Customer Reviews

Melnor 3010 Mechanical AquaTimer Hose Timer For Low Pressure Drip And Soaker Hoses

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

 

 

I purchesed 5 of these last year, and they worked as advertised. They shut off very nicely, saving the pipes, and are generally accurate as timers. We have a large yard (.8 acres) and this product saved us several hundred dollars last summer alone. I too searched extensively for a similar product, and there are no direct (mechanical) competitors that I know of.

However, I agree with several of the previous reviewers--the construction could be more robust. Last year, one timer mechanism gave out, and over this winter, one split (my fault for letting it freeze). A third sheared off at the input side when I tightened it down on the spigot.

Being mechanical, I took one of the broken ones apart to see how it works. It uses a standard diapharam valve that keeps water from the timer mechanism, and looks adequate to the task at hand. Overall, the design is quite effective.

Having said that, I am going to replace them this spring with more of the same, as I love the design concept which, I will repeat, works exceedingly well. I do take measures to protect these timers: I put one of those 10 inch flex extenders and a 50 psi pressure regulator (one of the inexpensive passive types) in front of each timer. This helps to minimize the risks to the timer. The combination works well, and makes our busy life just a touch easier. They are worth the money, even with the noted problems.

UPDATE April 2005: (2 STARS) I bought two more this spring, and the design has changed. Its a very different case and, I speculate, a somewhat different mechanism. They turn off hard with this revision, slamming the pipes, not soft and slow as the older ones did. I will be looking elsewhere for replacements, though I still like the design CONCEPT of a simple mechanical timer. Your milage may of course vary.

This timer does what it is supposed to but was very misleading in what it is supposed to do. I thought I could set it and go away for a week and it would water, but that is not the case. It is truly like an egg timer. You set it and it goes off once. Then you must set it again next time. So you can set it and it will turn on and off one time only. There are no instructions included with the timer, so I spent a lot of wasted time trying to figure out how to set it to go off every day while I was on vacation. But now that I know what it does, it is very handy and works very well. I go out and turn it on and it turns off automatically when I want it to.... ONCE.

Just bought two. Nice and small, and reasonably well constructed. No pipe-banging cut off (as advertised). The knob is somewhat tight and slightly hard to turn to manual on/off, but not that big a deal. Although it advertises 15 minutes to 2 hours, mine have settings for 5 and 10 minutes as well, both of which work as indicated.

The only thing that keeps it from 5 stars is that the dot increments are odd. Between 30 and 60 minutes, there are 3 dots, making each dot 7.5 minutes. The same goes with the 60 to 90 and 90 to 120. Trivial, but would it have been that hard to have 5 dots for 5 minute increments or just two dots for 10 minute increments?

Easy to attach, very easy to use. I had some trouble getting the threads to line up with my ancient spigot, but once I did, no problems at all.

I would recommend that this timer NOT be left out over winter -- put it somewhere that the freezing temperatures won't cause it to crack (maybe water stays in the timer and expands into ice?). I had this happen to me, but the replacement has been fine since I took out of the cold over winter.

We bought two and both ceased functioning after one season. The first failure came the first week while pulling out the hose line to setup a sprinkler. I pulled out the slack, and without pulling very hard on the line, the thin plastic neck snapped, causing the hose assembly to fall to the ground. The second unit began intermittently working after about four months of service under ginger treatment. At the end of the season the once-loud time-bomb tick-tock faded and it no longer interrupted the water flow. Counting on a timer to work and it not working is obviously worse than never relying on one to begin with.

This is a high quality product for a low price. It is very sturdy and easy to put your confidence in. Our county in Georgia has placed a watering ban where we can only water from 10 pm until 10am on odd numbered days. It is so much easier to turn on your sprinklers at 10pm, setting them to water for 2 hours and FORGET ABOUT IT! Even if you aren't currently under a water ban, keep in mind that the best time to water is at night, when the sun can't dry up the water. This is a great product, I have one for the front yard and one for the back yard!

This is a simple design of an essential device that every gardener needs --- no fancy dials or lights, and it is mechanical! Unfortunatly, the quality/durability of the product is not that great. I have purchased and used more than a half-dozen this past year. When it works, it is great, but often it fails as the result of plastic fractures, broken/jammed timer, leaking connections. I have not seen a better design, but I will keep looking. Until I find one this will be my choice despite its shortcomings.

Bought this less than 8 months ago. It works well but now the collar that screws onto the hose bibb ("the spigot", for those who are plumbing-challenged) has cracked. I had a flood in the backyard for that probably went on for 2 days.

It's a shame, too, becuase it's a great little tool if you like to drip water your trees/shrubs. Just cruddy workmanship.

This product works exactly as described. It is simple, so easy, so convenient, we really enjoy using this.
NO MORE FORGETTING THE SPRINKLER IS ON!!! We like the way it turns the water off at the faucet, not leaving pressure in the garden hose.
If your water rates are as bad as ours in McHenry MS, you need one or several of these (we have 5), Melnor has always been an excellent quality product.

This is the first review I have written for any product. I bought three of these timers and they all cracked within 3 months of owning them. Complete garbage.