 79427 00 9mm.  I measured it as: ID 9mm, OD 17.75mm, thickness 3.75mm.
It doesn't look particularly special (regular oil seal with a small circular spring inside) but so far I can't find a supplier for that size - I'll keep looking but maybe Parvalux can advise.
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Quick update on the Emett Clock:

New geared motor has arrived (to drive the Petals)

New oil seal arrived (for Cobweb Wheel geared motor)

Am popping down there now to get these new parts and to remove the electrical control panel (I need to wire in the capacitor for the new motor and give the panel a once-over).

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Update: I've completed the following planned tasks at home and have arranged to go into Vic Centre later this week to refit the parts.

 
New geared motor (for petals up/down) - added 4-core power cable with 4-pole red terminal connectors, terminated 2-core cable for electromagnetic brake.
 
Cobweb wheel geared motor - fitted new oil seal.
 
Electrical control panel (the one I designed and built in 2012) - fitted new 2.5uF capacitor (for petals geared motor), mounted a 6uF capacitor (for orchestra geared motor) that had been left hanging loose by someone, fitted two-pole red terminal connectors to each of the four motor capacitors, renewed/added component and cable labelling where necessary, fitted correct fuse - an F rated (fast blow) had been fitted instead of a T rated (timed blow).
 
Meanwhile the guys on site have been doing some cleaning and painting while the pond has been dry.
 
Still need to sort the machining task to match the new geared motor (12mm output shaft) to the original 5/8" stub shaft - I can measure up for length when the new geared motor is in place.
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Update

 

I went in on 12 October and refitted the electrical control panel and two geared motors.  I powered up then synchronised the chiming mechanism to the clock.

 

Cobweb wheel (geared motor with new seal)

The cobweb wheel was not turning (rubber drive pulley was rotating but just skidding on the drive rim).  It is very sensitive to imbalance (probably because three butterflies are missing - that's work in progress) so for now, I pulled the motor's fuse (I don't want the rubber drive tyre to wear away).

 

Petals (new geared motor)

The new petals drive motor was running in the right direction (proves I got the capacitor wiring right!) but it still needs the stub shaft shortening and turning down to 12mm on a lathe.  A new 12mm x 12mm universal joint was to hand so I measured up to see how much needed cutting off the stub shaft length.  I pulled the motor's fuse until I can re-assemble fully.

 

Orchestra

I noticed the orchestra wasn't rotating during performances.  Need to get up there with big stepladder to give the motor a coat of looking at.

 

So all in all, it's hard to tell that I had visited!  At least the clock is keeping time and the bell is chiming.

 

At home, I cut the drive shaft to desired length and took it back in on 16 October.  They got it turned down so now the ball is back in my court.  I intend to visit tomorrow after lunch and see what progress I can make.

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I went in yesterday and refitted that modified shaft, new universal joint, pulley, vee belt, etc. to reinstate the drive for the petals.

 

My theory that the Cobweb Wheel's reluctance to turn was due to imbalance was correct: the Technical Services Manager moved some brass blocks and that got it running.

 

I synchronised the 'going' and strike mechanisms with the clock faces (needs adjusting a bit more but it's close enough for now).

The petals operated fairly well but the music was intermittent.

 

This morning (in my absence) the guys there looked at the Orchestra motor.  After manually rotating it a bit, it started working okay (could have been a tossed coin lodged in its track).  They reported that the chimes, petals and music were still working but the chimes were 30 minutes out of sync (e.g. striking 9 at 9:30).  I went in this afternoon and sorted that.

 

I need to visit again to improve the clock/chime sync (it's about 4 minutes adrift) and to fit a replacement boss for the Cobweb Wheel drive pulley counterweight.  After that we can get some water back in the pool.

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On a Facebook group some people are complaining that the clock has had lots of parts removed, a fraction of it's size was a term used.

Someone snapped a couple of people working on it the other day, someone else suggested scrap men.

 

Photo credit Nick Button

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Indeed it is me.  I can be seen holding what I call the 'mech plate' with the clock drive gearwheels.  That was last Thursday.  Am on my way there now for a final check before they refill the pool.

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Coin box is temporary while basin is empty but still folk throw coins in the basin.

 

Last night I was reviewing a video I made last week to gauge rotational speed of the Orchestra.  It looked odd so I compared with a video on Youtube from 1973 where Emett is unveiling the clock.  As I suspected, the Orchestra was now rotating in the wrong direction (it should go anticlockwise as viewed from above).

 

My visit this morning was to investigate.  Up inside the sunflower, instead of my 4-pole red connectors for the Orchestra motor, I saw 'choc strip' connectors wrapped in insulation tape (not my modus operandi).  Someone must have done that in the last 8 years (I hadn't been up there since June 2015).

 

Two white wires had been transposed so I corrected that.  I'll need to revisit at some future date to fit new red connectors and wire numbers.

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During my repairs in November last year, I told the management that whenever I am working on the clock, I invariably get folk who want to chat about it when I tell them how I am involved.  I suggested that I could do a couple of sessions where I would simply be there to talk to anyone who was interested.  They agreed it was a good idea so they have sorted it out for Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th February (next week).  The plan is for me to be there from 12:00pm to 2:00pm on each day.  They are inviting the local press.

 

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I have been advised that my appearance by the Clock has been pushed back a week - I now plan to be there Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd March, same time (12:00pm to 2:00pm).

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I made a visit earlier today, and this shows Mr Engineer standing next to the clock; and there seemed to be a fair number of people wanting to talk to him on the subject.

 

vrL7USZ.jpg

 

I happened to be there when the clock did one of its performances, which also demonstrated the stupidity of the location; it's impossible to see the upper half of the clock when everything's happening.

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