Noma Outdoor Timer with 2 Outlets
1.9
5
10
10
Good experience, contrary to other reviews
I was going to write a review sooner, but all of the other reviews say that the timer broke after a short period of time. I've used it for 2 winters now (and yes, it has been rained on, snowed on, etc) and it works wonderfully. It is also very easy to program.
Granted, I had it installed on my porch so it had a bit of shelter from the elements, but don't let the bad reviews scare you away, I think this is a great timer.
February 18, 2013
Avoid the frustration!
Simply stated, this timer does not work. I purchased one and set it up according to the instructions. This was fairly complex but quite do-able. The connected load was well within the timer's ratings. Within a few days it had lost all its setting and failed. I reset it by temporarily removing the battery and then reprogrammed it. Again, within a couple of days it had failed. I exchanged it at CTC and used the new one on a different load. Same story - you spend a lot of time programming a sequence into the device and within a day ot two it locks up, the display goes blank, and all the settings are lost. I returned the second one to CTC for a refund. I just don't have time to waste on a product that completely and repeatedly fails at its primary task. The best thing about this timer? That CTC will take it off your hands and give you your money back!
January 18, 2013
TIMER FAILS and/or LOCKS UP
I used one of these timers to control a 3W Aquascape pond light set (3 x 1W LEDs). It failed with the display showing a countdown and 77:77. Returned to store for replacement, which subsequently failed with a blank display and no response to buttons. Again I obtained a replacement from the store. This one also failed by resetting to 12:00 and clearing all programs set.
The light set uses a 120V 125mA - 12V 1000mA transformer which is well within the 15A/8A rating of the timer. I tested the timer using a 4 AA cell NiMH battery charger rated at 120V 38mA input. The timer failed as before after 3 switching cycles (programs).
I then tested the timer using a lamp with a 13W 0.22A CFL bulb. The timer ran through all 7 programs with no problem. Also tested with a 75 LED Christmas light set (0.04A) with no problem. The timer also ran through the 7 programs multiple times without problem with 5 sets of these Christmas lights connected in series (0.2A). However, as soon as these lights were disconnected and the battery charger plugged in, the timer failed as previously.
So, although is seems the timer will work fine with the Christmas lights and the CFL lamp, it fails when using an inductive load such as a transformer.
It is interesting to note that, when the battery charger was plugged in to one timer outlet at the same time the Christmas lights were plugged into the other outlet, the timer did not fail!
November 15, 2012
Good Paperweight, useless for anything else
A paperweight is about all this product is useful for. Timer locks up after a short time of operation with no response from any buttons. Removing and replacing battery enables unit to be reprogrammed, but again it will only work for a few minutes before locking up.
October 30, 2012
Worked great, until it didn't
This timer did everything I wanted (used it for my pool pump) for about three weeks. After 4 days of rain it did not respond when the buttons were pushed. Reset it (removed battery) and still nothing. Clock keeps time but not response to button pad. Hope they will take it back.
August 15, 2012
Useless device.
Purchased this unit to control my aquarium lights to go on and off at the same time every day. When the unit goes to ON mode it "crashes" and loses all of the programmed parameters, regardless of the battery back up and does not turn on the lights. This happens this happened once every day or so. After spending 10 minutes each time to reprogram it I gave up after a week. Also to get it ON in program mode it must hit the ON cycle time first, so if you want the plugged in devices on you must set the clock time to a minute or so before the ON time and wait for it to turn the devices on then set the clock time to the actual time. A severe pain. I hope to be able to return it for a different brand.
August 4, 2012
Maybe Outdoor rated somewhere else
Tried to get it to keep working outside for a week now. Every time I put it outside, the electronics mess up. I will be returning it.
December 19, 2011
Looks better than it functions ..
Even though it 'looks' robust, it really is not. Water gets into the unit very easily, freezing and then messing up the electronics that are battery operated. The LCD display even got water into it. Worse thing yet, was that there was no keyboard lock out. Meaning.. once you program it, and say, bump into the keys by accident, you risk easily modifying some parameter. Not reliable. How can somebody call this a 'designed' product? The only thing that was though through was its appearance..
December 17, 2011
Works, but there are gotchas
This timer works. But, there's two issues you should be aware of: 1) the flange (drip edge) around the outlets on the bottom prevents the use of any wide plugs, like most outdoor extension cords have, and 2) if you're programming this in the middle of a program, you can't turn it "on" and "auto/random" at the same time...as soon as you press "mode" to turn it "on", "auto/random" goes off, so you have to wait for it to go through the program the next day to see if it works. Other timers that I've used leave it "on" while I cycle it into "auto/random", allowing me, for example, to turn on my Xmas lights in the middle of a program and set it "auto" at the same time.
December 24, 2010
Awesome timer for multiple programming
The versatility of this timer, digital display and ease of programming make it a terrific buy. Great for outdoor lighting displays.
November 15, 2008