Orbit62024 Single Dial Timer 5-Pack

This is a great timer. Its simplicity can be a drawback for some but it does the basics quite well. I use several of these on our off grid homestead. For sunny locations, I replace the two AA batteries with wooden dowels with a brass screw and wires attached. I attach the wires to a small 3 volt solar panel ( sold on Amazon). When the sun hits the solar panel in the morning the valve opens and waters for the selected duration. If it is rainy it will not water. No batteries whatsoever and automatic rain delay. Most battery timers nowadays require you to press a reset button after power loss but this simple timer does not. It is the only one I know of that can be driven by a solar panel this way. There are solar timers on the market but they all have internal batteries. For shady locations I connect my timers with "wooden batteries" to a 3volt cigarette lighter plug adaptor sold at Radio Shack and run it off our 12 volt battery.

I recently hired a contractor to sod my lawn after I did some major backyard renovation work. Prior to him sodding, I knew I would have to water the sod very frequently. I didn't have a hose timer, so I immediately looked to Amazon (my #1 choice) for hose timers. My only criteria (at the time) was that I wanted it to be under $30 (the closer to $20 the better). At the time of purchase (back in July), Of the top 6 hose timers on Amazon, only 4 of them met my criteria. They are as follows:Ranked #1  Orbit 91213 One-Dial Garden Hose Digital Water Timer  - $29.98Ranked #2  Orbit Hose Watering Timer 62024  - $20.49 (The One I'm Reviewing)Ranked #4  Orbit SunMate 62034 Mechanical Watering Timer  - $11.17Ranked #5  Orbit 62061N Single-Dial Water Timer  - $24.99I ended up choosing #2, the one I'm reviewing but really wished I would have chosen #5 (will get to that later). #4 was not an option due to same-day only watering.Physically, nothing is wrong with my timer. It exactly like I expected it to and has no leaks whatsoever. The gray "cover" you see in the picture actually goes over the timer itself (NOT the hose portion as pictured) to protect the "timer dial" from the elements.The reason I wish I got a different timer though is because the frequency of the timer activating is limited to "Daily / Every Other Day / Every 3rd Day". I live in Tennessee where the summers get hot (90+ degree temperatures). Because of my location, I am required to water my sod twice a day. Unfortunately with this timer, the best frequency I can choose is "Daily - Once A Day". So I've found that I've had to manually turn it on in the morning and then again when I get home from work. But due to the mechanics of how it repeats, the timer repeats at the time of day you last turned the dial.Now you must be thinking, with your schedule, you essentially got the same functionality as the #4 ranked timer,  Orbit SunMate 62034 Mechanical Watering Timer . In essence yes (due to me watering daily) but once my sod is established, I will probably use this timer for other purposes to water my yard and/or plants with my sprinkled using the other frequency settings available.Now the reason I wish I chose #5 is because #5 is actually a newer model of #1. #1 is ranked just because of purchase frequency. If you Google both timers, you'll find on other reseller pages that  Orbit 62061N Single-Dial Water Timer  is the newer version of  Orbit 91213 One-Dial Garden Hose Digital Water Timer . I'm not sure what is improved, but obviously they look the same AND the 62061N is $5 cheaper. But the main reason I wish I chose #5 is because you get a wider selection of watering "frequency, duration, time start, clock function" all for $5 more than the Orbit 62024.The manual is shared by both of the 91213 & 62061N and according to that, you can set duration anywhere from 1 minute to 4 hours, set the frequency of watering from 6 hrs or 12 hours, or 1 day to up to 7 days. The "Rain Delay" function is nice because with a press of a button, you can choose to skip the "auto watering" via 24 hour intervals up to 72 hours.So with that said, I really wish I got the  Orbit 62061N Single-Dial Water Timer  for $24.99, but I decided it's not worth the trouble sending it back since I'm already on my 3rd week watering my sod and I really need to keep it watered.Hope this review helps.

I chose this model because it looked easy enough to operate, had metal on at least 1 connection (users reported plastic breaking on other models), didn't have a digital display (would use more battery power and would be one more thing to break), and the price was right.My water connection is in my basement not outside, with the hose running through the bulkhead doors, so the unit is protected from the elements and unauthorized tampering. There are absolutely zero leaks at the connection points and I have not heard my water pipes bang when the unit engages or switches off the water. I also have plenty of water pressure to my lawn sprinkler.I was afraid the 'every other day' time options would not be sufficient but I started at 5 minutes and am now up to 30 minutes because the 5 and 10 minutes were not adequate. The soil looked wet but when I dug down, the soil below the surface was bone dry.I wish there was a simple dedicated on/off switch that didn't impact the start time on days when it rains when you don't want the timer to activate.Also, it's a tad inconvenient that the start time is tied to whenever you insert the batteries. However, I found a clever work around. If I turn the hose faucet off and on a few times while the sprinkler is not on, it resets the time to whenever I turn the facet...no need to remove the batteries and replace them during the different time setting!BTW, the batteries are not included which seems silly since it's useless without them and it would only add another few bucks. Anywho, this has been working as intended so far and it deserves your serious consideration.

I wanted a super simple timer to turn on my irrigation system for some new trees I planted. Didn't need any sort of LED display or other nonsense so this seemed to fit the bill. It works as it should so far but due to it's design it has an annoying problem:With this timer, it starts it's countdown cycle for the interval you choose as soon as you move the dial away from the 'OFF' position. So if at 8AM you turn it to 'EVERY DAY for 60 Minutes' it will turn on the water at 8AM every day for 60 minutes. Do it at 9AM and that's the time it turns on, and so on. The problem arises if you want to use the hose for some other reason and turn the timer to the 'ON' position. This will completely change the turn on time to whatever time it is when you do it. So say you want to wash your car at 1PM and turn the timer to 'ON'. When you do this, your 8AM turn on-time is now reset and you have to do it again at 8AM the next day. In other words, there is no way to just use the hose without interrupting the cycle. This is annoying - there should at least be a separate switch so you can use the hose without changing the cycle. I like that it's simple but it's just a tiny bit too simple to be really good.

The timer works great and the way it is expected, easy to use.When batteries run out, sometimes it leaves the water open and I had a couple of situations where it flooded my garden.So I need to be very aware of batteries the whole time.