Howard Miller wall clock (Hermle 351-850 S movement)

Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 4:49 am     Post subject: Howard Miller wall clock (Hermle 351-850 S movement)

Greetings, I'm new here! I just purchased this clock used and absolutely
love it.

Here's a URL with a nice photo of the clock:

http://s7d3.scene7.com/is/image/EthanAllenGlobal/41-2259

Unfortunately, the clock was not working properly (pendulum stops after
5 minutes, no hourly chime), so I brought it to a clock repair shop who
plan to charge $200-250 to clean the movement/get it working. Ouch.
Does that seem reasonable?

As for the clock itself, any feedback on this model? It's branded "Ethan
Allen" but I have been told it's made by Howard Miller. The only current
Howard Miller clock that is similarly-configured, is the $2,500 "Stevenson"
model, as none of the other wall clocks in their current line are weight
driven. I paid much, much less than that.

Any feedback on the clock in general? Should it be accurate? Fussy to
own and maintain? Is it a good clock?

Not visible in the photo above are two polished brass rods just below the
numeral 4 on the dial. Moving one seems to turn off the chime, and I
can't figure out what the other rod does.

Some searching revealed the movement is around $300, but without the
"S". What is the S in "351-850 S"? My hunch is the "S" has additional
mechanics to accommodate the two brass rod levers mentioned above?

Thanks for any insights or opinions.

Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 1:44 pm     Post subject:

Sounds like a fair price if they are going to disassemble the whole movement to clean, but may be more once examined. It may better to buy a new movement as they have made improvements to the original design, it's only $50 more.

http://www.clockworks.com/hermle/350.html

Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2011 3:54 am     Post subject:

Thanks for the feedback. In the end, the guy "fixed" the clock, but he ripped me off.

He did not disassemble the movement for cleaning, but instead made only some minor adjustments, oiled the clock, and put a missing spring on the hammers. He couldn't even be bothered to align the hammers on the chime rods.

A fair price should have been $75 to $100 max, not $250, and I will never return to him for service or anything else, and have already advised others to avoid him.

My next "repair" will be a new movement as you suggest, and I'll install it myself. But that ClockWorks site you linked to doesn't properly display what they are selling, as the photo they have of a 351-850 movement shows the clock face, and not the movement. Some simple digital photos of the front, back, and sides of the movement are in order, if they hope to sell a $300 part.

Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2011 4:02 am     Post subject:

I forgot to add, the two brass levers were for the following:

One is to silence all chimes, when lifted to the up position.

The other lever, is to engage "night mode" where the clock is silent from 11PM to 7AM. I actually think this is why my hourly chime was not ringing, because the time was 12 hours off.

If these rods were engraved with tiny "on" and "off" text, I would have probably saved $250.

Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2011 5:21 am     Post subject:

most companies that sell the movements don't always show every angle. Maybe if you ask they will have addl photos, the Hermle movements don't change that much, and the same model numbers have been used since the 1970's. I had to replace one in the 1990's ordered the same model, and it was the same thing as my 1978 version.

Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2011 10:55 am     Post subject:

there are quite a few suppliers for Hermle movements.
do search for them.

the 's' is the year it was made - very recent about 2007 and would have only needed a clean and oil at most and maybe adjustment - he knew what he was doing alright. unfortunately people don't research enough beforehand.

my advice is to find a decent repairer and have it serviced properly every 3 years. if he only oiled it he didn't remove any dirt which may have accumalated which will turn to a grinding paste eventually which wears away the movement.

if you have the nerve print this off and confront him - you may get some money back...he can only say no...