Slow chiming

Question

I have a Howard Miller wall clock that I've recently purchased. The Westminster chimes were fine at first, but now they are very, very slow-a chime every 2-3 seconds! Is there anything I can do to speed it up? The striking is still fine.

Thank you!

Answer

Adelene,

Clocks should be cleaned and oiled every 3-5 years.

When you say that you "recently" purchased this clock I would ask how recently? If the clock is still under the 1 year warranty I would suggest calling the place you bought it from, if they are a clock dealership, and ask them to oil the clock. You may also call Howard Miller and they may have you go to an authorized dealer to do this.

If it's been longer than a year you may want to either oil the clock yourself or bring it to a repair shop for them to oil the clock. I hesitate to suggest only oiling the clock because if there is dirt in the movement the oil will only speed up the wearing process by oiling the gritty dirt that collects in clock. This dirt will act as an abrasive and wear out the pivot holes faster.

Dirt can cause a clock to slow down.

Here is a video that shows you how to oil a clock. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9YrBcKiHA4

It couldn't hurt to call a repair shop and ask them how much they would charge to oil your clock.

Hope this helps you, Marilyn The Clocklady 631-816-0431