Customer Reviews

Orbit 91213 One-Dial Garden Hose Digital Water Timer

5 star:		(96)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

All water timers do basically the same thing, but some require cryptic routines to set the timers. Older designs don't even use digital readout.
This timer is so straightforward, there's nothing to figure out. The large dial and readout is perfect for my aging eyes. You just turn the dial to whatever setting you want to change, then adjust it to the exact minute.
I'm using 6 of these - the clocks are synchronized and the timers set so that they all run at different times in the night.
For example, one zone is just pots on the deck, with drippers. 12 minutes twice a day seems just about right. As it gets hotter, bumping it up to 14 or 15 minutes will take 10 seconds. It's nice to control it with this precision.

Now for the additional features that really make this shine:

Need some water now? One click shopping. Hit a button and it turns on for 10 minutes(adjustable).

Raining today? Hit the + button and shut it off for 1, 2, or 3 days.

Raining all week? Turn the dial one click from AUTO to OFF. Just remember to turn it back on when the rain stops.

The build on these seems good. The dial, buttons, battery compartment all seem to be well engineered. As mentioned, I have 6 - all new this season. I'll report back on their longevity.

Perfect item! Surprisingly solid design for the price. Simple navigation. Enough settings, but not too much to make it too complicated.

Previously I purchased one item to test on my back yard, then after using it for a few weeks, I decided to purchase the same model for my front yard. Now I don't have to worry about watering.

I thought it would be useful to give a few more details about watering options:

HOW LONG: 0 - 240 minutes with 1 minute interval.

HOW OFTEN: every 6 hours, 12 hours, 1 day, 2 days, 3 days, 4 days, 5 days, 6 days, 7 days.

MANUAL: 0 - 240 minutes with 1 minute interval.

Manual mode is managed by a dedicated button, so using it does not affect your automatic settings and they remain unchanged.

When set to start in manual mode, it gives a few seconds before starting. I find it quite useful as my hose outlet is on the other side of the yard, and I have enough time to get of the way.

I used this timer for about a month, so it is hard to say if it will last long. But considering how it appears, I have a strong feeling that it will. Overall I am impressed and can strongly recommend this item to others.

P.S. This is my first review on Amazon, I just thought this product deserves a few minutes to tell people about. :)

I have only had this item for about two weeks but it is working out great. I believe the product is well built and it does exactly what it intends to do. I like to call it my poor man's sprinkler system. It works just as well as a sprinkler system since I hid my hose under my xeri-scaped rock bed. Just be sure to buy a "Y" valve for the faucet so you can still have a hose attached that you can water stuff on your own. I also like the manual setting where you can just push the button and change the amount of time whenever you want if you just put seed down,etc. to help moisten the area immediately. I will recommend this to all my friends.

I have a Gilmour 9400 and like it, but thought I'd try this since it was cheaper. I like it better than I expected. Much simpler. Don't need to read the manual to use it. You can program the time of day for it to water and duration, but you can't program specific days. You pick how many days a week to water. It assumes you want the first day of watering to be the day you set it. So if you set it to one day a week it will water today and then 7 days from now.

As with all water timers, make sure you bring it in during the winter or it probably will be leaking all over the place next year.

UPDATE (one year later): This one leaks a bit, just like every other timer I've tried by every other manufacturer. The leak is internal to the unit; it's not at the spigot connection. It was leakproof for the first season. I did not leave it out during the winter months. And I always use a bit of teflon tape around the spigot connection. Leaks anyway

I got tired of my basic Raindrip timer which did not allow time setting (it only references time based on when you turn it on, and has no manual overide!). For a single station timer this Orbit unit is the cat's meow. There is a dedicated timer setting in large digits and simple dial access to all the important parameters. The manual override is great as it has you enter in the time period you want it in manual, then shuts itself off and resumes its timer schedule mode, so there is no fear of forgetting to go back and shut the water off. Great unit! Be aware that the one limitation of these types of units is that the periodicity of watering is set to a single increment such as twice a day or once every 3 days, so if you want to set an usual schedule you will need a more advanced model.

I bought this timer so that I could setup an animal sprayer near my garden that would run only at night (I planned to use the timer to only enable the water flow during the night so that people walking by the garden during the day would not get sprayed).

However, that was not to be as the timer has a hard-coded time limit of 4 hours (the timer length goes from 240 minutes to zero minutes). Clearly this was an arbitrarily chosen limit by the company as it's all electronics -- that's what makes this so bozo.

A second restriction is that it only has a single run event (so you can only have one run cycle defined).

This makes the device useless for my purpose.

That said, it is about the simplest electric water timer to setup that I've ever seen/used. So if you're trying to time a single watering cycle, it will suffice.

Simple, clear, easy to use and works great. Can be set to come on daily or twice daily (there are others but can't see the point of every 2,3 days etc). Can also set to manual and set a time for how long. Perfect.

Sold as a sprinkler timer, I'm using it to add water to a pool every couple of days. During summer, pool water evaporates often so there is a need to add water frequently. With a little trial and error, determined that 30 minutes every three days was about right. This device takes care of this requirement for me without having to think about it. It was easy to program - much easier than some others I saw at the hardware store. So far, it works great and I'm pleased with the unit. Not sure how long the batteries will last - the only potential issue.

Unit is easy to use but WILL NOT work without significant water pressure. I thought i read it all but nothing said that and i discovered it the day of planting. It should state on the description but it doesn't.
Hope you rain barrel waterers read this first and save yourself the hassle.

I purchased 2 of these timers, along with the Noodle Sprinklers. I have 3 separate gardens + lawn which require hoses in 3 areas. I set up one Noodle and timer to water 2 areas, and the other set to water the third. The timers are so easy to program it took all of 5 minutes. They are both hooked up to Y-connectors; in one case, I need the other hose for the pool. So, you can use them on connections other than a single outlet. They come on and go off at exactly the correct times, don't really turn down the water pressure in the house by much, and it saves me from having to water when it's so hot in AL you don't want to go out. Also, if we're away, I don't have to worry about the yards drying up--I know the sprinklers/timers will do their job. If it's raining you simply hit Manual to delay the start time. I cannot recommend these enough--------if you want worry-free watering, BUY THEM!!!!