Elenco Snap Circuits Water Clock ® - Manual (Page 3)

Setting the time on
the clock (T2):
• Press the left button to
select what to change
(month, date, hour, or
minutes).
• Press the right button
until it is correct.
• Press the left button until
the time is showing, then
press the right button
once to start.
• The colon (“:”) will be
flashing when the clock
is running.
• Press the right button to
display the date.
In the preceding Cola Clock project, when you
disconnect the liquid energy source to replace
the cola, the time is lost. Wouldn’t it be nice if
the clock remembered the time long enough
for you to replace the cola?
Add the 470mF capacitor (C5) to the clock as
shown here. The capacitor stores enough
electricity to run the clock for a while if you
disconnect the liquid energy source.
Don’t drink any soda or juice used here. Wash
the electrodes and liquid holder.
Connect the clock (T2) with the red & black
jumper wires, the red wire goes to the copper
electrode. Fill the compartments with cola
soda (other soda flavors and lemon, tomato, or
grapefruit juice also work). The clock should
be running. Set the time if you like.
With cola, the clock will typically run for a
week. When the display gets dim, replace the
cola.
You can move the copper electrode with the
snap on it over to the next compartment. The
clock display will not be as bright now.
If the copper and zinc electrodes get corroded
through use, use sandpaper, steel wool, or a
scraper to remove the corrosion and improve
performance.
Don’t drink any soda or juice used in this
project. Wash the electrodes and liquid holder.
Modify the Cola Clock project by adding the
LED (D1) to it, as shown. The clock will
become dimmer or stop working, and the LED
will be dim or completely off.
The small amount of electricity produced by the
cola may not be enough to operate both at the
same time, or will not run both for very long.
Project #6 Cola Overload Project #5 Cola Clock with Memory
Liquid Energy Source
The clock needs very little
electric current to operate. The
liquid power source does not
produce much electricity, but it
can supply enough for the clock.
Slowly, the chemical energy in
the cola is used up, and the
voltage drops enough for the
clock to stop working.
Project #4 Cola Clock
You could also use a battery for electricity storage instead of the
capacitor. A battery stores much more electricity than a capacitor
but you don’t need much storage here. Batteries are much more
expensive than capacitors and contain chemicals that can harm
the environment when you throw them away.
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