I bought this timer to turn on lights because it gets dark early in the winter and its dark when we get up. I also bought a Woods 7 Day Timer which cost twice as much. They both work equally well, but the more expensive can have up to 8 each day or 64 on and off in a week and has a second grounded outlet on the opposite side. Both program in similar ways (the Woods is a little more complicated because it has more features).
You can chose Daily (M T W T F S or S), M T W T F S S (everyday), M T W T F, or Sat Sun. (The Woods Timer you can also select M W F and Tue Thur Sat.)
Though the Stanley Timer has only 8 on and off settings, since the setting can be say Monday through Friday you get 5 days with only one setting. Then use one setting for Sat Sun, i.e. two days with one setting. Only two setting for the week! Unless you have a crazy unpredictable schedule this timer is more than adequate.
I have only used 4 settings to turn on the lights in the family room in the morning and evenings. No more stumbling around in the dark in the mornings and when we get home at night! In the master bedroom, I can hit the snooze, but the light helps me get up (keeps me from going back to sleep).
On the downside is there is only one grounded outlet on the left side because the switch contact is only rated for 60 Watts for Incandescent (standard wire filament style bulb) and 1200 Watts (10 Amps) resistive for CFL bulbs or appliances such as rice cookers, crock pots, tea/coffee makers, etc. If you need a heavier duty switch contacts then get the Woods Timer which is rated for 15 Amp or 1875 Watts lighting or resistive.
The back-up battery uses two button cell batteries, which is no big deal (hint: purchase Alkaline or Lithium button cell batteries at discount/dollar stores in a bubble pack card for a dollar which has 3 or more batteries). If you don't want to replace the batteries the Woods 7 Day it has a built in recharging battery.
For everyday use this Stanley Timer is great timer for a reasonable price. Stanley 31200 TimerMax Indoor Weekly Digital Timer, White
I purchased this because I have a space heater set up at my computer desk down in the basement and I kept forgetting to turn off the heater when I went to bed at night. So now, I plug the heater into this timer; I've set the timer to allow power to the heater only from 6am to 10:30pm and that way even if I forget to turn off the heater, the timer will turn it off at 10:30pm and it will stay off until 6am. I still use the power switch on the heater to turn the heater on or off, but the timer provides the safety net of turning it off in case I forget.
Admittedly, the LCD display has some small text which is hard to see if you're messing with this under a desk on the floor. Here's my suggestion:
1. Pull out the plastic tab from the backup battery so that the battery will remember the time settings even when disconnected from the power.
2. INITIALLY, plug the unit into an outlet that is easy to reach and well lit (e.g., a bathroom outlet).
3. Follow the directions that state that you should plug in the unit and let it run for 10 or 15 minutes before setting it up.
4. After waiting the 10-15 minutes, program in the settings while the unit is plugged into the well-lit and easy-to-reach outlet.
5. Now unplug the unit and transfer it to the target location and plug it in there--because the unit has a backup battery, all your settings should still be correct and now you're ready to plug in your appliance!
Received when expected, came in retail packaging that was easy to get into (I hate having to struggle to get into packaging meant for Walmart/Target customers).
Plastic strip that protects batteries (for internal clock, so it'll keep time even in power outages) ripped on *both* units that I bought...no big deal, removed cover and plucked out strip.
Easy to program, came with single page of instructions. If you can program one of those cheap digital watches, you can do this intuitively (without having to indent hidden buttons...these buttons are big and right on front). If you can't program simple stuff, you'll probably struggle with this too!
I'm satisfied...5 stars.
I was not impressed with this timer.
Firs of all, the display is hard to see, even with fresh batteries in it.
Also, I do not like the idea of timers using 2 $5.00 button cells as a back up.
I had a Digital Intermatic timer that I purchased many years ago and it used 2 AA batteries for back up.
Today it looks like all digital timers use over priced button cells for back up.
I found this in OSH and it costed $19.99. The price on Amazon was only $12.22 and eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping. So I ordered it together with other stuff from Amazon. After it arrive, I heared some noise inside it. It sounded like a component was loosen. I didn't want to risk. I went to the Amazon website and requested a return and replacement. Amazon sent me a new one immediately, even before the old one was returned. UPS came to my house and picked up the old one without any charge.
The second one came a few days later and it works fine. 8 program can be set and each program can work in several days. For example, you can set program 1 to run between 8PM and 10PM every day, and program 2 to run from 6AM to 6:30AM on weekday only, and then program 3 to run from noon to 4PM on Wednesday only. It's better than what I learned from the Product Description.
The LCD dispay, especially the On/Off/Auto mode indicator is really small. I have no problem with it because my eyesight is still good. But I understand why other reviewers complained about it.
I hoped buying a stanley timer would meant it was a good quality unit, but this turned out to be a waste of money - regardless of setting, it is alway 'on' (and I know to put it in auto mode). Even had it worked, the tiny, tiny display and poor interface are just awful. Save yourself the money and get something else. - Digital Timer - Programmable Timer - Programmable Digital Timer - Appliance Timer'
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