What's new
  • As of today ICMag has his own Discord server. In this Discord server you can chat, talk with eachother, listen to music, share stories and pictures...and much more. Join now and let's grow together! Join ICMag Discord here! More details in this thread here: here.

Intermatic Timers

G

Guest

These things suck so bad. Can't get near em b/c if you even slightly bump into them or touch them they change by 30 minutes. Seems they never want to work correctly. Last night the lamps went off 1.5 hours late and 2 days ago I watch the lights go off the correct time.
 

stretchpup

Active member
Invest a whole 10 dollars and buy a digital timer. I think Intermatic makes them as well.

Crazy, I know.
 

MTF-Sandman

OG Refugee
Veteran
What model of timer are you using? The T103/T104/WH40 timers have a metal enclosure that surrounds the time dial...if you're using one of the cheaper ones, then you should strongly consider upgrading.
 
G

Guest

I don't use them any more.

I've had them weld to the on position, not trip so they stay off, lose time where I'd have to adjust every few days.

If you have power outages they start out of sched.

I use switches even if I'm not flip flopping now and use a cheap digital timer with battery back up. No problems with those in the last 10 years.
 

minds_I

Active member
Veteran
Hello all,

I use a intermatic digital timer to switch a 250w hps.....I change them every couple of years or so but no problems.

minds_I
 

clowntown

Active member
Veteran
tokinafaty420 said:
These things suck so bad. Can't get near em b/c if you even slightly bump into them or touch them they change by 30 minutes. Seems they never want to work correctly. Last night the lamps went off 1.5 hours late and 2 days ago I watch the lights go off the correct time.
Don't I know it. I had to backtrack a whole month due to this problem. Got the digital version for $8 more.

They make "outdoor" versions as well, with multiple outlets and a cord as well. The plus is that it has a flip-open cover that protects the dial from being accidentally turned... the downside is that where I shop, it's $2 more than the digital one which I trust much more.
 
Last edited:

Sauce

Active member
I use a Intermatic digital timer from the Depot that cost me about $20-25. It has a grounded cord and 2 grounded outlets on the timer itself. It can be programmed with up to 7 daily on/offs and has a battery backup so in case of a power outage the time will still be accurate.

So far (had it about a year) it's worked great, much better and more accurate than the crappy analog turn-dial ones.
 
G

Guest

I plan on hardwiring little gray boxes (40amps) in a few weeks for next round.

Oh by the way I have a few digital timers as well but I can't seem to set them up correctly. It'll work for one day and not for the next. I think I am just too stoned when trying to program it.

MTF these are the heavy duty versions. They handle like 1900watts and 15 amps. Been using them for years but its been frustrating.
 
Last edited:
B

Boxy Brown

Iv been using one of these for 5 years, at first I used one of those pin type timers but just couldn't stand them.


TGES100.jpg
 

pumpkin2006

Member
Uhm, why would you guys cheap out. I know that if theirs a power outtage that the digitals are nice, but those are finkicky and don't last very long. I have a box with 4 broken ones right now.

I use one of these with my 240v ballasts but they make 120v versions as well. These things are indestructible (waterproof too) but you need to know how to wire them up. I run wires to 120v receptacles inside of a simple housing and then wire 120 plugs to my ballasts. Most of these can handle 50 amps so 40 amps of ballasts.

onestopshopcatalog_1947_106844689
 
B

Boxy Brown

pumpkin2006 said:
Uhm, why would you guys cheap out. I know that if theirs a power outtage that the digitals are nice, but those are finkicky and don't last very long. I have a box with 4 broken ones right now.

mine has been ruing my 600w lamp for 5 years with no problem.
 
I had been using the cheapo Intermatic TN311 for a couple of years now with loads varying from ~100W to 400 without a problem. It is hard to set accurately as far the exact time of day and is limited to 15 min on-off. I recently wanted a finer on-off settings to use with a drip setup and I picked up one of the HB88RC for <$20. I liked the multiple outlets and a short cord on the plug so that it does not take up so much space on the power strip. I had read a lot of bad reviews on the Intermatic digitals, after my purchase, of course. But after getting through the initial setup and understanding the quirks of setting it the first time, it seems pretty solid. I beat it up pretty good the first day by resetting it a number of times,pulling the battery out again and again, but it still ran all seven programs spot on for 4 hours after. It is been doing duty on my lightfor the past few weeks, first 18/6 and just a couple of nights ago over to 12/12. So far, so good. If it makes it through this bloom I will look at using for the drippers. It would REALLY suck to have it miss on off while watering :fsu:
 

pumpkin2006

Member
Boxy Brown said:
mine has been ruing my 600w lamp for 5 years with no problem.

Well thats great. I run 6 1000's so I'd don't really trust 6 different timers (they also don't make 240 digital timers). Thing is, the timer I posted is mechanical, not digital; I trust that more.
 

clowntown

Active member
Veteran
I run a 600w right now, and I trust my timer for the most part. But I've read many stories of people running 1kw's and having problems with cheap-o timers, including the Intermatic "Heavy Duty" ones with the green / red pins. That's the one I have. I paid $10 for that one. $18 for the Intermatic "Heavy Duty" digital timer.

When I get a 1kw light (as soon as Lumatek 1kw is tested safe and available), I'm going to invest the $40 on the Intermatic mechanical timer. I mean, I'm spending $400 on the ballast already... what's another 10% for something that you should basically consider a part of the entire light system, not just an "accessory"? Consider it a $440 ballast with an indestructible, modular timer system and it won't sound so bad.

A light bulb is $40 and up.
 
K

karl420

for grow cannabis you need an t-104 or higher.. dont use these fucking plastic shit.. ;) weed worth an good timer...

~staysafe
-karl
 

clowntown

Active member
Veteran
Oh yeah, let me tell you what can go wrong with a shitty timer: my Intermatic timer failed on me one way or another about a week ago. That cost me about a month and a half, expensive nutes, expensive energy (almost $0.40 per kWh!), and a lot of work. That adds up to a lot more than $40, folks. (Not making this up. Proof is in my grow diary.)

Do it right and get a real timer. Much better safe than sorry. Plus you can re-sell these things, or use it on your water heater :D if you leave the hobby. You gotta figure there's a reason why the same company is charging $40 for this mechanical one made for water heaters and other devices that draw large wattage, like a 1kw ballast, when they're charging $10 for the other "heavy duty".

Why do you think no one is wiring up a 3-prong plug to a water heater and plugging it into a $10 timer?
 
Last edited:
B

Boxy Brown

clowntown said:
Oh yeah, let me tell you what can go wrong with a shitty timer: my Intermatic timer failed on me one way or another about a week ago. That cost me about a month and a half, expensive nutes, expensive energy (almost $0.40 per kWh!), and a lot of work. That adds up to a lot more than $40, folks.

Not making this up. Proof is in my grow diary. Do it right and get a real timer. Much better safe than sorry. Plus you can re-sell these things, or use it on your water heater :D if you leave the hobby. You gotta figure there's a reason why the same company is charging $40 for this mechanical one made for water heaters and other devices that draw large wattage (say, 1k ballast), when they're charging $10 for the other "heavy duty".

Why do you think no one is wiring up a 3-prong plug to a water heater and plugging it into a $10 timer?


was it one of these?

ITD200.jpg
 
G

Guest

I've had some of these Intermatic timers not even work brand new right out of the package..............others have worked perfectly for years. And I've seen pics of these timers that have burned up under normal use (not overloaded). So, ya never know. Also, the instructions with my in-line fan said to not use it with a digital timer (don't know why though)..........so, it pays to choose carefully.


Bh :wave:
 
K

karl420

drop all these bullshit and get a real man timer! even if its a 250watt or simply fluro!! plastic is NOT safe :O

-karl
 
Top