Square timer with round front, beware!

[OldPhart]

Ok, so I just got my shinny new timer, and thought I would test it out.. well I couldn't figure out wtf was going on.. it would sort of work, but not at the exact time that was set??? Well after bashing my head against the wall for a few hours, I broke down and read the instructions. WTF .. why would you sell a timer for indoor growing with a random feature on it!

You see the little circle on the right hand side, that is the indicator that the random feature is on. If you press both the 'week' and 'hour' button at the same time, it will toggle this on and off. I some how managed to enable this feature by accident handling the timer. hopefully I can save someone else from ripping out their hair.

 

[Capt.Ahab]

Ive read in the past that the digital timers can be prone to failure and were a potential fire hazard.
Does anyone know if that is true?
Whatever I read years ago caused me to stop using the digitals and stick to the analog timers with the movable pins.

 

[dansbuds]

Capt , i use digital timers all the time for pumps & fans . i wouldn't use them for lighting . the load is to much for them . they're rated for 15 amps max . so low load devices are fine to use on them . i use the time clocks myself for lighting .

 

[dansbuds]

Ok, so I just got my shinny new timer, and thought I would test it out.. well I couldn't figure out wtf was going on.. it would sort of work, but not at the exact time that was set??? Well after bashing my head against the wall for a few hours, I broke down and read the instructions. WTF .. why would you sell a timer for indoor growing with a random feature on it!

You see the little circle on the right hand side, that is the indicator that the random feature is on. If you press both the 'week' and 'hour' button at the same time, it will toggle this on and off. I some how managed to enable this feature by accident handling the timer. hopefully I can save someone else from ripping out their hair.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=71905&pictureid=1714755View Image

thats also the reset button . if you press & hold it for a couple seconds it resets everything on the timer .

 

[OldPhart]

I don't trust them either, at least not for high wattage application. I will be getting a contractor, and a delay on break timer to hook to the digital timer to control the load, and stop any hot restarts.

https://www.amazon.com/Packard-C230...d=1488474544&sr=8-1&keywords=30+amp+contactor


https://www.amazon.com/ICM-Controls...qid=1488474571&sr=8-1&keywords=delay+on+break

 

[~star~crash~]

F these damn timers.. i F'in hate them

F these damn timers.. i F'in hate them

 

[cravin morehead]

WTF .. why would you sell a timer for indoor growing with a random feature on it!

contrary to popular belief, those timers aren't really for indoor growing. and I like having a random feature on them. first off, timers such as those are fire hazard for big draw lights like in our grows. but are fine for fans and pumps and such with very small current draw.
I use a couple of those exact timers when we leave out of town for awhile. I hook up an old tv, old radio, and a couple table lamps with led for low draw, and set the timers for random. it gives the impression that someone is there by randomly turning things on and off.

cm

 

[chris harris]

Thank you, good info to know. I have those timers, never knew about the random feature.I thought that little button down on the right hand side was the reset.
Mech. timers aren't all they are cracked up to be either. Had an electrical fire in an Intermatic T-104(?). Rated at 40 amps, was pulling 30 amps. I'm sure I still got it, if I find it, I'll snap a pic. Dielectric grease is a good idea on these connections that are going to be exposed to higher humidity. I like the idea of using a timer to trip relays, taking the load off the timers. Now to find good relays!

 

[OldPhart]

Thank you, good info to know. I have those timers, never knew about the random feature.I thought that little button down on the right hand side was the reset.
Mech. timers aren't all they are cracked up to be either. Had an electrical fire in an Intermatic T-104(?). Rated at 40 amps, was pulling 30 amps. I'm sure I still got it, if I find it, I'll snap a pic. Dielectric grease is a good idea on these connections that are going to be exposed to higher humidity. I like the idea of using a timer to trip relays, taking the load off the timers. Now to find good relays!

Wrong little circle.. I'm talking about the circle in the display, it is toggled by pushing both the 'week' and 'hour' button at the same time. See the arrow in this pic.

 

[chris harris]

Good to know. I'm gonna go check mine out to see if that have that. What's the little button just to the right of the "on/off"? I thought that was reset, at least it is on mine.

 

[delta9nxs]

this is a timer for growers. i have been using these for years. intuitive controls. designed for humid environments. battery backup so the settings don't have to be redone after the power is off.

i use them with 240v relays to flip lights

i just bought 4 more for 40 bucks each from

https://www.westsidewholesale.com/c...artment=0&q=intermatic+digital+outdoor+timers


http://www.intermatic.com/en-us/pool-and-spa/specialty-controls/hb880r

if anyone is interested in building a light flipper or wants to reliably switch 240v lights on and off with this 120v timer the relays are available at

https://www.automationdirect.com/ad...n-Style,_40A_(AD-PR40_Series)/AD-PR40-2C-120A

i just built a wall mounted timed on/off set up for 16 240v lights with 2 timers at 40 each and 6 relays at 20 each. 200 bucks

 

[OldPhart]

Good to know. I'm gonna go check mine out to see if that have that. What's the little button just to the right of the "on/off"? I thought that was reset, at least it is on mine.

Yes, that is the reset button.

I was talking about the little circle image to the right INSIDE the display. ( see the second image I posted, I marked it with an arrow)

I was just wanting to make people aware of the silly little image on the display. If they see that on, they need to turn it off. I managed to get it to turn on by just handling the timer, I think maybe I shoved on it plugging it in. I had no idea what was going on, and would have never noticed that little circle without carefully reading through the crappy instructions.

OP

 

[chris harris]

Bookmarked, thanks for the link. These look like 120 volt, 15 amps. You can use them in conjunction with 240 relays?
I like they got digital time c/w battery. That's one problem with mech timers, have to reset dial in an event of power failure.

 

[delta9nxs]

Bookmarked, thanks for the link. These look like 120 volt, 15 amps. You can use them in conjunction with 240 relays?
I like they got digital time c/w battery. That's one problem with mech timers, have to reset dial in an event of power failure.

yes the timers are 120v @15A. the particular relay i linked to has a 120v solenoid coil and the contacts are rated for up to 600v @ 40A.

when i was running lights at 120v i would just put a timer on each light but that's ok for a few lights. with a bunch of lights you must run 240A to get max use out of a panel.

 

[MJPassion]

Most of the time it pays to read instructions.

 

[chris harris]

Awesome info. Thank you. Again, thanks for the link, I bookmarked it. I've heard horror stories of cheap relays.
Yes, agree, 240 , lower amps, less load on panel.

 

[chris harris]

Most of the time it pays to read instructions.

Lol. So true. Someone once said " instructions are just another guys opinion".

 

[~star~crash~]

Most of the time it pays to read instructions.

only when all else fails

 

[zachrockbadenof]

I'm using a 3prong 15amp manual timer...with the little pegs for '3' 300w led's... so far so good... I think they draw about 2.5amps each. so there is some safety margin

 

[Phaeton]

I tried digital timers in 2008, no go.
Again in 2011, again they were not reliable.
Never say die, again in 2014, this time one of the brands functioned fine out of four tested.
Now there are choices, mostly I use double relays with 15 amps each capability. The four failures out of 38 timers used were caused by 900 watts on one relay (a pair of mag coil 400w), they do not like heat. Single relay loads are now restricted to 600 watts.
None of the relays carries more than 600 watts, most carry less as each light has its own timer and the fans have one for every 300 watts, lots of static and don't want to overload the surge filters.

The digital timers have been synchronized to within thirty seconds so all seventeen bud room light come on during the same minute. No two come on at precisely the same moment, presenting a "soft start" to the system.
When mechanical timers were used the same loads were carried, a relay is a relay, but the timing never stayed within two minutes. Each 'click' was five minutes on some, six minutes on others, making fine tuning a back and forth task involving unplugging the timers.

The major problem is the same as LEDs, running at the rated wattage gives an extremely short lifespan. 1/4 to 1/2 load extends life, the timers run at 30% or less last eight years and more.
Treating timers the same as circuit breakers and running at 80% caused failure in under six months.