Customer Reviews

Presto 04212 Electronic Clock/Timer

5 star:		(60)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(18)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

I have had a Presto timer for over 6 years, and I truly would be lost without it. It not only functions as a kitchen timer, but it serves as an alarm clock. Living in Indiana where we get weather that often knock's out our power... we have set it 8 hours ahead to wake us for work. It beeps for a full minute which I love. And you can set it up to 24 hours.
I am getting a new one (mine is still fine, but I don't want to take a chance that they will quit making them...ha ha) and I am getting one for my daughter in law. AND it runs on 1AA battery!
P. David

This is a great timer with a few minor flaws, none of which seriously detract from its usefulness. On the up side:

- Four countdown timers
- Loud beeper
- One count-up timer
- Reliable (we use them daily for homeschool)

On the down side:

- The magnet on the back falls off eventually (we rip it off since we don't need it)
- The metal piece for the stand pushes through the plastic in the back of the case over time, potentially causing trouble. I use a rubber eraser instead.
- Switching back to the clock when Timer 1 is stopped causes Timer 1 to be reset to zero (most of the time you'll let the timer run out and never encounter this)

Update 1/10/2009: Almost 3 years later, these things still work fine. Even after having been thrown across the room by temperamental teenagers. In fact I bought 2 extras "just in case" and haven't had to use them at all. As other reviewers have pointed out, the buttons do wear out with heavy use and become less responsive.

This timer does it all...looks expensive. Looks well made compared to others. Nice and loud...hard to ignore....can probably be used as a travel countdown alarm.
I plan to buy another. Great little gift item.
I dont think there is a better deal out there.

Got the Presto Timer after buying a Sunbeam timer at the local store.
The Presto Timer looks nice, has a nice screen and the key layout is all right.
Unfortunately, the magnet is real weak "i.e. cheap". Using the timer with the magnet holding it on a surface is dicey as the timer falls easily. I bought two and they both have that problem. Oh, after 1 week of use, the magnet came loose from the plastic. Drop this timer and the battery case opens and the battery flies out. At least the timer is still running!
Yes!
So if you don't care about the magnet, this is a decent timer.
I will look for a timer that has a good magnet and a good layout.
OH! The magnet from my Sunbeam timer fell off. So I glued it to the Presto Timer that lost its magnet (the old Westbend Timer we had lasted over 10 years without any problems until near the end). Its too bad Presto uses such a cheap "plastic" magnet. At least I was able to improve it. Hey Presto is empowering me.
That is why!

By having both a magnet back and a stand, the design is wobbly and unstable, and not easily usable with one hand. If you look at the 2nd photo which shows the stand, you will figure out why. I would have preferred for them to provide only a large/strong magnet on the back, and no stand. So that's what I did with mine: dismantled the stand, and glued on a rubber magnet on the back. In spite of this shortcoming, I could not give it fewer than 5 stars. It excels at all the features, which are considerable. The price is more than fair.

This is a better timer than the otherwise excellent Taylor timer and, certainly, the awful Fagor timer. It has a clock that shows time, day, and date and 4 separate timer functions. All timer functions can time up, in ascending order, like a stopwatch. They can time down to zero and buzz like a traditional timer. Three of the timer functions have memories, so if you want to set one timer to ring on, say, fifteen minute intervals, it can save that time setting. The alarm is loud enough to hear but neither so loud or long that it is overly annoying. Timer and clock are independent, so that after timer is set, display can be reset to show the clock while the timer(s) are still working.
Mechanically, the buttons have worked well for three months of ownership, the magnets are still attached, and nothing has broken off or fallen off.

The four timers and the calendar on the clock function make it better than the otherwise excellent Taylor clock/timer (one timer, no calendar on the clock) available for about the same price under $10 on Amazon or Yahoo and certainly a better buy than the astonisingly awful and overpriced Fagor, quoted at $25 at the time of this review.

update: August 2008. After about 8 months, the buttons on this timer got very "sticky" and sometimes required pressing four or five times to activate functions. In response to an email, Presto was fast to suggest its return, but I never got around to it. My Taylor timers, with less functionality, continue to work well.

update: January 2009. I finally tried to return my Presto timer. They told me warranty was expired and the best they could do was offer me a discount on their products. Contrasted to Web shopping prices, their discounted prices offered no real benefit. They were legally correct, but ungenerous, in that I had notified them of non-functionality within the 12 months and, no doubt, button-sticking is chronic problem of the timer and not just of my timer. Stickiness has progressed to point where keys are no good and the timer is unusable.

update: March 2009. Bought four Taylor 5828 timers: each has two timer buttons and a clock (with a calendar); timers can run separately and independent of clock; switch to clock with toggle switch on back. Minuses compared to Presto 04212: 04212 has four timer and you can switch, more conveniently, to the clock with button on front. Taylor 5828 is generally solid, large numbers, functional buttons. Paid less than $8 each. One timer didn't work. I notified Taylor on their website email form, asking instructions for return. They responded in 12 hours, said they would send a replacement and that I should discard the non-functional timer. All around, at this writing, the Taylor 5828 is a cheaper and better-supported product than the Presto 04212.

I have 3 of the Presto Timers. I gave one to my daughter and kept the other two. At first I loved this timer with its programming features and great alarm sound. In no time the hate began as I had to push the buttons so hard to get them to work. Sometimes I pushed them sideways and more softly and eventually got what I wanted to came up. Then it hopped all around to the other items, like the date, time, hour, minutes, seconds. I had to push away to make it stop. The only thing that worked well was the clock. Used one timer for my diabetes testing and shots and the other acted the same. Since my medications are pretty much controlled by the clock I cannot rely on this timer and am currently shopping for another. Too bad, Presto is a well known brand.

I love everything about this timer EXCEPT that after about six months of use the button for setting the minutes started to stick and then stopped working altogether, rendering the timer useless.

I love this thing! Needed a timer for work, (& for daily tasks to keep me from procrastinating & bein late). But I also needed one that was simple, easy to set & read, and small enough to be convenient for on the go...this Clock/Timer is it and MORE! It not only gives me the time, date, and a timer...but it also gives me the choice to set 1 timer or up to 4 timers all at once. It's awsome! So if I have 4 hrs to get ready for work, I can set each of my "things-to-do" for a certain alotted time. And it also has a stop watch feature! It doesn't get any better than this...well, maybe if it had a vibrating feature so I don't have to hear it beep,(and no else hears it either). But other than that, I love it.
*Great Price
*Fantastic Features
*Cute in Appearance

I've used many different timers for 28 years keeping up with my time on billable projects. This is the most disappointing timer I've ever tried. I hit the button thinking I've stopped or started it and often I haven't. I'm working along thinking I'm keeping up with my time but I'm not because the timer never started. Alternately I'll think I've "clocked out" of a project and the little timer keeps plugging away because it ignored me when I pushed the button to stop it.

A couple of times I watched to make sure it started then began my work only to learn later it stopped keeping up with my time shortly after I pushed the button.

I am baffled that there are some positive reviews here. I really am.