I need several good quality hard-wired timers to replace light switches. Nothing fancy. They just need to switch on and off once at a pre-set time. But they do need to be simple to operate. Any recommendations?
And now for the back story… These customers live in a very nice neighborhood that, for some reason, has seen a lot of burglaries lately. They already have an alarm system that will detect the breaking or opening of any window or door, but in addition to that, they plan on leaving lights on around the perimeter of the house all night long. That’s what the timers are for.
I recommended motion detectors, but they would rather just leave lights on outside all night long.
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good selection at the BB's in the landscapeing / outdoor light department...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Thanks, but around here they only have a few choices so I was thinking of mail order or ordering from a local electric supply company. I have enough lead time for that.
Not to mention that I don't trust the big box to carry quality supplies. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't, but unless it's something that you buy on a regular basis, it's hard to know which it is.
BTW, where is O-Wn-Koots?
http://www.bizrate.com/electricalsupplies/brand--intermatic/products__att259--273596-.html
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
how about photoeyes. take the human out of the solution
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, wer ist jetzt der Idiot ?
Ditto, also takes out the everchanging sunset and sunrise, not to mention daylight savings time and power outages.
KISS.......
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., wer ist jetzt der Idiot ?
Leaving lights on all night will probably annoy the neighbors more than scare the bad guys. - lol
Motion detectors would probably be best since everyone (including the neighbors) would get suspicious if the place suddenly lit up at 3:00 am. Continuous lights would be sorta like car alarms in a crowded parking lot. Who ever pays attention to them?
It all has to do with the type of lights, the location of the lights, and the quality and motion sensors and what is nearby that can falsely trigger them including animals and tree branches.I have a dusk to dawn light that is a pair of CFL's in a box so it only light the ground under it "gently" and without a clear source of light. Several of my neighbors have complimented me on the look.My next door neighbor put up a SV yard light that was a pain to everyone around. And I think that it would have been to him also if he had lived there anytime.I talked him into allow me be mask out my side, but I should have put more around it as it bugged people a couple of hundred feet away and anyone on the lake.When he died someone cut the pole down and the new owners have more apporpirate lighting.And someone across the lake has the basic 2 flood/motion sensor that shines out in the yard. That will flash on at all kinds of old times and light cathches my eye and bugs me..
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
All schemes have their faults, but I would prefer to know that if the lights are on, something triggered them - as opposed to seeing them on all night. - lol
I completely agree. In fact, I suggested motion detectors to them, but they were quite certain that they wanted the place lit up all night.
I have had great results with the Intermatic digital electronic hard-wired timers. One model even can control two circuits ....
This is not to say I love Intermatic as a rule. I have had terrible results with some of their products. But, if the timer comes in a steel box, and has electronic programming, you should be happy. There is even a model that adjusts itself for DST and changing seasons, automatically.
"There is even a model that adjusts itself for DST and changing seasons, automatically."Astrological timers. Used to be this complex mechanical device with all kinds of cams, levers, and gears.But now it is all done with software.The advantage with those is that you can have more control than with a photocell. Things like on at dust and off at 10 pm..
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Here's an update:
I went with the Intermatic digital timer (EJ500C). And just like you, we're having terrible results. I installed 8 of them. 1 has already failed and the lights on most of the others are flickering.
I called Intermatic and they said that they've recently discovered that long-life bulbs do indeed tend to flicker, but they haven't had a chance to update their literature yet. Great!!!
They also told me that these timers are sensitive to brown-outs and surges which may also cause them to fail. Great again!!!
So now I have to go back to the customer's house and replace ALL of these timers with the Intermatic ST01C, which (according to tech support) are much more reliable since they use a physical contact switch instead of the less reliable electronic switch.
DW wants the front garage lites on all night. The circuit is on a two switched circuit. The previous HO had some X-10 dimmer control that left much to be desired.
I wanted to have a photocell put on the line, but forgot until after I had that space insulated.
Then I came across these tiny photocell screw in controls at Blowes. The front lites uses that small decorative base - the same size as these screw in controls. $5 each. I needed a total of 6 ($30). Pizza cake to install. Best part is that intense point of lite of the lamp is now positioned behind the small metal frame holding the various pieces of beveled glass together. So now, the front lites appear indirect.
DON'T DO IT! I installed the ST01C just before Christmas ... and, while it continues to operate, it cannot be operated manually, or the program reset. It appears that the selector button has failed. All it controls, btw, are four fluorescent outdoor lights, with a total load of maybe 55 watts. I have had good luck with the ET100C models. These are mounted on the face of the wall, and about the size of a brick, or hard cover book.
OMG! Thanks for the info, but now I don't know what to do. I'm sure my customer will not go for the ET100C. Also, I was going to absorb the price difference between the EJ500C and the ST01C since this is a really good customer, but I won't absorb the difference between the EJ500C and the ET100C.
I feel sort of screwed over by Intermatic. If it were my own house, I would just return the timers and go back to what I had before. For a customer, I feel like I'm being put in a position to warranty someone else's product. I can't put back what was there before without refunding her money and I can't leave what's there now because it doesn't work.
The best I can do is replace them this time at my expense (of course, I'll return the old ones) and hope that they last a year. After that, I'll have to consider any additional replacements as maintenance work rather than warranty work.
I feel your pain .... I've "eaten" about a dozen of these Intermatic products over the years. IMO, this is one company desperately in need of some serious competition. I no longer recommend them. The idea has appeal, but the execution still has a way to go.
>>>I've "eaten" about a dozen of these Intermatic products over the years. IMO, this is one company desperately in need of some serious competition.I'll add my name to that list and I've only bought one of their products. POS.Scott.Always remember those first immortal words that Adam said to Eve, “You’d better stand back, I don’t know how big this thing’s going to get.”