Expert: Martin Meyer - 1/29/2008

Question
We have recently had power cuts and have three clocks which are electrical, one on the oven, one on the microwave and another digital clock. Since we have reset them all these clocks have, by themselves, advanced by 6  minutes. All other battery operated clocks are keeping time but these three are advancing in time. You may think this sounds crazy but I was wondering if the clocks could be affected by the power cut, in anyway. We are extremely baffled by this and would appreciate a response. Thank you

Answer
Hi Marisa,
    I'm not sure if you mean that these clocks gained six minutes when power was restored and then kept time correctly, or if they are  continuing to gain time as they run.
    When your power was restored, there may have been an initial power surge which could have speeded the clocks up. But I don't know any reason why they would all continue to gain time. A power surge could possibly damage a clock, especially a digital one, but it seems unlikely that all three would be damaged.
    Beyond this limited answer, I'm afraid that I can't provide additional information. This may be an electrical problem related to the voltage level in your lines, but that is outside my expertise, and I would recommend consulting an expert in the home electrics area.