Dxhydro light controller wont work with timer... how can I bypass this?

[RewTheJew]

I ordered a unit from dxhydro which was highly recommended from a buddy. Took forever to get here, and now I cannot get the timer to kick on my lights. DX wont answer their phone nor have they responded to my email. Seeing as I need this to work TODAY, I decided to fix this shit myself.

I have plenty of timers, how would I go about bypassing this bullshit timer that the unit has? I just want all the outlets to be "always on", and I can set my own timers to work.

Thanks in advance IC, your helps is always appreciated.

P.S. the 120v "always on" set of outlets work just fine, so I know its not my wiring, and there is power coming from the breaker box.

The outlets are as follows: left side top TIMER left side bottom 120v TIMED, top right, 120v always on, right side bottom 240v TIMED.

 

[1971]

you would bypass the relay at the bottom left. if you do that, then you don't need the other relay on the bottom left for the 240v

 

[RewTheJew]

appreciate the response, however after a few hours of swearing and throwing things, I noticed a fuse holder on the left side. Turns out, the fuse was bad. We are back in business.

 

[Derka]

I've got two controllers from DX, the little 100 dollar ones. He makes a superb product, and typically has a fairly fast turnaround, and at a very fair price.. The one caveat I've noticed is that he doesn't communicate the best, which is unfortunate, but it is what it is.

 

[Hammerhead]

is that a dual trigger unit??. You need to do some trouble shooting. If you dont have A DVM you need to get one. I have one of his units and it sucked. I had to rebuild the whole unit.. We can probably find where the problem is but you need some basic tools to do that..

 

[Tactician]

It's an easy bypass of the walmart timer. Get a bx fitting and a 6 to 10 foot extension power cord. Remove one of the 1/2" knockouts and attach the fitting and the trigger cord. Inside the loadcenter, the two red wires that are terminated on the first relay, leave the quick connect terminal lug on the relay. Cut off the one red wire that goes to the timer. Take that red wire and wirenut to the black wire from the power cord. You could also just attach a quick connect terminal lug to the black wire and attach to the contactor. Ground the green wire and attach the white to the neutral bar. Get a good plug in timer. If you want to switch out the digital timer, get an Aube TI033 digital timer or a Honeywell.

If you can, get a push-reset breaker 5A/120V and replace the inline fuse.

 

[Hammerhead]

the timer should have a blk,white,Blue wire. The blue wire is the trigger that goes to the relay. the white and black are your 120v supply.. When the timer turn on it sends 120v through the blue wire that turns on your relay allowing voltage to pass through the coil.

 

[Bobby Stainless]

Communication was sub par, after payment.

Unit works like advertised, for a very reasonable price. Shipping was as promised.

 

[Caravaggio]

We will post our opinion on this guy shortly. We ordered 2 units for about $550 each and both came with the recepticles that our ballasts won't work on. They have only the horizontal holes rather than the more versatile dual type outlet.

As for build time it took about a month from the time we ordered. They are built very well though. The timers on them are confusing and we have no clue how to use them. Which ios not a big deal since we can use them anyway.

Emailed them yesterday. We will see how long it takes to hear back.

 

[Hammerhead]

Dual type outlets are garbage not UL approved. You should never use those for anything period. It those are wired for 240v and you plug in a 120v in very bad things will happen.. He sent you the right kind but wrong amp.. I'm sure they are 240v 15a...

 

[PoopyTeaBags]

are you sure you got the timer setup correctly.. those timers are good... for me at least. Theres a button in the middle you might not have noticed, but im sure you did since its in your face. but in case you havnt pressing that should turn all the plugs on regardless of how the timer is set up. if that doesnt work it could possibly be a loose connection on the timer or the relay. that box is pretty simple... so it shouldnt be to hard to find.


edit nm you fixed it lol

 

[rives]

They have only the horizontal holes rather than the more versatile dual type outlet.

I just wanted to reiterate what Hammerhead said here. There is only one source for the "universal" receptacles, and they are cheap Chinese crap that couldn't have been built by a reputable manufacturer because they are illegal by every applicable code and standard. No real electrician would use them.

 

[ILikeCheetos]

sorry to raise this from the dead but are there any schmatics to building a dual trigger controller that is powered by a dryer plug and can run 240 and 120?

I see lots of DIY controller threads using contactors but none that do both 240 and 120 off the same main power in.

 

[growshopfrank]

simple way is to use a 3 pole contactor with box type lugs
use the third pole as an attachment point for the neutral

 

[creeper327]

BEWARE

BEWARE

Purchased 6k flip flop controller plus a custom power theif controller. both took OVER a month to build and receive after payment.
Recently I sent back the FLip flop controller because of issues with its relays...sent it over 3 weeks ago and I have not heard back from DAN! he has not responded to dozens of emails or voicemails left!!! BEYOND disappointed with communication. will NEVER do business with DXHYDRO/DAN again!!!!!

 

[hvac guy]

Sorry to hear, considering how frigging easy it is to assemble a flip that is safe and functional. Did you open the flip and see the relays. Only thing you need to do to make a "smart" flip is to shut off ballasts during each flip cycle so the relays don't arc. There is also a trick to lessening the arc when it's flipped hot.

 

[the gnome]

Purchased 6k flip flop controller plus a custom power theif controller. both took OVER a month to build and receive after payment.
Recently I sent back the FLip flop controller because of issues with its relays...sent it over 3 weeks ago and I have not heard back from DAN! he has not responded to dozens of emails or voicemails left!!! BEYOND disappointed with communication. will NEVER do business with DXHYDRO/DAN again!!!!!

I considered doing biz with him back a few months ago....
until I learned of some of the things you/others are saying and questionable
issues on how he wires his gear up.

sorry to hear your pain creeper.
I built my own with the help of top people we have here on IC