Quality Timer?

[MagniKhan]

OK, I've gone threw my second timer in as many weeks.
I have a back ground in electricity, so for the sake of augment we can be assured that the timers are not being used past there limits.

I've use the standard 15 amp lamp timer ( Intermatic), the " High Yield Lighting" 15 amp timer, and another 15 amp timer similar to the intermatic.

The contacts are not the problem, the gears on the intermatics seem to go bad in about 2 months and the motor on the High Yield just took a crap about ( 2.5 months of usage).

What timers do you guy use? And how long do they usually run before you have to replace them?

 

[sneaky101]

I just use a cheap one I got from Wally World. Not sure of the brand name (too hard to get to to look...sorry), but it is grey and I believe what is called a mechanical timer?? It has the 15min increments for on/off so it is easy to set and I believe it is a 15amp...smoked alot since I bought it about 4 yrs ago. It was about 15-20 bucks and I bought 2 of them. I moved about 6 months ago and that is when one of them crapped out on me.

Just looked at your link for intermatic timers, and mine are outdoor timers. For me, it is nice to have a little bit of cord so the power strip doesn't have a big bulky timer stuck to it. +, it has a cover over the timer pins so that if anything bumbs it or falls on it, the pins cannot be hit. Recently while walking thru Wal-grens I found a 2 outlet outdoor timer with the 15min increments for about 10 bucks and that works very well for multiple lights in the flower cab.

IMHO I think the outdoor timers are better just for holding up (purely speculative though, never used the indoor type, never needed to after buying the outdoor).Hope this helps, good luck.

 

[EvilTwin]

Hi MagniKhan,
After melting a 15 amp timer, I switched over to the 40 amp industrial grade timers and have never had a problem.

They are designed to be hard-wired in, but I mount them on a board and use a heavy duty cord/plug for power to the timer and for the load, I mount a square electrical box with two duplex outlets in it. I've found them on ebay for as little as $25 but $50 is more normal. You can get the Intermatic T101 which is 120V only, or the "water heater" ones which are 220v.
ET

 

[Rysam]

E.T. nailed it. the Intermatic timers are awesome.
I have been using the T-101's for years with no failures.

http://www.1000bulbs.com/Intermatic-Time-Switches/

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

This one looks identical to the hydrofarm digi at half the price. (~$10)
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=95205

The battery back-up comes in handy when the power goes off.

1800 watts, two outlets, eight programmable events.

I've had mine for 3 years, no problems so far.

 

[GroAnGreen]

I have 3 brinks digital timers I got from wally world for $12 a peice, never had an issue with them other than the time on them not staying completely syncronized. no big deal for me, keeps the lights from coming on all at once. I also use the hydrofarm timer, it works great never any isssues.

 

[Dr.Diddy]

had an intermatic go out on me about a month ago, i think it was the gears but it left my lights on for 4 days before I found the problem. 4 weeks into flower and lil bud clusters were starting to show, they stopped growing for a few days and now they are exploding in branches, had a couple hermie's. Went and got a cheap timer for now. Is there a way to fix the intermatic timers, or is it just a lost cause? I have the 40 amp model with a dual outlet box connected. all hard wired. Blowing timers sucks!

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Dr. Diddy, check with the retailer or manufacturer, they may replace if it's not repairable.

 

[Dr.Diddy]

I think I am gonna do that tomorrow, thanks for the heads up!

 

[MagniKhan]

Hey, Thanks for all the useful input!!

The thing that scares me about digital timers is they violate the K.I.S.S. principle, I like a simple timer that has few on / off cycles for lights.
Now that being said, I've been using some intermatic digital timers for my pumps with one single problem and that was my fault. The nice thing about them is contrary to the packaging, they can be set for one min on/off's. Works good for my Ebb and Flow setup!
So, I might try a couple of them, I would use the T-101 ( and still might) but I'm about to build two flips and I would need four of them and that would get a little pricey at this point.

Once again, Thanks!!... for all the input!

 

[pimpjuice]

Hey, Thanks for all the useful input!!

So, I might try a couple of them, I would use the T-101 ( and still might) but I'm about to build two flips and I would need four of them and that would get a little pricey at this point.

check out paragon timers, a double throw timer would be a lot better than a t-101. I'm a big fan of the ec4000 series, it's digital but it uses a capacitor instead of a battery for backup. http://www.icca.invensys.com/paragon/24hour_timers.htm

 

[Hephaestus]

I've had nothing but problems with the Intermatics... And walmart/etc quality timers...

Found a bunch of the old school GE pin style hardwired outdoor timers a few years back; while not quite plug and play - AWESOME timers; instead of replacing them every few months - those 4 I got are still going strong.

Nice feature - they are DPDT timers; Meaning if you are going for that flipflop setup - you've got NO and NC pins for just that task...

 

[Stond_Face]

Here's one I like. I have two now. Buying two more today for an E&F setup.

15Amps
Waterproof
dual outlets
is not a wall wart; it has a power cord.

Home Depot - $20

http://www.intermatic.com/products/timers/consumer outdoor timers/digital timers/hb88rc.aspx

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

That one looks nice, SF. As far as KISS, multi-event timers can be programmed for single event if you want. Single-event programming bypasses the multi-event function.

 

[MagniKhan]

OK, I went with the "Outdoor" timer, thanks for the suggestion Stond_Face!
Looks pretty solid and uses a relay in side for the current. I'm going to get another as I think it will work out good for a flip. At worst I'll have to change out the relay so I have some n/c contacts also!

 

[Mr. Stinky]

this ge water heater timer will run any voltage, can run different voltage on the timer and load, has normally open AND normally closed circuits to run a flip directly off the timer, and can be wired up in all different configurations. ive run intermatic little gray box's for years, but i love these ge timers. 38 bucks at homedepot.

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs..._mmc=shopping-_-googlebase-_-D27X-_-100685853

heres one of mine running a veg room:

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Now THAT'S a timer. I'm a micro-grower and sometimes forget about the industrial side of indoor gardening.

 

[Mr. Stinky]

it sure is. whats so dam cool about it, is you do the internal wiring yourself. an intermatic cant be wired so the timer and switches run on 120 while the load runs 240. and an intermatic only has normally open relays that dead-post when off. this has power-out on both sides of the relays, so you can wire 120 in to run the timer itself, while the load side can be wired up to run 2 different rooms on a flip. when the timer trips, it just throws power to the other room. you can run 2 big rooms just by flipping the power to the ballasts, or you can hardwire a single ballast, and run the output to the bulb thru the load side, and run 2 bulbs from a single ballast. i have one wired up this way now, and it works great.

 

[Hydrosun]

it sure is. whats so dam cool about it, is you do the internal wiring yourself. an intermatic cant be wired so the timer and switches run on 120 while the load runs 240. and an intermatic only has normally open relays that dead-post when off. this has power-out on both sides of the relays, so you can wire 120 in to run the timer itself, while the load side can be wired up to run 2 different rooms on a flip. when the timer trips, it just throws power to the other room. you can run 2 big rooms just by flipping the power to the ballasts, or you can hardwire a single ballast, and run the output to the bulb thru the load side, and run 2 bulbs from a single ballast. i have one wired up this way now, and it works great.

I am not an electrician and maybe that is why I couldn't get the digital 240v Intermatics to work. I have a 240 only board wired up and the old school (yellow face dial) work fine with out any 110, but the newer digital ones wouldn't function. I guess that is because the switch and timer need 110 even if they pass through a 240v load?

Peace,

 

[Balance]

I want to know what the difference is between the $38 model and the $59 dollar one. Those relays and the screw connections seem awfully small for 40 amps. The HD website doesn't give any switching parameters for any of those timer models. Is there any way you can take a picture of the inside cover or of the specifications?
Thanks