Had some issues with the Intermatic timer for the pump at my new house, so I wanted to share my experience.
The house was "flipped" after a foreclosure, and the original owners took most of the pool equipment including the filter (
backstory here.) The flippers did almost nothing to rehab the pool, other than installing a new
Intermatic T103 timer and replacing an outdoor receptacle (likely the absolute minimum to meet code/inspection requirements.) After we moved in, I had a local pool installer come and install a new sand filter, SWG, and replace the broken/worn PVC plumbing around the equipment. He also got the old Hayward 2HP SuperPump working again, which had been seized. After everything was set up, the pool looked great and all the equipment worked properly with the exception of the T103 timer--it would turn the pump on and off with the manual switch but the timer clock did not advance.
After two weeks of having to remember to turn the pump on and off every day, I had enough and decided to get it working. I tried swapping the clock motor leads to match the wiring diagram exactly (after shutting the breaker, of course) but had no luck. A few google searches of "Intermatic T103 timer not working" turned up suggestions that the voltage might be the problem--the clock motor will only run if the circuit is the correct voltage. And sure enough, the pump was running on a 220v line (controlled by a dual-breaker in the garage) but the T103 timer is for 110v only.
Since the timer was brand new, I didn't want to swap out everything, so I found a cheap T104 on Amazon as well as just the 220v version of the clock motor. But after looking more closely, I questioned the
INDOOR USE ONLY warning on the T103 label since the timer is exposed to the elements. A little more research, and it turns out Intermatic offers the "R" series of the T100 timers (T103R,
T104R) which include a sealed enclosure rated for outdoor use. So back went the other parts and I picked up a complete T104R timer at my local Home Depot.
(Here's the
T104R from the back showing the 208/277v motor with part # WG1573-5E.)
The T104R outdoor-rated housing is a little larger than the T103, so I had to cut some of the electric conduit to get the receptacle to fit on the same mounting post. But I got it all in place and it was easy enough to wire everything correctly on the 220v circuit. Once it was all done, I set the clock, turned the breaker back on and waited an hour... and confirmed I now have a working timer that is rated to withstand the elements!
Long story short: If you have an Intermatic T103 timer and the clock doesn't advance on your 220v circuit, you've got the wrong timer.
