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BT Bob's Review Rating Scale:
Superior
product doing what is says it does well at exceptional value
Excellent
product with few limitations and with great value
Does
what it says pretty well, but could be better
Some
limitations or draw backs, but basically works.
Hey, it's your money.
Do what you want with it.
Product Description:
Both of these products are devices designed to allow your hose run
for a specific amount of time, then turn off. Neither require batteries
or any other power source.
Review:
I'll be the first to admit it. I hate hard work. So when
a product comes along that promises to save me time, money or EFFORT, I
take note. Such is the case of the hose timers in this review.
Watering my lawn was becoming a major work effort. My very shady area in my back yard is planted with Fescue which suffers badly in the Zone 7 climate during long dry, hot summer days. I could not get up early enough to get the sprinklers going many days and wished I could leave them running after leaving for work.
I considered a professionally installed lawn sprinkler system, but opted to save some money. I placed some sprinklers in strategic locations, ran hoses to them (actually buried the hoses to hide them from view -- perhaps there is a how-to article about that somewhere to be written), connected them via a bunch of hose "Y's" and set out to find a timer that would cut them off some time after leaving for work.
My first purchase was the Nelson Rain Date®. This odd looking timer worked well, was economical, but lacked visual appeal. When, satisfied with the results in the back yard, I set out to repeat in the front yard, I found the Melnor Time-A-Matic®. A dollar or so more expensive, I selected this model because of its "curb appeal." I thought it would be more subtle attached to the faucet in the front of my house.
The Nelson timer hooked up easily to the faucet and the hose attached to it easily. Turning it one way allows the water to run without being timed. Turning it the other way allows you to set a run time from a few minutes to a long time. This aspect of the Nelson product is confusing. No real gradients exist to tell you how long you are setting it for. A wide band labeled 1/2 hour runs right up to a wide band labeled 1 hour and so on. I have never figured out if the 1/2 hour is in the middle of the band or at the end. I have, however, figured out where to set it for each sprinkler position in order to thoroughly soak the area, so it really doesn't matter. I bought the product about 18 mo ago and it has worked flawlessly since.
I selected the Melnor product because it looked better and the dial was more clearly marked. An inner ring notches off time in 1/2 hour increments and an outer ring tells how many gallons that setting will deliver (based on average water flow from typical faucets). Upon first turning the dial clockwise (and ONLY clockwise, it warns) a continuous, untimed and variable flow can be set. When turned past the "HI" setting into the timing band, the flow is at full and the mechanism for timing begins. I really like the design.
However, the first one I brought home just flat did not work. It would not allow water to flow through it. The second one worked fine attached to the end of the hose, but when attached directly to the faucet, some design incompatibility between the back pressure feature of the faucet and the timer caused no water to flow! I worked around this by adding a screw-on valve used to control water flow at the end of a hose. This allowed the system to work fine. And it looked good to. It was easy to use, clearly marked, and worked flawlessly -- last summer.
After taking it off and storing it inside over the winter to avoid freeze
damage (true for both models), I re-hooked the system this summer to find
that the Melnor timer was leaking from the housing. I am now on my
third timer. It looks just as good and is working great!
| Nelson Rain Date®
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Melnor Time-A-Matic®
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(Additional comments from product spokesperson welcome: Click here.) Availability:
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