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First Impressions
This keeps getting cheaper on Amazon, I may have to fill my house with them!
Seriously, this is a great price for an automatic valve. I just got mine, so I can't speak to it's longevity.
The first thing I noticed is how bizarre the battery compartment was designed. I could see how some reviewers had problems with keeping the battery compartment dry. The seal should not have to compete with the springs that hold the battery in. Poor engineering.
Also, anytime a device uses dials, it's impossible to make it totally waterproof. So buyer beware.
Another oddity: for such a simple device, the instructions are written in a confusing manner. But it basically works as you expect. The manual overrides are just a little confusing.
Someone noted that the timing function starts right away. So yes, Virginia, if you want it to kick on every morning at 4 AM, you have to start it the first day at 4 AM.
For me, I had an indoor use in mind. and 2 minutes on time is exactly what I needed. So this is perfect for me. I've had a number of $30 - $40 timers fail on me. So if this fails, I'm out a lot less.
For outdoor use, i suggest keeping it under an awning, or covering it with a ziploc bag or something, to help extend it's life.
One other note: My valve opens and closes gradually, so there is no 'Water Hammer' problem as noted by several reviewers.
[Sunday, November 02, 2008]
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could have given it a zero
i bought this timer about 6 months ago as a replacement for a better programmable one. after researching some, wanting to buy locally, and getting something not so expensive, i settled on this one. after reading reviews of several other gilmour timers, i concluded that many are affected by the elements (go figure). so i put a plastic bag over this one so it wouldn't be rained on (my last one broke because it was rained on and water got inside the supposedly sealed battery/electric compartment. well, this one broke too. i would not recommend gilmour timers. other products of theirs i have used have been fine, but not the timers. hopefully, i can write them and they will send me a refund, because i certainly don't want a replacement!
[Thursday, October 30, 2008]
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only one major flaw
The Gilmour Water timer is simple to use. It has a major flaw in my mind, it must be started at the time you want to water each day. They did not include a way to set the time to start watering. if you want to water at 5:00 AM you must be up to start the timer. After that it will start watering at that time each day.
[Sunday, September 07, 2008]
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