Timers

[edward]

I remember reading some people use timers to turn their lights on/off.

I saw this on aldi's website

http://australia.aldi.com/cms/product_01/product_412.html

It's a timer with summer/winter settings, so I assume you can set different times for the lights to be on for summer and winter.

For $9.95...seems ok

Just thought I'd share it with you guys.

[Matthew]

G'day Edward

I use the old style where it has a rotating dial. You stick different shaped pins into it and this turns the electrical circuit on and off. Hence my lights turn on and off.

But the digital version you link to should work just fine, provided there are no blackouts .

[Bit Racer]

Edward,

Bunnings warehouse have the arlec brand ones for $5.98 on special atm.

Best to call them to see if they have them in stock.

[wazza]

I use the old fashioned dial ones aswell. They work a treat and i reccomend them to anyone.

[Mazimbwe]

hmmm, how do I put this.....

I have had some experience with high-powered lighting systems and their use in conjunction with timers

While I understand that most of us who use timers do not have huge HPS lighting units, it should be noted that the old dial-type timers do not handle trouble all that well, IME. They have a tendancy to kick-out of time when the light comes ON(with a lot of power) by a few minutes and I have even had them "Pop" the timer-pins out when the Balast-box fired up (cost me big-time, that did) Having said that, I do not doubt that they have served their purpose for most users, who have never encountered the problems I am talking about, and are probably a cheap(ish) way to go.

The best (and by that I mean most reliable no mater what you do to them short of holding them under water) are the digital timers that store some power on-board...nothing more annoying than having to re-program the bloody things just cos the power went out for a while, etc.

So, for $10(Aus) that is very cheap and if they are $6 elsewhere...even better.

[Gigitt]

I have used both and am still not satisfied.

It only powers a single 4ft fluro.

I had an two Alec Digital unit and both of them died just after 12 months of use. I found the units thenselves do get warm. I have also seen brown discolouration of the white plastic housing from the heat. Yes they worked quite well. In a blackout they kept the settings in memory with 2 little button batteries. The downside of these is... If you forget the change the Button Batteries every few months then when a blackout occurs you will have to replace them and reset the timer, and the initial cost is high.

Since the digital phase... I have used the Dial and Pin type 24hr timers. Yes they are cheaper $5-15, but they do also have there own problems.

As described above... the pins can pop out as the dial rotates (never for me but I have heard this). To help prevent this I just don't put in one pin for on or off time... you get a whole heap of pins with 1 timer so I just put the rest of the pins in the holes to follow the on and off period. This way I have a bank of 4-6 pins in a row. This should be enough to keep you happy if one pin pops out.

Also these dial timers will fail! I still kill 1 every 12-18 months. I even killed one after 3 weeks! Every one has died the same cruel death. If you do open these up to see how they work (insert obligatory warning about PLAYING WITH 240V ELECTICAL EQUIPMENT - only do this if you a experienced - no liablity will be accepted), just pop open a dead one. Each of the 6 I have killed all has the pin flicker break.

OK what is the Pin flicker... well it is a U shaped piece of plastic. Each side is of triangle profile and it pivots sideways about 5-8 mm. It is connected to the main internal switch for power on and off. When the dial turns around the long pin leg obstructs one side of this flicker and it just pushes it to the otherside... hence how the timer works to switch itself on and off. Well it is the uprights of this pin flicker that will break! and becaue these are a throw away unit... it is cheaper to just buy a new one. Pity for me they usually break just out of warranty. Whats even worse is they I cannot salvage any parts because they all break in the same method. There is a tiny little motor inside thet turns the dial really really slowly with gears... and even these little motors last!

The other problem I have encountered a few times, is that they can get stuck in an on or off state because the flicker will not flick over!... don't know why this happens but the only way to get around it is to manually turn the dial yourself and I have have to use 2 finger force while using the manual peg to flick the switch at the same time - normaly you can just flick the dial around with one finger as it tuns the timer on and off.

Anyway so to sum up my thoughts...

Digital - I am worried about the heat generated within the unit and the brown discolouration to my units to use them 24/7 on an aquarium. Battery replacements consume money, and they are dearer to buy... I'm also worried about them bursting into flames.

I stuck with the 24 hr dial and pin types - cheaper to replace.

[PHL]

I've been using the HPM dial timer with the on-off slides (15 minute intervals; push in for on, where the slides are out the timer is off) for well over a year without problem. The Arlec one was always losing time.

[trofius]

buinnings has some that kinda have pins I got them for 2 for $12, they have like little segments you push down for the time when you want the lights to come on until the lights go off, there is a little segment/leaver thingy for every 15mins of the day, they are HPM brand and have been working fine for about 6 months now..