My Grandmother's Old Clock

[rp2813]

I have a few different Telechron clocks and have revived dead rotors and quieted down noisy ones with 3-in-1 Motor Oil that has the blue stripe.

 

This method usually works, and all you need besides the oil is an incandescent light bulb.

 

Remove the rotor from the coil assembly.  Using your average table lamp or a desk lamp turned upside down, place the rotor on the top of the bulb, pinion side up.  It will take a bit of nuding it around to get it balanced and as level as possible.

 

Turn on the lamp for an hour or so, the shut it off and carefully place one drop of oil at a time over the pinion gear.  It will be taken up in the tiny well surrounding the gear, and sucked inside the rotor.  Repeat this process about 15 times as long as oil continues to be sucked in.

 

Most rotors will quiet down after this procedure.  Some can be stubborn and stop sucking in the oil, which requires turning the lamp on again and reheating the rotor for 20 or 30 minutes.  At first, it's best not to exceed 15 drops.  Too much oil will bog down the mechanism and make the clock run slow.

 

If the above process doesn't work, then you have to carefully take a small drill to the housing, in order to clean out the rotor and re-fill it with oil.  There's a special spot where the hole has to be made so no interior rotor parts get damaged.  Contact me directly if you have to pursue this method.

 

Replacement rotors are no longer made.  They can easily go for $25 or more on eBay. 

 

I've bought a number of clocks on eBay that were non-working and a little time on the light bulb got them running smoothly and quietly.

 

The coil that holds the rotor is easy to remove, and the rotor can be removed from the coil assembly if you pull apart the two "forks" that hold it in place.

 

I have a Garcon as well.  I just yesterday replaced it with a more contemporary "Diameter" model.

 

My Garcon was originally orange-red but it was scratched up.  Red didn't work in our kitchen either, so I got some high quality black spray paint and applied multiple light coats. 

 

Here's how it looked up until yesterday:

 

 

 

[rp2813]

Now this is what's up there:

 

The camera captures the blemish between 10 and 11, but with average kitchen lighting, it's not noticeable.

 

You can't see it in this picture, but there is a viewing hole for the red "reset" flag behind the hour hand.  When the hour hand points to 12, the hole can be seen through the hole in the hour hand, but on either side of 12 it's not visible.

 

The earliest Telechron clocks did have an actual small flag that dropped down whenever power was lost.  Even though it's not a real flag anymore, that's what it's still called. 

 

Flags should drop down freely.  If they don't, just a tiny bit of lube like WD-40 on the pivot point should get them moving again.  Don't spray it.  If you do, it will find its way behind the dial and discolor it.  Apply it with a toothpick or something.

 

When power is lost, gravity pulls the flag down and its red section shows through the hole.  When power is restored and the time adjustment stem is engaged, the flag is automatically re-set, and the white section shows through the hole.  Although the clock will start running when power is restored, until you pull on the adjustment stem the red flag will remain as an indicator that power was lost and the time displayed is incorrect.

 

I do own a some Telechron/GE clocks that don't have flags, but I prefer the ones that do.  

 

Here's a link to the Telechron Clock forum.  There's lots of information on repair and restoration there.

 

 

http://telechron.net/galvanic/

 

[beekeyknee]

Ralph,

Thanks for the tips. I will give it a go and see what happens. If I have problems I will contact you.

Brian

 

[supersuds]

Bumping up this old thread just to say thanks to Ralph for the very clearly explained lightbulb/3-in-1 oil method. It has made a huge difference in my mom's GE kitchen clock, which she got with Green Stamps around 1960. Guess you just can't expect things to last 55 years without some TLC.

It isn't perfectly silent, but but it doesn't sound like a mini cement mixer any more, either!

 

[sarahperdue]

Thanks!

Thanks for the very interesting thread. Ralph, thanks for the detailed rotor info and link to the Telechron site. I oiled the Westinghouse timer that I asked you about really well, and it works fine.

But now, I have a Telechron that needs some help. I'm looking forward to trying your light bulb trick.

Best, Sarah

Oh, and now I want one of these awesome kitchen clocks. I've enjoyed the pictures.

 

[sarahperdue]

Thanks!

Thanks for the very interesting thread. Ralph, thanks for the detailed rotor info and link to the Telechron site. I oiled the Westinghouse timer that I asked you about really well, and it works fine.

But now, I have a Telechron that needs some help. I'm looking forward to trying your light bulb trick.

Best, Sarah

Oh, and now I want one of these awesome kitchen clocks. I've enjoyed the pictures.