It's cold and rainy. Has been for the last three days. My pool temperature, with no sunlight and overnight temps dropping into the 50s, has fallen to 70 degrees. No one's getting wet today! So I decided to take the time to write a review on my new pool timer, the Noma Outdoor Programmable Timer I found on eBay. This was actually a fairly big decision for me, not because pool timers are more important that pools or filters or heaters. But because I wanted the right blend of cost, quality, flexibility and functionality. I think and hope I've found it with this one.
In the past I've used the timers that look very similar to this one, with a short 90 degree plug capable of going right into my outdoor receptacle box and GFCI receptacle. Check. I did a lot of looking at the Intermatic mechanical timers, but they would have required me to either hard wire them to my already relocated electric supply line or fashion a plug of some sort, which would have been more money for a less feature-filled timer. There was also the consideration of my 1-h.p. pump, which excluded nearly every other "plug-and-play" timer, but this one is rated for 15 amps and up to one horse. No problems so far.
I was concerned about the quality of the timer, being a name brand I wasn't completely trusting (we owned a Noma mower many years ago that was complete Crud) but seemed to have a good reputation in Canada, which is where it came from. (By the way, no problems getting it here through eBay.) I was pleasantly surprised with how heavy and solid it felt, and it went to work right away. Since setting it up a couple of weeks ago, I have had no issues with its performance.
This timer has several features, including 20 timer settings (I use only two), a daylight function and a countdown function, which was one of the major selling points for me. With the countdown, I can add my chemicals after the last timer session and set it for however many minutes I want it to run and then shut itself off. Very handy.
The setup didn't go exactly by the book, so to speak, as I'm not sure the detailed instructions are precisely as the timer needs to be programmed (sometimes happens as newer versions are produced) but it's close enough I was able to figure it all out after about 10 minutes. All in all, I'm very pleased with this timer and would recommend it. I expect it to perform well for the price well into the future.
In the past I've used the timers that look very similar to this one, with a short 90 degree plug capable of going right into my outdoor receptacle box and GFCI receptacle. Check. I did a lot of looking at the Intermatic mechanical timers, but they would have required me to either hard wire them to my already relocated electric supply line or fashion a plug of some sort, which would have been more money for a less feature-filled timer. There was also the consideration of my 1-h.p. pump, which excluded nearly every other "plug-and-play" timer, but this one is rated for 15 amps and up to one horse. No problems so far.
I was concerned about the quality of the timer, being a name brand I wasn't completely trusting (we owned a Noma mower many years ago that was complete Crud) but seemed to have a good reputation in Canada, which is where it came from. (By the way, no problems getting it here through eBay.) I was pleasantly surprised with how heavy and solid it felt, and it went to work right away. Since setting it up a couple of weeks ago, I have had no issues with its performance.
This timer has several features, including 20 timer settings (I use only two), a daylight function and a countdown function, which was one of the major selling points for me. With the countdown, I can add my chemicals after the last timer session and set it for however many minutes I want it to run and then shut itself off. Very handy.
The setup didn't go exactly by the book, so to speak, as I'm not sure the detailed instructions are precisely as the timer needs to be programmed (sometimes happens as newer versions are produced) but it's close enough I was able to figure it all out after about 10 minutes. All in all, I'm very pleased with this timer and would recommend it. I expect it to perform well for the price well into the future.