Customer Reviews

PacSci Potato Clock

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The shipping was very fast. A good toy for a pre-teen. PacSci is a very good brand for scientific instruments.

My daughter really enjoyed doing this science project. She actually won 1st prize. The quality of the clock is excellent.

The concept of this little clock is fine -- namely, that a lot of common fruits and veggies can act as batteries and produce enough current to run an LCD digital clock. The general design was pretty good -- not-too-flimsy wires and probes, and convenient little "cups" built into the body to hold the potatoes or lemons or whatever. The directions were not very good; the clock module they were written for has apparently been replaced by a different clock module with different buttons and operating procedures. Not too helpful for a child to try to use. But the real problem was that the clock module was dead on arrival. My potatoes were indeed generating a voltage at the leads to the clock; I verified this with a digital voltmeter. But the clock wouldn't run, despite lots of button pushing in various combinations and push durations. I temporarily substituted an AA battery (has similar voltage) to see if it would make a difference, but nothing. So I packed it all up and returned it. Amazon promptly refunded my payment. If this toy had worked, I would have given it 3 stars; I think my science-oriented grandson would have enjoyed experimenting with different "batteries", but the inaccurate directions would have confused him. The DOA clock was the killer though, especially since the price is a bit high for what's in the box.

I was truly disappointed with this clock. Both the original clock and the replacement clock had damaged digital clock displays that were illegible due to bending of the display. I had researched the potatoe clocks on-line before I ordered; but I think that the manufacturer must have changed suppliers: the clock in the reviews and on the box is NOT the clock that I received. Even the instructions were wrong for my clocks!

I had a great experience with the seller, however! After 2 shipments, they refunded my purchase in full.

While it's hardly the most advanced toy, and nothing new, it's great for getting kids interested in science.