I really engaged with the words "the closest thing you can get to a perpetual motion machine" and the word "genius"........... another very very helpful video (happily underlining your own "personal credibility" with the Atmos clock) ticked and subscribed from the very first of your videos that I saw. Thank you so much these educational videos .........
I recently bought a 528-6 that had never been run since new. I needed to remove the wooden packaging material from the movement to start it. Going by the serial number, and the date engraved on the bellows, it was manufactured around October 1962. Sixty years on a shelf, with the pendulum rotor locked! Needless to say, it ran for only 24 hours, although the mainspring was still fully wound from the factory, because the original oil had gummed up the works. I have had it serviced, and it is keeping good time, better than 30 seconds per week, less than one rotor motion! The chain end position is less than 6 o'clock, no spring visible on the winding arbor from the left, so the bellows is still OK for a while, although it measures much less than new depth. It is not obvious to me why the bellows cannot wind a fully unwound mainspring, especially if the clock is not running. It seems to me that it may take a while, even years, but eventually the mainspring would be fully wound? In the case of my clock, not running, with the rotor locked but the winding mechanism operational, I can imagine the mainspring being fully wound until it is coil bound. Perhaps the bellows spring is deliberately not strong enough to over-wind the mainspring. I guess that the bellows spring is carefully calibrated to provide the correct pressure to the bellows to keep the boiling point of the ethyl chloride in the range of typical room temperatures? IanB
Great video. First time I’ve seen these in such detail. Such a brilliant design. I’m surprised it doesn’t look more complicated than it is. I’m not sure what I was even expecting to see.
Thank you so much for such detailed autopsy! Enjoy so much your video to the same level as my Atmos clock. Thank you ! JL should thank you too ! I own two Atmos and always fascinated how it actually works. Your video explained so well and solved my 20 years of mystery. Super!
Youre very welcome! JLC operated under Richemont North America. They know about me, I have independent watchmaker account, and also have a large application for further authorization with them, their director of technical services even visited my shop in October of 2019. But since Covid, I haven't heard anything back from them. I just hope they don't view me as a competitor. I hope that someday I will be linked up with JLC very heavily.
I also wish this msg will be heard by JL. People spend thousands for Atomos, not because of telling the time. It is truly appreciate the technology and craftermanship, the uniqueness of the clock making. So, to keep the "market", to grow the market, it is the "education" it needs to the public, and it will generate the REAL interest and appreciation of the item, hence the demand, hence the market. :) The hardcore JL Atmos lovers are getting "old", and JL needs "young" lovers to keep the momentum. You are the remaining few true handful, really handful of people who can do these type of autopsy on the clock. @@atmosrepair
@@ytdavidkwei You're absolutely correct about this. I would love it if you could write JLC a letter of recommendation! According to my RUclips viewer demographics, the age groups are as follows: Age 65+ makes up 41.9% of viewers, 55-64 is 30.3%, 45-54 is 10.3%, 35-44 is 15%, 25-34 is 2.6%, 18-24 is 0%, and 13-17 is 0%. I realize clock collection is something that arrives with dignity of age lol, but youngsters are becoming more and more interested in making investments, whether stocks, or crypto, and I like to mention that fine art, precious metals, and watches/clocks such as the Atmos, along with other collectibles, make great physical assets that are gaining value as I continue to promote. Also the fact that they Atmos Clock is powering itself with a form of "green technology" harvesting the energy from expansion and contraction movement, it makes this invention sort of a back to the future technology, that could be perhaps implemented in other industry! My business has to be one of the lowest carbon foot print businesses out there. The best form of recycling is reuse, and reduce, so just imagine how many battery operated clocks are simply thrown out and a new one purchased, same thing with cell phones, which many point to as a way to tell time. But people toss their phones each year and get the latest model, meanwhile these Atmos clocks have been in use since the 1940s all the way until today!
A good tutorial! I cannot find where you mention what lubrication I should use, in particular, to lubricate to the mainspring inside the housing. I see where this may be the problem with my clock.
I have an atmos clock that had stopped working for a very long time. I was too afraid to ship it out for servicing as I was afraid it would be broken in transit. So I just let it sit. Much to my shock and surprise. A few weeks ago the clock just on its own without anything from me, started working again! And it's been working ever since. But after watching this video and explaining about how you should see that chain wrapped around to the 6:00 position, on mine I do not see any chain at all. So if I understand your video correctly, the mainspring is not wound or hardly wound. Is there something that I can do to force the thing to wind itself? Or does it have to be sent out for servicing? Based on what you're saying, if it doesn't wind, it's eventually going to stop. Again.
You can do what Michael did in the video about 30 seconds from the start. Remove the bellows (secured in my Atmos 528 by 2 domed 8mm nuts) then gently press the bellows spring guide, compressing the bellows spring fully. Release it, allowing to to expand, winding the mainspring. Repeat this, gently, several times (I cannot tell you how many) until the bellows spring does not fully expand. NEVER pull on the spring. At this point the mainspring is fully wound and its force balances the force of the bellows spring. Reinstall the bellows. I used an 8mm open-end spanner to lift each nut into position and used my fingers to start the nut on the thread, spin it home, then the spanner again to gently torque it. Care is needed here to avoid dropping the nuts into the clock mechanism. While you have the bellows off, you may be able to see a hand engraved clock manufacture date inside the bellows enclosure. IanB
Thank you for informative illustrations. This video confirms me that my main spring is fully wound and is dry. Could you teach us how many ways to put lube in the main spring inside the bellow?
If you don't mind me asking but which type of Moebius clock oil do you use I was going to use 8031?. Hope you could get back to me. Either way wishing you all the best for 2021
8031 should work just fine. Thanks for the well wishes, and I wish the same to you. I hope this year was wonderful and that 2022 will be even better for you.
Thanks for this video. Do you know what change in temperature is needed for 1 click of the ratchet? And do you know what the minimum and maximum temperatures are that still allow for the springs to react? I suspect this may depend on model type. Would love to see this run in a desert. Or accelerated in an oven/torch/hot air gun/Freezer/Karen's bedroom/etc.
TBH at 11m00 the winding takes plakes thourgh changes of the seasons? Must be me not understanding how this clock works. But as far as I understand, it it has all to do with lower and higher temperatures. So that has mainly to do with the weather and of course also a 'bit' the seasons. Of course it depends a lot where the clock is standing. But in a normal room, temperatures will change throug the day and night with at least some degrees. And - according to some Atmos manuals - 1 degree °C will "wind" the clock for about 4,3 days. And a change of only 1 degree C IMHO happens almost every day with the 'normal' day en night temperature differences. IMHO meaning that an ATMOS clock - if working properly - is always about fully wound.
Thanks for replying to me on email about my dial saying Jaeger LeCoultre vs just LeCoultre. The videos are so informative. I hope you will do one on the various dials and nuances of the clocks that have been put out. It’s hard to find historic info anywhere really about things like the name change because of licensing and what not. Do you write under the base the date of last service by any chance?
Thanks for watching! If you're interested in the balance wheel styles, go to my site and type "living on air - History of the Atmos clock" in the search box. Then scroll through the PDF, there is a page showing the various balance wheels and which clocks they were implemented. There are about half a dozen variations of balance (pendulum).
anything that expands and contracts can be hooked to a barrel spring coil and can run a clock.....I plan on building a belly clock, because my belly expands and shrinks almost every day after eating supper.
Hey Curt a question I have a couple of these clocks I've purchased and have owned awhile and they have presentation plates glued to them I would like to remove what is in your opinion a safe way to accomplish this mission without damaging the clock in any way.
That is a tricky one, no matter how carefully you do this, there will likely be residue, discoloration, adhesive etc. You can try fishing line, but if that doesnt do it, peel off with hands. Razor could work but is also dangerous. I usually replace the plaque with a new one denoting the make model and date of manufacturing to put over the spot where the old one was located.
You didnt miss anything haha, I didnt go into the bellow function on this video, I have to leave something for future videos to keep you watching! :) The bellow is a sealed unit, that contains a gas which is sensitive to temperature and pressure changes. These causes the sealed diaphragm to expand and contract ever so slightly and pump that spring contributing to the wind on the mainspring.
@@atmosrepair Thanks. A very interesting clock! The one I have was given to my Grandpa Hamilton by Chevrolet when he retired from the Corvette plant in St Louis Missouri in 1960 (1935 he started, I was born in 1959). He ran a bulldozer in the steam generator yard loading coal. They made their own electricity. Amazing they would give a clock like that to a working stiff like that. The family always said the clock was inaccurate but I noticed the cabinet they had it sitting on would wiggle slightly as someone walked by causing the pendulum to wiggle. Since I brought it home and put it in a solid place it has been keeping excellent time.
@@perrylocke6037 Thank you for posting that history of your grandfather, that was very laborious work and awesome that it was honored by the company with an Atmos clock. The gift was very well deserved in my opinion, it delights me to hear that. That was a time period when employees stayed with a company for the duration of their careers. It is also very good that you noticed the clock was not set up on a very stable shelf, that definitely has an effect on timekeeping. The balance wheel rotation is essentially the timekeeping feature, so imagine it like you are driving to a location, the fastest way to the destination is a straight line, and if you zig zag to the spot it will take twice as long to get there.
Hi Curt; I suspect I have a flat bellow on my 528-6 Atmos because of your advice about the spring position, which is at 12 o’clock. Being in Melbourne Australia I am afraid to send the clock to you in the USA for fear of damage. Is it possible for me to manually wind the main spring by removing the bellow and pressing the spring like you showed so that it will run for 8 to 12 months or is this not possible, please? Thank you, Curt. Michael
The winding happens on the bellows contraction. As the bellows expands toward the front of the clock due to a temperature increase, the bellows spring is compressed, potential energy is stored in the spring and a small length of the chain emerges from the bellows, allowing the winding arbor to rotate a little, anticlockwise as viewed from the front, pulled by the chain tension spring. The clicker plate advances a tooth (maybe more, I don't know), but the mainspring does not move. When the bellows next contracts, the bellows spring expands, winding the main spring a click on the ratchet (maybe more, I don't know). The amplitude of the bellows movement must exceed the amount required to make the click wheel and mainspring ratchet each click over a tooth. I hope I have all that right 🙂
Haha I know you are being sarcastic! But some atmos owners do spray WD40 on them, which is major no no!. And WD40 isn't really a lubricant either, it is a penetrating spray, and a rust preventer. Atmos Clocks are never externally oiled!
@@atmosrepair Maybe just a quick dunk in some motor oil...synthetic, of course. I'd shake out the excess, blot the movement with paper towels and put it back together. That should do the trick. I'll try heating the bellows with a hair dryer to get it going.
@@atmosrepair Seriously though, MANY years ago, when I was a teen, I found an "onyx" (actually dyed Belgian limestone) mantle clock likely from the late 1880s, at a country auction. These were not uncommon in those days but this was unusual in that it was in perfect condition and tastefully styled. It had been originally sold by one of the leading jewelers in the Country. It wasn't running but the pendulum and key were present, so, for $14 it was mine. Then off to the library for a book on clock movements. I was able to repair it. Removing a century of old oil from the French movement was done with a residue-free solvent used for certain electrical parts. Then lubricated with clock oil and regulated. With relatively constant spring tension and room temp., the clock is accurate to within 2 sec./24 hr. Amazing!
@@wholeNwon That is awesome! Many other clock movements can be cleaned with somewhat harsher solvents and solutions, being largely made of solid brass alloys and what not. But for the watches and atmos, want to use a delicate, non stripping cleaning solution. But very cool story and thank you for sharing. It always feels good to bring something that is broken or non running, back to life.
You are not alone in this opinion, many do not like the Lucite top that the 528-8 have, and that is original. Was likely an adaptation to prevent the glass breaking, but also has to do with the case design, having the front panel. The case posts are screwed into passing through the lucite. But since most owners liked the glass from previous models, they did return to a glass top piece for the Atmos 540, the next model in production. And they changed up the design a bit, utilizing a thick rubber gasket around the glass.
Nice vid... EXCEPT FOR ONE THING!!!!! You miserably failed to show what goes on in the bellows itself. How could you screw this vid up so badly??? A definite waste of my time.
I’ll try. My understanding is that the Atmos bellows contains a quantity (steadily decreasing as it slowly leaks out) of ethyl chloride, otherwise known as chloroethane CH3CH2Cl. The salient property of this compound in the Atmos is that its boiling point at sea level is 54°F, or 12.2C, slightly below comfortable room temperature. The pressure in the bellows is slightly higher than atmospheric due to the bellows spring, so the boiling point is slightly higher than 54°F, somewhere close to average habitable room temperature. At this temperature, the chloroethane exists in both liquid and gaseous states. Depending on room air temperature and pressure (mainly temperature, I think), the proportion of liquid and gas changes and the volume of the bellows changes with it. There is an equilibrium between the quanties of liquid and gas present, volume of the bellows, temperature and pressure. If the temperature increases, some liquid boils off into gas, the pressure increases, the bellows expands until a new equilibrium is reached. The bellows spring is compressed a little, some chain emerges from the bellows enclosure, and the clicker clicks a tooth (just one mostly, I guess). When the temperature decreases the process reverses, the bellows contracts and the bellows spring expands, the chain rotating the winding arbor to wind the mainspring a ratchet tooth (or maybe more, I don’t know). The effect of the bellows is to greatly magnify small room air temperature changes into linear movement with enough force to wind the main spring, thus extracting energy. Overall, heat energy enters the bellows during a temperature increase, the energy converts some liquid to gas, the resultant increased pressure expands the bellows, compressing the bellows spring, storing potential energy in it. That energy is transferred to the mainspring during the next temperature decrease. Finally, the energy is transferred to the movement and escapement, returning to the room air as heat, but not very much. IanB
Amaziingly wonderful tutorial of the winding system of the ATmos. You speak slowly enough and loud enough to hear perfectly.. Thank you , Thank you.
Wow, thank you for this thorough coverage of how the atmos mechanism functions, as well as the other details. Really great!
I really engaged with the words "the closest thing you can get to a perpetual motion machine" and the word "genius"........... another very very helpful video (happily underlining your own "personal credibility" with the Atmos clock) ticked and subscribed from the very first of your videos that I saw. Thank you so much these educational videos .........
I recently bought a 528-6 that had never been run since new. I needed to remove the wooden packaging material from the movement to start it. Going by the serial number, and the date engraved on the bellows, it was manufactured around October 1962. Sixty years on a shelf, with the pendulum rotor locked! Needless to say, it ran for only 24 hours, although the mainspring was still fully wound from the factory, because the original oil had gummed up the works. I have had it serviced, and it is keeping good time, better than 30 seconds per week, less than one rotor motion! The chain end position is less than 6 o'clock, no spring visible on the winding arbor from the left, so the bellows is still OK for a while, although it measures much less than new depth.
It is not obvious to me why the bellows cannot wind a fully unwound mainspring, especially if the clock is not running. It seems to me that it may take a while, even years, but eventually the mainspring would be fully wound?
In the case of my clock, not running, with the rotor locked but the winding mechanism operational, I can imagine the mainspring being fully wound until it is coil bound. Perhaps the bellows spring is deliberately not strong enough to over-wind the mainspring. I guess that the bellows spring is carefully calibrated to provide the correct pressure to the bellows to keep the boiling point of the ethyl chloride in the range of typical room temperatures?
IanB
Great video. First time I’ve seen these in such detail. Such a brilliant design. I’m surprised it doesn’t look more complicated than it is. I’m not sure what I was even expecting to see.
I own about 8 different LeCoultre clocks and watches. Love your content!!
Thank you! Very helpful Video to understand the way how the winding works! Great engineering 🙏👍
Thank you so much for such detailed autopsy! Enjoy so much your video to the same level as my Atmos clock. Thank you ! JL should thank you too ! I own two Atmos and always fascinated how it actually works. Your video explained so well and solved my 20 years of mystery. Super!
Youre very welcome! JLC operated under Richemont North America. They know about me, I have independent watchmaker account, and also have a large application for further authorization with them, their director of technical services even visited my shop in October of 2019. But since Covid, I haven't heard anything back from them. I just hope they don't view me as a competitor. I hope that someday I will be linked up with JLC very heavily.
I also wish this msg will be heard by JL. People spend thousands for Atomos, not because of telling the time. It is truly appreciate the technology and craftermanship, the uniqueness of the clock making. So, to keep the "market", to grow the market, it is the "education" it needs to the public, and it will generate the REAL interest and appreciation of the item, hence the demand, hence the market. :) The hardcore JL Atmos lovers are getting "old", and JL needs "young" lovers to keep the momentum. You are the remaining few true handful, really handful of people who can do these type of autopsy on the clock.
@@atmosrepair
@@ytdavidkwei You're absolutely correct about this. I would love it if you could write JLC a letter of recommendation! According to my RUclips viewer demographics, the age groups are as follows: Age 65+ makes up 41.9% of viewers, 55-64 is 30.3%, 45-54 is 10.3%, 35-44 is 15%, 25-34 is 2.6%, 18-24 is 0%, and 13-17 is 0%. I realize clock collection is something that arrives with dignity of age lol, but youngsters are becoming more and more interested in making investments, whether stocks, or crypto, and I like to mention that fine art, precious metals, and watches/clocks such as the Atmos, along with other collectibles, make great physical assets that are gaining value as I continue to promote. Also the fact that they Atmos Clock is powering itself with a form of "green technology" harvesting the energy from expansion and contraction movement, it makes this invention sort of a back to the future technology, that could be perhaps implemented in other industry! My business has to be one of the lowest carbon foot print businesses out there. The best form of recycling is reuse, and reduce, so just imagine how many battery operated clocks are simply thrown out and a new one purchased, same thing with cell phones, which many point to as a way to tell time. But people toss their phones each year and get the latest model, meanwhile these Atmos clocks have been in use since the 1940s all the way until today!
Super clear and understandable description. Many thanks! I.Cocron
Thank you for the tutorial. Very informative for me, a newer owner of one of these gems.
You are very welcome, happy to help!
A good tutorial! I cannot find where you mention what lubrication I should use, in particular, to lubricate to the mainspring inside the housing. I see where this may be the problem with my clock.
Mine has 2 channels on looks to be for the spring and the other for the chain .
I have an atmos clock that had stopped working for a very long time. I was too afraid to ship it out for servicing as I was afraid it would be broken in transit. So I just let it sit. Much to my shock and surprise. A few weeks ago the clock just on its own without anything from me, started working again! And it's been working ever since. But after watching this video and explaining about how you should see that chain wrapped around to the 6:00 position, on mine I do not see any chain at all. So if I understand your video correctly, the mainspring is not wound or hardly wound. Is there something that I can do to force the thing to wind itself? Or does it have to be sent out for servicing? Based on what you're saying, if it doesn't wind, it's eventually going to stop. Again.
You can do what Michael did in the video about 30 seconds from the start. Remove the bellows (secured in my Atmos 528 by 2 domed 8mm nuts) then gently press the bellows spring guide, compressing the bellows spring fully. Release it, allowing to to expand, winding the mainspring. Repeat this, gently, several times (I cannot tell you how many) until the bellows spring does not fully expand. NEVER pull on the spring. At this point the mainspring is fully wound and its force balances the force of the bellows spring. Reinstall the bellows. I used an 8mm open-end spanner to lift each nut into position and used my fingers to start the nut on the thread, spin it home, then the spanner again to gently torque it. Care is needed here to avoid dropping the nuts into the clock mechanism. While you have the bellows off, you may be able to see a hand engraved clock manufacture date inside the bellows enclosure.
IanB
Great video! Was trying to figure out how this thing works. Very cool!
Very informative video! Question-Is it possible to overwind an Atmos clock? How much should it be manually wound after a cleaning/repair?
Thanks a lot for this great explanation
Thank you for informative illustrations.
This video confirms me that my main spring is fully wound and is dry. Could you teach us how many ways to put lube in the main spring inside the bellow?
Thank you. I thought it wound in both directions - when expanding *and* contracting. Also thought it was only barometric pressure changes.
Amazing video! Thank you!
So is the bellow spring full of the gases that expand?
Just what motovates the bellows?
is it atmospheric pressure or temperature?
Would synthetic oil not degrade less over time?
I have a problem with one of the top glass screws it doesnt want to move trying to unscrew any suggestions please?
If you don't mind me asking but which type of Moebius clock oil do you use I was going to use 8031?. Hope you could get back to me. Either way wishing you all the best for 2021
8031 should work just fine. Thanks for the well wishes, and I wish the same to you. I hope this year was wonderful and that 2022 will be even better for you.
Thanks for this video.
Do you know what change in temperature is needed for 1 click of the ratchet? And do you know what the minimum and maximum temperatures are that still allow for the springs to react? I suspect this may depend on model type.
Would love to see this run in a desert. Or accelerated in an oven/torch/hot air gun/Freezer/Karen's bedroom/etc.
How serious does a broken chain tend to be? Is it inevitably associated with leaked or damage bellows?
Not too serious, but yes it could have happened due to a flat bellow allowing that chain to become outstretched and snapped
TBH at 11m00 the winding takes plakes thourgh changes of the seasons? Must be me not understanding how this clock works. But as far as I understand, it it has all to do with lower and higher temperatures. So that has mainly to do with the weather and of course also a 'bit' the seasons. Of course it depends a lot where the clock is standing. But in a normal room, temperatures will change throug the day and night with at least some degrees. And - according to some Atmos manuals - 1 degree °C will "wind" the clock for about 4,3 days. And a change of only 1 degree C IMHO happens almost every day with the 'normal' day en night temperature differences. IMHO meaning that an ATMOS clock - if working properly - is always about fully wound.
Thanks for replying to me on email about my dial saying Jaeger LeCoultre vs just LeCoultre. The videos are so informative. I hope you will do one on the various dials and nuances of the clocks that have been put out. It’s hard to find historic info anywhere really about things like the name change because of licensing and what not. Do you write under the base the date of last service by any chance?
Thanks for watching! If you're interested in the balance wheel styles, go to my site and type "living on air - History of the Atmos clock" in the search box. Then scroll through the PDF, there is a page showing the various balance wheels and which clocks they were implemented. There are about half a dozen variations of balance (pendulum).
Hi Michael I'm Johnny. I have a 519 that needs the Bellows recharged, can you help me please...
I have a atmos 526-5 substitute suspension with type Correct. Tks
anything that expands and contracts can be hooked to a barrel spring coil and can run a clock.....I plan on building a belly clock, because my belly expands and shrinks almost every day after eating supper.
Hey Curt a question I have a couple of these clocks I've purchased and have owned awhile and they have presentation plates glued to them I would like to remove what is in your opinion a safe way to accomplish this mission without damaging the clock in any way.
That is a tricky one, no matter how carefully you do this, there will likely be residue, discoloration, adhesive etc. You can try fishing line, but if that doesnt do it, peel off with hands. Razor could work but is also dangerous. I usually replace the plaque with a new one denoting the make model and date of manufacturing to put over the spot where the old one was located.
Maybe I missed it but you never said what makes the bellows go in and out. I know it is the atmosphere but how does that work?
You didnt miss anything haha, I didnt go into the bellow function on this video, I have to leave something for future videos to keep you watching! :) The bellow is a sealed unit, that contains a gas which is sensitive to temperature and pressure changes. These causes the sealed diaphragm to expand and contract ever so slightly and pump that spring contributing to the wind on the mainspring.
@@atmosrepair Thanks. A very interesting clock! The one I have was given to my Grandpa Hamilton by Chevrolet when he retired from the Corvette plant in St Louis Missouri in 1960 (1935 he started, I was born in 1959). He ran a bulldozer in the steam generator yard loading coal. They made their own electricity. Amazing they would give a clock like that to a working stiff like that. The family always said the clock was inaccurate but I noticed the cabinet they had it sitting on would wiggle slightly as someone walked by causing the pendulum to wiggle. Since I brought it home and put it in a solid place it has been keeping excellent time.
@@perrylocke6037 Thank you for posting that history of your grandfather, that was very laborious work and awesome that it was honored by the company with an Atmos clock. The gift was very well deserved in my opinion, it delights me to hear that. That was a time period when employees stayed with a company for the duration of their careers. It is also very good that you noticed the clock was not set up on a very stable shelf, that definitely has an effect on timekeeping. The balance wheel rotation is essentially the timekeeping feature, so imagine it like you are driving to a location, the fastest way to the destination is a straight line, and if you zig zag to the spot it will take twice as long to get there.
Hi Curt; I suspect I have a flat bellow on my 528-6 Atmos because of your advice about the spring position, which is at 12 o’clock. Being in Melbourne Australia I am afraid to send the clock to you in the USA for fear of damage. Is it possible for me to manually wind the main spring by removing the bellow and pressing the spring like you showed so that it will run for 8 to 12 months or is this not possible, please? Thank you, Curt. Michael
Did you mean the winding happens on the bellows expansion? When it goes left and gets bigger it winds the main spring, right?
The winding happens on the bellows contraction. As the bellows expands toward the front of the clock due to a temperature increase, the bellows spring is compressed, potential energy is stored in the spring and a small length of the chain emerges from the bellows, allowing the winding arbor to rotate a little, anticlockwise as viewed from the front, pulled by the chain tension spring. The clicker plate advances a tooth (maybe more, I don't know), but the mainspring does not move. When the bellows next contracts, the bellows spring expands, winding the main spring a click on the ratchet (maybe more, I don't know). The amplitude of the bellows movement must exceed the amount required to make the click wheel and mainspring ratchet each click over a tooth. I hope I have all that right 🙂
Thankyou Very Much
You are welcome
Would hp1300 be useable to oil?
Probably would be fine, not certain, not what I use, but could potentially be an option.
Think I'll just soak mine in some gasoline, let it dry and spray everything with WD-40. That should fix it, right?
Haha I know you are being sarcastic! But some atmos owners do spray WD40 on them, which is major no no!. And WD40 isn't really a lubricant either, it is a penetrating spray, and a rust preventer. Atmos Clocks are never externally oiled!
@@atmosrepair Maybe just a quick dunk in some motor oil...synthetic, of course. I'd shake out the excess, blot the movement with paper towels and put it back together. That should do the trick. I'll try heating the bellows with a hair dryer to get it going.
@@atmosrepair Seriously though, MANY years ago, when I was a teen, I found an "onyx" (actually dyed Belgian limestone) mantle clock likely from the late 1880s, at a country auction. These were not uncommon in those days but this was unusual in that it was in perfect condition and tastefully styled. It had been originally sold by one of the leading jewelers in the Country. It wasn't running but the pendulum and key were present, so, for $14 it was mine. Then off to the library for a book on clock movements. I was able to repair it. Removing a century of old oil from the French movement was done with a residue-free solvent used for certain electrical parts. Then lubricated with clock oil and regulated. With relatively constant spring tension and room temp., the clock is accurate to within 2 sec./24 hr. Amazing!
@@wholeNwon That is awesome! Many other clock movements can be cleaned with somewhat harsher solvents and solutions, being largely made of solid brass alloys and what not. But for the watches and atmos, want to use a delicate, non stripping cleaning solution. But very cool story and thank you for sharing. It always feels good to bring something that is broken or non running, back to life.
Plastic is cheap, it’s a downgrade that should be reversed to glass upgrade
You are not alone in this opinion, many do not like the Lucite top that the 528-8 have, and that is original. Was likely an adaptation to prevent the glass breaking, but also has to do with the case design, having the front panel. The case posts are screwed into passing through the lucite. But since most owners liked the glass from previous models, they did return to a glass top piece for the Atmos 540, the next model in production. And they changed up the design a bit, utilizing a thick rubber gasket around the glass.
Nice vid... EXCEPT FOR ONE THING!!!!! You miserably failed to show what goes on in the bellows itself. How could you screw this vid up so badly??? A definite waste of my time.
I’ll try. My understanding is that the Atmos bellows contains a quantity (steadily decreasing as it slowly leaks out) of ethyl chloride, otherwise known as chloroethane CH3CH2Cl. The salient property of this compound in the Atmos is that its boiling point at sea level is 54°F, or 12.2C, slightly below comfortable room temperature. The pressure in the bellows is slightly higher than atmospheric due to the bellows spring, so the boiling point is slightly higher than 54°F, somewhere close to average habitable room temperature. At this temperature, the chloroethane exists in both liquid and gaseous states. Depending on room air temperature and pressure (mainly temperature, I think), the proportion of liquid and gas changes and the volume of the bellows changes with it. There is an equilibrium between the quanties of liquid and gas present, volume of the bellows, temperature and pressure. If the temperature increases, some liquid boils off into gas, the pressure increases, the bellows expands until a new equilibrium is reached. The bellows spring is compressed a little, some chain emerges from the bellows enclosure, and the clicker clicks a tooth (just one mostly, I guess). When the temperature decreases the process reverses, the bellows contracts and the bellows spring expands, the chain rotating the winding arbor to wind the mainspring a ratchet tooth (or maybe more, I don’t know).
The effect of the bellows is to greatly magnify small room air temperature changes into linear movement with enough force to wind the main spring, thus extracting energy.
Overall, heat energy enters the bellows during a temperature increase, the energy converts some liquid to gas, the resultant increased pressure expands the bellows, compressing the bellows spring, storing potential energy in it. That energy is transferred to the mainspring during the next temperature decrease. Finally, the energy is transferred to the movement and escapement, returning to the room air as heat, but not very much.
IanB