Alkaline Cells (Batteries) for Quartz Clocks

22835-002114_lgI had a brand new Hermle clock (model 22835-002114) come back because the customer said it would not chime. He sent the batteries with it, and when I installed them, the clock would not chime or keep time. The batteries checked good on the tester, but would not make the clock work. As an experiment, I installed two brand new Duracell C batteries. The clock worked perfectly.

Examining several brands of battery, one can see that the bottom (negative) contacts are made differently.

AA cells: On some brands, the contact extends downward from the surrounding plastic covering, and these work fine. On some brands, the contact is flush with the covering, and these may not work reliably or at all in some clocks. Two brands of AA Cell that work well are Duracell and Rayovac.

C cells: Testing has shown that Duracell batteries work very reliably in clocks. Their negative contact extends further past the plastic covering then on some other brands, ensuring that it touches the clock’s contact.


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