Fixing the Time on Difficult Appliances

We have a great deal of difficulty programming the correct time on our kitchen stove's display. The attempt to simply set the time is often interpreted by the stove's microprocessor as a request to set up timed cooking. Further, the stove does not always behave according to the instructions in the owner's manual. I have found that the following simple method works perfectly, without the frustration of the "normal" method.

When I want to set or correct the time, such as when changing from daylight saving to standard time, I go down to the basement and turn off the power to the stove on the electrical panel. I have labeled all the switches so I know which switch to operate. I do this at about five minutes before noon, or five minutes before midnight. We have a TV in the basement and I watch the news channel where the time is shown in hours, minutes, and seconds. When it is about 15 seconds before 12, I rush over to the electrical panel and turn the power on to the stove. Then I go upstairs and find that the stove is set perfectly for 12:00. The display is blinking. To get rid of the blinking, I press the clock adjust button once. The display goes to 00. Press again and the time comes back, not blinking. After one minute the display goes to 12:01 and we are off to the races with the correct time.

If you have a clock, such as on your nightstand, which is difficult to program, the same method MAY work, if the clock does not have internal battery backup. Just before 12, unplug the clock from the wall outlet. Plug in the clock again exactly at 12. It will be blinking 12:00. Press the time button and with any luck the blinking disappears.

By Desiree Farkas from Toronto, Ontario