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Frequently Asked Questions



Common Questions for Hobbyists

Can I replace a battery operated movement in a broken clock I have?

Yes you can, and it is not to difficult. The first step is to remove the old movement from your clock. Remove the clock hands first by gently pulling them off. Sometimes the minute hand is held in place by a cap nut. Just unscrew it and continue to remove the hands. The movement itself is normally held in place by a hex nut on the hand shaft, or it can "snap in" which means it is being held in place by little plastic "fingers". Either unscrew the hex nut to remove or just pry away from the case until snaps free.

The next step is to determine the size of the movement you have. The most important dimension is the shaft length. If your movement was held in place by a hex nut, then you need to measure the height of the threaded portion of the shaft that the hex nut was mounted to. This is referred to as the threaded shaft length.If your movement was a "snap in", then just measure the overall shaft length.

Now that you know the critical dimension of your movement, look in the movement section of our web site to find a movement that suits your needs and budget. Please remember that the old hands from your movement may not fit the new movement. Hour and minute hands are included free with movements, so pick out a pair when you order.

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I need to replace or repair an electric “plug in” type of movement, can you help?

We do not sell electric movements or parts for their repair. Please contact Empire Clock Co. at their web site "www.empireclock.com".

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I need to replace or repair an electric “plug in” type of movement, can you help?

We do not sell electric movements or parts for their repair. Please contact Empire Clock Co. at their web site "www.empireclock.com".

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I need to replace or repair a mechanical weight or spring driven movement, can you help?

We do not sell mechanical movements or parts for their repair. Please contact Merritts at "www.merritts.com" or S. LaRose at "www.slarose.com".

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I need to replace or repair a mechanical weight or spring driven movement, can you help?

We do not sell mechanical movements or parts for their repair. Please contact Merritts at "www.merritts.com" or S. LaRose at "www.slarose.com".

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If I give you the brand and model number of my broken clock can you help me repair it?

Probably not. We deal only in the latest battery operated quartz movements. While it may be possible to use one of our movements to repair your clock, we have no way of telling because we can not reference the brand and model number of your clock to determine what you may need.

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If I give you the brand and model number of my broken clock can you help me repair it?

Probably not. We deal only in the latest battery operated quartz movements. While it may be possible to use one of our movements to repair your clock, we have no way of telling because we can not reference the brand and model number of your clock to determine what you may need.

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How difficult is it to install a quartz movement?

It is surprisingly simple. Just drill a 3/8" hole in front of your clock case, slide the movement shaft through the hole and secure in place by tightening 1 hex nut.

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How difficult is it to install a quartz movement?

It is surprisingly simple. Just drill a 3/8" hole in front of your clock case, slide the movement shaft through the hole and secure in place by tightening 1 hex nut.

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Do I need to use a second hand?

Most quarts movements have the ability to run a second hand. It is your choice to use one or not. If you feel the step second motion would be a distraction then don't use one. A special closed nut is available to cover the small hole showing when a second hand is not used.

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Common Questions for Manufacturers

What are the minimums required for custom clock dials?

We can run as few as 100 pcs. when making dials for fit-ups and 250 pcs. when making custom metal or styrene dials. Lead times can vary from two to four weeks depending on our schedule and the type of dial you want. Contact a ClockParts.com sales representative for additional information.

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Do you sell large quantities on a wholesale basis?

Yes, we do! We stock thousands of movements that are ready for immediate shipment. If you need 500 or 50,000 movements we can handle your needs.

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Are all fit-ups available for immediate delivery?

We offer the best selection of fit-ups in the industry today. While some of our fit-ups are stocked pre-assembled, ready to go, many others are made to order. Making many of our fit-ups to order allows us to offer thousands of possible models with a lead time of one to two weeks. We think that offering the possibilities we do is worth the wait and so do most of our customers. Just contact one of our sales representatives to find out what is in stock and current production lead times.

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What are the minimums required for custom clock dials?

We can run as few as 100 pcs. when making dials for fit-ups and 250 pcs. when making custom metal or styrene dials. Lead times can vary from two to four weeks depending on our schedule and the type of dial you want. Contact a ClockParts.com sales representative for additional information.

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Do you sell large quantities on a wholesale basis?

Yes, we do! We stock thousands of movements that are ready for immediate shipment. If you need 500 or 50,000 movements we can handle your needs.

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Are all fit-ups available for immediate delivery?

We offer the best selection of fit-ups in the industry today. While some of our fit-ups are stocked pre-assembled, ready to go, many others are made to order. Making many of our fit-ups to order allows us to offer thousands of possible models with a lead time of one to two weeks. We think that offering the possibilities we do is worth the wait and so do most of our customers. Just contact one of our sales representatives to find out what is in stock and current production lead times.

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Movements Motors

I make ceramic clocks and have bought your clock parts for several years. On your mini quarts pendulum clocks, is there a recommended weight (maximum/minimum) you need to use for the pendulum weight? I make my weights with small disks of clay….but thought I should ask the question to make sure the clocks operate efficiently

The maximum weight for these American made mini pendulum movements is 2-1/2 ounces.
The closer you get to the maximum the more important leveling is (or being vertically plumb).

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I need to find a replacement insert clock that would fit a 2-1/8″ hole, total width across face and bezel of 2-1/2″. I would prefer the bezel to be black. Do you offer this size and I am not seeing it on the website?

The closest size we have to what you are looking for is our 2-1/4" F59 series, which fits into a 2-1/8" mounting hole size.
https://www.clockparts.com/2-1-4-59mm-standard-fit-ups/

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I have a question about the pendulum. I am replacing a movement with your battery version. the pendulum is 2 inches from the back of the dial. is 2 inches a problem?

Yes, potentially the pendulum swinging 2” behind the dial is a problem because most battery movements have a pendulum that swings 3/8” of an inch behind the clock face. In your case I would use a separate pendulum drive like the PD200 below:
https://www.clockparts.com/pd200-heavy-duty-pendulum-drive/
It has a 7 ounce maximum capacity. Can easily be used as a separate pendulum drive as I’m suggesting here.

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I’m building an art piece that uses a clock movement to rotate a large sheet of paper.
I’ve tried a few DIY clock repair movements (including a high torque) and they don’t have enough torque. I really I’d use the second hand and minute hand so it rotates faster, or find a movement that can be sped up.
Do you have anything that might work for me? I don’t really know enough about clock movements to look further than I have already.

Our high torque quartz continuous sweep movements have a balanced maximum weight for the second hand of 7 grams and 18 grams for the minute hand.
You would probably have to use hard wired electric movement rated for use with 3 or 4 foot hands, depending on what your torque requirement is. This is beyond the capabilities of the quartz movements we offer.

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I am looking for a double A battery movement for a novelty alarm clock with mechanical bells on top. Here is the info on the movement CT678 CONTIN. It has a sweep second hand and a hand to set the alarm.

We stopped stocking alarm movements about 5 years ago. Unfortunately, control switch locations are not standardized at all, so finding replacements can really be difficult.

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I am fixing an old clock that has very little clearance between the face of the clock and the glass.
What is the lowest profile motor/mechanism that you carry?

It depends on what size hands you need. The MVT0560 has a total shaft height of 1/4", but the hands we have availablefor it are under 2". The MVT7130A has a total shaft height of 17/32", and includes a choice of 45 pairs of hour and minute hands under 5".

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I am looking for a motor that has the following features:
•High Quality chime
• Westminster chimes
•Automatic night time shut off
•Volume control

I’m looking for a battery operated clock kit that I can install on a plastic housing. The problem is the face is ~4” from the back where I would mount the battery mechanism.

The longest shaft length you can get a quartz movement in is 1-1/4” long. It’s an engineering limitation.

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I need to find a replacement insert clock that would fit a 2-1/8″ hole, total width across face and bezel of 2-1/2″. I would prefer the bezel to be black. Do you offer this size and I am not seeing it on the website?

The closest size we have to what you are looking for is our 2-1/4" F59 series, which fits into a 2-1/8" mounting hole size.
https://www.clockparts.com/2-1-4-59mm-standard-fit-ups/

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Is it possible to find a pendulum movement with Westminster chimes

Inserts Fitups

Do you have a clock insert with a brushed gold or spun gold face with a mounting hole of about 2 1/8”, 2 ¼”, 2 3/8” ?

Our F59 series has a brushed gold roman or Arabic option.
https://www.clockparts.com/2-1-4-59mm-standard-fit-ups/
Overall size 2-1/4”, 2-1/8” mounting hole size.
Our F73 series has the same brushed gold dial options and is 2-3/4” overall and a 2-3/8” mounting hole:
https://www.clockparts.com/2-3-4-73mm-economy-quartz-clock-fit-ups-with-bevel-edge-bezel/

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We purchased a F108WAC 108 MM White arabic 4 1/4″ clock insert. The clock insert is just a little small and won’t stay in the clock frame. Do you have something we can use to fill the space?

Try taking the gasket off of the back of the insert clock. Wrap something like electrical or plumbers tape around the back of the insert. Then re-install the gasket.
Can be a bit of trial and error, but it normally works for small adjustments. Rubber bands can also work.

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I have an old wooden round mantel clock. I want to put an quartz insert into the opening. The hole diameter is 4 3/8″, the outside of the clock is 5 3/8″. Do you offer something to make this work?

https://www.clockparts.com/6-in-152mm-premium-quartz-clock-fit-ups/
These inserts are designed for a 3-1/8” mounting hole, so to properly fit you would need to make some type of adaptor ring:
https://www.clockparts.com/video/clock-insert-adapter-ring-for-your-clock-case/

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I need to replace the Takane clock that was mounted in my golf cart. The back snaps into the dash and is approx. 3 5/64ths in diameter. Can you help?

Please advise what the diameter of the mounting hole size is.
It’s smaller than the diameter of the front of the clock, but actually the most important measurement.

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Do you have a clock insert with a brushed gold or spun gold face with a mounting hole of about 2 1/8”, 2 ¼”, 2 3/8” ?

Our F59 series has a brushed gold roman or Arabic option.
https://www.clockparts.com/2-1-4-59mm-standard-fit-ups/
Overall size 2-1/4”, 2-1/8” mounting hole size.
Our F73 series has the same brushed gold dial options and is 2-3/4” overall and a 2-3/8” mounting hole:
https://www.clockparts.com/2-3-4-73mm-economy-quartz-clock-fit-ups-with-bevel-edge-bezel/

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We purchased a F108WAC 108 MM White arabic 4 1/4″ clock insert. The clock insert is just a little small and won’t stay in the clock frame. Do you have something we can use to fill the space?

Try taking the gasket off of the back of the insert clock. Wrap something like electrical or plumbers tape around the back of the insert. Then re-install the gasket.
Can be a bit of trial and error, but it normally works for small adjustments. Rubber bands can also work.

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I have an old wooden round mantel clock. I want to put an quartz insert into the opening. The hole diameter is 4 3/8″, the outside of the clock is 5 3/8″. Do you offer something to make this work?

https://www.clockparts.com/6-in-152mm-premium-quartz-clock-fit-ups/
These inserts are designed for a 3-1/8” mounting hole, so to properly fit you would need to make some type of adaptor ring:
https://www.clockparts.com/video/clock-insert-adapter-ring-for-your-clock-case/

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I need to replace the Takane clock that was mounted in my golf cart. The back snaps into the dash and is approx. 3 5/64ths in diameter. Can you help?

Please advise what the diameter of the mounting hole size is.
It’s smaller than the diameter of the front of the clock, but actually the most important measurement.

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Assessories

I recently had my grandfather clock converted to a quartz movement. The pendulum set is only 16in with a small pendulum bob. It is on a AA battery by itself. Will the 25 in rod and 3in bob operate on a single AA unit?

Our AA battery powered mini pendulum movements do not have enough power to operate a 25” pendulum.
You would need to use our PD200 to operate a pendulum of this size.
https://www.clockparts.com/pd200-heavy-duty-pendulum-drive/

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I have a grandfather clock with a lyre pendulum that is operated by itself. It looks like a pd200 but Im not sure that is exactly what it is. The pendulum attachment swings perfectly until I put the pendulum on it, then it works for a few minutes and then quits. What can I do to make it swing continuously? I wasnt sure if I needed to order the PD200

The PD200 will operate a pendulum up to 7 ounces, and the PHDPD will operate a pendulum up to 10 ounces.
Make sure you know the weight of your pendulum before ordering anything.
Being level or vertically plumb is very important for any pendulum drive. It’s important that the magnet and electro magnet on any pendulum drive also be as close as possible without touching.

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I recently had my grandfather clock converted to a quartz movement. The pendulum set is only 16in with a small pendulum bob. It is on a AA battery by itself. Will the 25 in rod and 3in bob operate on a single AA unit?

Our AA battery powered mini pendulum movements do not have enough power to operate a 25” pendulum.
You would need to use our PD200 to operate a pendulum of this size.
https://www.clockparts.com/pd200-heavy-duty-pendulum-drive/

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I have a grandfather clock with a lyre pendulum that is operated by itself. It looks like a pd200 but Im not sure that is exactly what it is. The pendulum attachment swings perfectly until I put the pendulum on it, then it works for a few minutes and then quits. What can I do to make it swing continuously? I wasnt sure if I needed to order the PD200

The PD200 will operate a pendulum up to 7 ounces, and the PHDPD will operate a pendulum up to 10 ounces.
Make sure you know the weight of your pendulum before ordering anything.
Being level or vertically plumb is very important for any pendulum drive. It’s important that the magnet and electro magnet on any pendulum drive also be as close as possible without touching.

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