Customer Reviews

Timex Easy-to-Set Electronic Timer

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

I bought five of these units about six months ago and used each as a timer to prevent my cordless phones from overcharging. I have five Panasonic cordless phones stationed throughout the house and they really only need to charge about 3 hours per day, rather than 24 hours per day.

Six months later, not one -- not one -- of them is still working. They all died within a few months of use.

This is junk. Don't buy it.

The Timex electronic timer is a convenient gadget for controlling lights and appliances. With basic functions such as current time and a single event timer, the Timex electronic timer can easily control one or more electrical devices.

Unfortunately, this particular timer is lacking in a few areas, which would otherwise make it simpler and more powerful. For example, it would be helpful to have a set of colored LEDs indicating the timer's event status and override status. Being a wall timer, which effectively locates the user interface very close to an electrical outlet, it can be difficult to reach. "Table" electronic timers are much easier to place as the interface is located several feet from the IN (power) and OUT (control) receptacles via an electrical cord with one extra conductor.

With the recent focus in energy conservation, consumers are often using electronic timers to reduce their electrical usage. In my case, I use my timer as a third alarm clock. Connected to a very powerful full-spectrum light box(Sunray by Sunbox), it is set to fill up my bedroom with light, five minutes before my alarm clock(s) are set to go off. Additionally, it engages a powerful speaker system connected to a digital audio source. In this arrangement, the timer serves as a multi-sensory wakeup tool.

While the design appears solid and robust, I have not been happy with its longevity. About a year after purchasing the timer, it stopped working. There is no physical damage. Moreover, opening the unit revealed no fuse nor obviously damaged components. This isn't a problem, however, as I have decided to upgrade to a table electronic timer for easier access.

Pros

Simple

Compact

Sleek design

Cons

Ambiguous status (especially from more than 18 inches away)

Only One Event

Lack of Durability

Possibly Inaccessible

Lack of clear status indication

Firs of all I rarely write negative reviews, but this deserves it. I bought one of these, and within a week it stopped working. While it was working it was fine, but one day it just stopped working all together and the LCD went blank. I returned it, and got a new one, and the new one stopped working within 2 days. Same result. There no reason for the malfunction as it was being used to control a 25 watt light. The Non LCD one by timex worked for a month and stopped working properly (the time was always off, even when adjusted). Try to find a different brand timer

Purchased 3 of these Timers (not from Amazon)
and took one apart (removed the 4 retaining screws on the back).

See The Picture I Posted Above.

As suspected, it has a Fuse that Blows at 5amps
and has a 125C temperature (257F) rating printed on its case.
It cannot be reset and has to be replaced.

Possible heat buildup might be caused by a Load Resister
that is used to reduce the voltage to operate the circuitry &
the 24vdc relay that turns the Lamp/Whatever ON/OFF.

A very basic power supply, hence the low price.
In fact, the layout looks like it was a kit that was manually assembled.

And of course if you exceed the 5amp/600 watt spec it will also blow.
Connecting something that draws more than that, when first turned on,
could blow the fuse after a while:
A Fan with an Inductive Load or
A Large Power Supply with a Capacitive Load.

It's really only designed for a Resistive Load
(such as a lamp)
and says so on the label.

With that in mind, you can probably connect Whatever,
so long as it's small.

Also, if the 2.4vdc rechargeable battery
(that keeps the time settings when unplugged)
dies, it would prevent it from working
as it provides a stable voltage for the Clock/Timer to run on.

Similar to the Button Battery in your Computer that has to be replaced
every 5+ years, else you can't even boot up.
(But then, does anyone own a computer for more than 5 years - AnyMore?)

Almost worth buying for the parts alone.

It's a great timer that works well.

I hope none of my 3 succumbs to any of the
aforementioned afflictions.

Hope this helps.

I bought one of these about 2 years ago, and I'm now in need of a second one. Reading the reviews here, I'm wondering if they've changed the construction or something, because the one I bought is still working as flawlessly as it did the day I bought it...

I have to agree with other reviews on here. This is a piece of junk. I just bought this timer... took it out of the package and it did not work!

got it to work once but can't now dont buy it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There are two circumstances that can make you think the device is broken. (1) Inadvertantly getting into "manual off" mode. If you get into this mode and don't realize it, you will think the device is broken. Read the directions and set it to "program" mode. (2) Blowing the fuse by plugging a big appliance into the device. To check for a blown fuse, read the directions and try "manual on".

The device has 5 buttons. You use the buttons in pairs. Every possible pair (there are 10) has an action -- fumbling with the buttons will cause unexpected results. In addition to being cautious, you should be able to read all features of the display.

It's a good little device, but it won't handle big current loads (like big air conditioners). The max is 600 watts (5 amps).

It's not for applications like cooking, because your hot plate will come on every 24 hours. To control your slow cooker or hot plate, get a count-down timer.

These timers have a trickle voltage when in off mode which shortens the life of the CFL and LED bulbs greatly due to the electronics in the base of the bulb. Works well with a standard incandescent bulb. I called the factory and they confirmed. Not sure why the packaging doesn't make this clear.

This timer worked for approximately two weeks. We noticed it had failed because the appliance did not go on as programmed. After many attempts to reset it, we decided to return it and report is as damaged so that it had to be removed from the merchant's inventory.