Noisy Copal 227 Motor

[Dricco]

G’day guys, hope you fellas are doing well.

I’m only just new into flip clocks and purchased a Copal 227 clock which arrived a few days ago. When I first got it going, all seemed fine, but this lasted until it was time to sleep. I had it set on my side table and in the silence of the night I noticed a very faint but annoying frictiony sound being emitted every turn of the motor. When I rotated the face of the clock downwards, the friction seemed to dissipate or even cease. As it’s keeping me up at night, I’m convinced I’ll need to open it up, but having no experience in repair I thought I’d ask around first. Is there any risk in opening it up? Also, do you guys think lubricating it will do the job or will I have to perhaps pull the rotating wheel out slightly or adjust its alignment?

Thanks for reading guys, would really appreciate some advice.

Dric

[flipoclock]

Hi Dric,

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your purchase of this iconic clock!

Depending on what kind of noise it makes, it could be a number of things with your clock. It could be that it needs lubrication, it could be that the flywheel needs to be bent back (manually) into alignment, then again, it could also be wear and tear on the shaft of the flywheel, making it 'loose' when it is turning. If it is the latter, there is next to nothing that can be done about it, the other items can be addressed, but you will have to open it up and there's not much to go wrong on there.

When you look at the youtube channel of Mackey, the owner of this forum (channel is called flipclockfans), I am sure you will find a video on the 227 in which he also explains how to open it up.

Let us know if you have any questions.

PS, from my own experience, when the noise is not consistent and a bit whiney, it usually stems from wear and tear, but don't take my word for that, just open it up and see. When you can move the flywheel laterally, up and down too much, that indicates wear and tear which could be causing the noise.

[Dricco]

Thanks for your help mate. I’ve taken it all apart and given the flywheel a little wiggle - it seems like the axel is doing fine - there is hardly any lateral movement. So I think the next reasonable course of action would be lubricating the shaft of the fly wheel. Do you suggest any lubricants or will wd-40 suffice?

[flipoclock]

Whatever you do, do not use WD40 unless you are in dire need and have no access to anything else. I would try and get a hold of some proper clock oil (amazon, ebay, specialized clock webshops, etc.) of some very light/thin motor oil. The best thing about the clock oil is that it is usually delivered in a small canister with a needle of sorts at the front with which you can dose it for it really only needs a few drops at most.

[Dricco]

Great, thanks mate. I’ve got my grandpa coming over tomorrow with a little bit of motor oil so hopefully that’ll do the trick. Cheers, I’ll keep you updated

[Dricco]

So I pulled it all apart and applied 2 or 3 drops of synthetic motor oil to the exposed part of the motor and the noise has completely vanished! Thanks for your help! Hopefully it stays like this and that I don’t have to reapply lubricant all too often.

[flipoclock]

Good job... Only time will tell if this did the trick or not, but it seems to have done it! It is rare that I lubricate a Copal motor and the noise returns.