Customer Reviews

Intermatic ML300RTW Malibu 300-Watt Power Pack with Timer and Ground Shield

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Decent quality steel case.
Mechanical timer.

I had the Hampton Bay 300 watt model....DO NOT BUY HAMPTON BAY TRANSFORMERS. CUSTOMER SERVICE IS VERY BAD AND THERE IS NOT EVEN ANY WARRANTY OR CUSTOMER SERVICE INFO IN WITH THE PRODUCT, as I found out when it broke and going to Home Depot for help was a joke. Anyway, I am happy so far with the Malibu and it seems that it has a bigger transformer than the Hampton and the overall construction is better. Just to convince you of how bad the Hampton Bay customer service is try doing a search for them online, you'll see.

Bought this Malibu 12 volt transformer to start an outdoor low voltage lighting project. It works as it has been designed. I have it mounted INSIDE my garage on a panel where I have my electrical sub-panel and all my other timer type devices centrally located.
The caveats to report are: The timer on top is small and hard to read and is easily moved when messing with the the on/off tripper clips. The timer wheel is segmented into light and dark sections for night and day. The pointer to set the timer is really hard to see. The manual on/off switch is a round little pole that sits just outside the timer wheel. A little hokey. The tripper clips are plastic and really small and potentially could get dropped in and around the timer circle. You get two sets. The lid doesn't stay open when you're trying to set the timer so you have to have one hand holding the lid open the the other hand doing the setting. The unit itself mounts using two slots on the back. There was no template supplied for mounting. The electrical wire coming out of the unit for 110/120 volt hookup is hardwired and is about 24 inches long with a molded straight in plug. There is no way to attach this directly to an electrical box (outdoor or otherwise) via a sealed conduit without major surgery. The unit is capable of a photo electric hookup, but that is a separate purchase accessory.
I may or may not buy another one of these although the price was certainly right. I need another 300 watt supply, but it will have to be mounted outside. I just don't particularly care for the way Malibu instructs you as to how to mount their unit. Again, it does function for me. I've had other timer units by Intuit that were a little more user friendly.

IT's a low voltage transformer with mechanical timer.
It works like it's supposed to.
The price on Amazon was considerably cheaper than my local home improvement stores.

I bought a packaged set of Malibu lights and decided to extend the run and add more lights. I quickly realized that I had exceeded the 60 watt output of the transformer that came with it and needed more juice. This unit was very well priced and I don't think I'll ever outgrow it. Simple to hook up and mount. Would definitely recommend.

For a 300 Watt transformer, this is a great value. I really wanted a transformer without the timer since I control my lights with an X-10 system. However, I couldn't find a better deal on a transformer without a timer. It was easy enough to pop this open and bypass the timer with some simple rewireing. Only took about 15 minutes. I gave it a 5 star rating even though it doesn't have a switch that could turn off the timer and provide a manual On/Off capability.

This transformer was an identical replacement for one that the timer went out on. Intermatic wouldn't sell just the timer. (a simple fix) So I was forced to spend $60 instead of $3 or $4. What a waste. There must have been 2 or 3 pounds of copper that just went out in the trash. I should have bought a different brand out of spite, but this was the best deal. Glad I found it on Amazon. Much cheaper than retail from the big box stores.

Bought the Hampton Bay 300w transformer first since it was cheaper and included a photo cell on/off. Boy was that a mistake. It was extremely noisy and grossly under-powered. It was so loud that you could hear the high pitch hum of the unit from the porch all the way to the street. The biggest complaint was the fact that the lights looked very very dim. I just assumed it was too long of a lead and too much load; 100ft of 12ga with a total of 280w worth of lights.

Enter the Malibu.
Much heavier and better built than the HB. I was a little disappointed that mounting hardware, mounting template, and instructions were not included. Luckily the set up and mounting were fairly easy, so I can let that slide. The power that the unit puts out and how quiet it is has been makes it worth every penny. The lights now are at full intensity and look wonderful. So long as the unit holds up over time, (which I expect it will) I will be very happy.

Worked as advertised...other reviewers commented on lack of template for mounting, but I found no difficulty. I pulled all the timer pins out and use a photocell switch in series with the unit to turn in on at dusk and let it run for four hours.

There is a slight buzz (60 cycle noise), but I was able to isolate the box from the wall with some rubber pads and it is tolerable. Only has 12 volt taps, so you have to have relatively short runs to ensure the last fixture has adequate voltage. I used 12 gage wire exclusively with this unit and am currently running eight fixtures with 170 watts total.

Satisfied so far.

Received unit and noticed that some metal parts were loose and rattling around inside. Installed the unit and it worked for two days, then failed. Amazon sent replacement promptly and I returned the defective unit. The replacement also has several parts loose and rattling around inside. Installed and it has worked for the past four days. If it lasts, then this unit is a good value. Wonder if anyone also received units with loose metal parts inside. May have been a batch with quality control issues.

PS: The replacement transformer also failed after one week. Returned for refund.

This was purchased to replace a 100-W unit that was unable to support our garden lighting. This timer is heavy duty construction, though looks sleek and very professional. It is completely protected from water and works like a charm! I would highly recommend this product to meet your outdoor lighting needs!