Customer Reviews

Intermatic HB31R All Weather, Outdoor Timer. Heavy Duty-15 Amp. Rain Tight Plastic Case

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I mounted it on a pressure treated 2" X 2" post, and set the post in concrete, next to our swimming pool filter. We are saving electricity, as the filter now runs from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., rather than 24 hours, and the pool remains clean. I used the timer on my one horsepower swimming pool pump, only to find at the end of the season that the pump's plug fused to the timer's receptacle, rendering the timer unusable. Neither Intermatic's fact sheet nor the timer's label states that it is not appropriate for control of a one horsepower motor. I now consider the product a zero star, rather than a five star.

I bought this timer for use with a Flowtron BK-80D bug zapper (see my other reviews). The unit is very nicely made for the money. You mount it with one screw and then you can set it to turn on and off at any time. It comes with two plastic "trip switches" that turn on, and two that turn off. So you can program the unit to go on/off either once in a 24 hour period (by using just 2), or on/off, on/off (twice in a 24 hour period - by using all 4).

I use mine to turn my bug zapper on in the evening time and off at dawn. Works great! The timer has a little plastic flip-up lid to keep the weather out, which is real nice. The 3 prong plug is on the bottom of the unit. It comes with about a 12 or 14 inch cord, which allows you to plug it into an outdoor outlet, as long as you aren't too far away.

The only thing the unit doesn't have is an over ride switch. However, you can sort of over ride it by reaching into the unit (flip the cover up) and manually turning the little round "switch" that is kicked on/off as the dial goes around (which is how the unit works - i.e. the plastic trip switches flip the little round switch as they go by it on the main dial). Once you bypass things using that method, you can leave it and when the next trip switch comes along, it will turn the unit off at the normal pre-set time.

Like I say, for the money, it's top notch. The only thing that would make this unit better would be the addition of another mounting screw hole, which would perhaps allow the unit to be mounted more securely (since it mounts with just 1 screw, you can swing the bottom around if you poke at it). Overall, however, it's fine for the job it does and a very good value. Some double sided tape on the bottom would make the mounting all that more secure if really needed.

Again, for the money, it's a fine product and does a great job of controlling a single outlet :-)

I bought two of these timers to control Christmas lights and found the calibration of the times to be off. If you can zoom in on the picture, you will see there are two clocks on the dial - the larger outer one where the pins go and an inner one to set the current time. The two are connected and you are unable to calibrate them - who ever lined them up did sloppy work at best. One is close - it comes on within 5 min off the 'real' time - the other one is a whopping 30m out of sync. If you are just buying one, fudging it might be no big deal but I am using 2 and trying to get my lights to come on within 5 mins of ea other has been tough.

These timers replaced two light sensor timers that also were misbehaving so I guess this is just going to be part of my holiday theme from now on...

Works great with hydroponic grow lights up to 1000 watts. Made out of thick plastic that protects from water drops. Much better when working around water indoors than standard heavy-duty indoor timers. Once you see it, you'll appreciate that it is really heavy-duty. I've used the same one for close to 10 years.

As for the review about the timer not holding up outside. I think the reviewer had the electrical cord at a greater height than the outlet on the timer. When ice on the cord melted, the water travelled down the cord and eventually reached the timer where it caused a short.

We purchased this for use with our outdoor Christmas Lights, and placed it under our covered porch so it was shielded from the elements. It was a pretty easy winter with the weather rarely dipping into the high 30s, but this plug on this timer still didn't hold up. The right prong melted and turned completely black shorting out the lights and ruining our outdoor outlet. We checked if the amps were too high, but that was not the case, so we have no idea why the product failed. I would not recommend using this product for outdoor use. It barely lasted us one month with light usage in a covered area.

After less than a year of continuous use this unit has become erratic. It frequently becomes "stalled", but most often at the transition of the On/Off state. This makes it unsuitable for any unmonitored system requiring unattended, automated On/Off operation.

Great Product and not easy to find in South Texas. Have been using them for my home accent lights for about 7 Years.

the only problem that I recently found out is that you need to ensure that the cover is securely closed. I left mine open aand when I went to close it I dind't realize that the cover had water accumulation from the sprinklers. Once the water gets into the housing it is rendered usless.

Bought this unit to control my walkway lights. The outer box is a rather flimsy plastic but seems OK to do the job. Two sets of ON/OFF "pegs" are provided which was more than enough for me. If you have only one On/OFF program, no place to store the unused "pegs" so you'll have to store them (lose them) elsewhere. Cord was reasonable length and the timer motor made no noise. Easy to use the the price is very reasonable. Let's see how long this lasts outside in Indiana!

I really wanted the Intermatic HB31R timer, and that is what I ordered. I've seen them in brick-and-mortar stores and it has the specs that meet my needs. However, the shipper, ANTOnline, sent me a CCI/Woods Model 59382 timer. Although this timer has the same electrical ratings as the Intermatic, the power cord is much shorter (difficult to install), the "rain tight case" is anemic, and the company is unknown to me (not sure how long this Chinese-made item will last). I attempted to contact ANTOnline, but received only auto-replies via e-mail, indicating a "don't care" attitude to me. ANTOnline even listed the Intermatic model on the packing slip! UPDATED August 7, 2011: Now I know how long this Chinese-made item will last. It has failed (if it is plugged in by itself, it trips the circuit breaker). So it lasted only 1 3/4 years (purchased Nov 2009, failed Aug 2011).

Very cost-effective and reliable timer. I have used this model for Christmas lighting and for roof cables (to prevent damage from ice dams on the roof of a mountain home).

The only issue I have with the timer is that there is just a single hole for wall-mounting, which means it probably won't be hanging straight after you get everything plugged in.