This Electric Meter Measures Time, Not Power Consumption

As normal clocks, or even those that spin uniformly in a clockwise direction, apparently weren’t quite sufficient for Monta Elkins, he decided to build his own unique timepiece out of an electromechanical power meter. These meters, which are largely being phased out in favor of more advanced, fully electrical units, feature a number of gears that drive four numbers on a series of dials. There is also a horizontal spinner on the front that typically drives things as an induction motor.

Four numbers, of course, are perfect for displaying time in the HH:MM format, and after a bit of disassembly and hacking, he was able to hook up a stepper to spin the digits. An adapter fastens the original driving spur gear up to the motor, and after some experimentation, he’s able to get things moving. While the one might suppose he could use the large spinning disk as the second "hand," he instead chose to drive this independently with a stepper motor and a wheel off of a toy set for looks only. As he’s using it, it would be difficult to get it to spin fast enough for timekeeping.

Part of the reason that he needs a decent amount of speed is that – as you may have surmised – there’s a bit of a problem when it advances past “59,” especially at “11:59.” This has to be accounted for by quickly spinning to reset things. Control of the device is via an Arduino Uno, along with a RTC module.

Although usable, the numbers display in a CW, CCW, CW, CCW pattern. This likely saved a few gears during manufacture, but unless you’re a current or former meter reader, it may not be the most practical clock for you!