These work great! it is a little intense setting it up the first couple of times but they usually work very well. i have 3 in my current home and they operate my outside lighting, which by the way are all cfl's. the power outage reset is a drawback, but think of it as an oportunity to stay trained on how to set it up. if it is not working correctly, remember to reset it and a very important step is rotating the dial ALL the way around.
Set-up: 1) push the reset lever to the right and hold it to a count of 5 and release. 2) Set the time: determine if the white is before lunch and black is after lunch, the colors change at 12 noon or midnight, whatever. Spin the dial at least 360 degrees, do not push in while turning, stop at the current time. push in and release, current time is now set. 3) ON Time: Next turn the knob 360 degrees+ stopping at the "ON" time, push in on knob. Look at the light, is it on? If yes move on, if not, start over. 4) Set OFF time: Turn knob at least 360 degrees stopping at the time you want the light to go off, push in on knob. Look at light, is it OFF. Good Job! 5) Not done yet, turn the knob at least 360 degrees, where you end is unimportant. All done. Remember, rotate knob 360 degrees each time, only push knob in to set times, current time, "ON" time and "OFF" time. that should do it. i love them because they fit in a standard wall plate. Normally outside lights are in 2, 3, or 4 gang boxes and replacing all the switches and wall plate with the deorator unit so you can use the new type timer is more than i want to invest. Intermatic EJ351C 120 Volt 24-Hour Programmable Mechanical Security Timer
I bought this four years ago and have had nothing but problems. Three problems:
1. EVERY time there is a power outage you need to reset the schedule.
2. It is difficult to set and understand how to program it. Several times I've confused AM and PM causing my light schedule to not work properly.
3. Even when I know I set the timer correctly, it doesn't always work properly.
I'm now on the hunt for a new mechanical timer that hopefully works better.
Timer worked reliably, so far as it is designed to, for a year or so and then began to turn on the light that it controlled earlier and earlier each cycle---clearly defective. Of course, the warranty expired two weeks before this began happening, so I am in the market for a new timer.
Reliability issues aside, I will not be purchasing another timer of the same model due to the fact that it was a pain to have to regularly reprogram the timer to follow a dusk-to-dawn schedule anyway (it's a moving target), so I am now searching for a somewhat higher quality, self-adjusting timer.
My landlady installed this timer for the exterior lighting. My problem: I can't figure out how to even make the blasted thing turn the lights on. I downloaded the manual, which specifies that the timer will operate like a light switch once it is in automatic mode. But I can't get it into automatic mode - when you turn it on, it is in "being programmed" mode and you have to program it before you can do anything. I've tried both ways to program it suggested by the manual but the steady red light indicative of automatic mode simply doesn't appear.
The profusion of modes in this innocuous-looking little timer (manual, automatic, rapid programming, 24-hour self programming, program review) is a user interface nightmare and far too complex to express effectively with a single red light. Without the manual it's unlikely you could even figure out that most operations are done by depressing the time dial. Advice to the manufacturer: next time do some usability testing.
I was excited to find this product on line because I could never find one in the stores and needed to replace the one I had for three years. My current timer will turn the lights on and off manually but the timer isn't working now. When I tried to install the new one, nothing worked! You can't even manually turn the lights on/off! I put the old timer back in and will buy a plain light switch to replace it. If anyone knows of another timer with only two wires, I'd like to know. I only have two wires in my wall so I can't install the newer timers that have four wires. (black,white,green,red) I won't waste money buying another one of these Intermatic timers.
I have used this brand of timers for years and love it because you can program outside lights with it. Sad to say though, it will only work with incandescent bulbs and not LED or fluorescent bulbs. I ordered these without reading the fine print but used them anyway. They are easy to program and dependable, hopefully they are working on a timer that will work with the new type efficiency bulbs for outside. I also use their inside digital timers too which is a very good product.
Call me an old fuddy-duddy, but I'm sick of everything having to be digital! I have manual timers on a couple of other switches in the house, so when I wanted one more, I went to two different home centers and a hardware store - nothing available except digital. So I bought a digital GE one, took me forever to program it, then after about 3 months - like so many things digital - it died.
I finally found this one on Amazon, and it's perfect. It installed easily, and contrary to what some other reviewers said, I found the programming to be a snap. The instructions were clear and easy to follow, and I set my start and stop times with no problem. And that's exactly what I wanted - a timer that turns my porch light on and off - not one that knows the phase of the moon in Tibet and the train schedules in Siberia and whatever else manufacturers try and cram into digital products these days.
Fast shipping, a good price, easy to install, easy to program, and works exactly like it's supposed to. What more can you ask from a product? Definitely five stars, and thank you Amazon for continuing to carry products like these when the retailers have all gone digital (are you listening Home Depot, Lowes, and Ace?) - Wall Timer - Timer - Light Timer - Programmable Timer'
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