Hard wire vs Plug in Timer?

[Co_Diggs]

Hello everyone, so my pool install will be starting this week, and we are very excited of course.

I'd like to have the timer in place with the install as well but I'm having trouble deciding which to use.

Is there any benefit to hard wiring the pump and SWG into a timer vs a plug in timer?

I've been looking at the Wood Heady Duty Timer and it looks like it has two grounded outlets, seems much easier to just plug the timer into the outlet and then connect the pump and SWG to it from there?

 

[Richard320]

Intermatic has been the bombproof gold standard for pool timers for a long time. The only advantage I could see to a plug vs hard-wire is if you'd like to disconnect the hoses and unplug the pump and bring it inside for the winter. You could wire a plug to the output of the timer instead of hardwiring. Or even do a double plug with one side switched and the other always hot in case the SWG has an internal programmer and needs to be always hot.