Aube by Honeywell TI035/U Solar Time Table, Programmable Timer Switch, White
by Aube by Honeywell
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List Price: Category: Tools See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Aube by Honeywell TI035/U Solar Time Table, Programmable Timer Switch, White
Customer Review: Works as advertised, but needs a simpler instruction book
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased this unit to replace another dead timer. It's working fine now that I have it installed, but a couple things would be nice improvements.
1. The instructions are printed in tiny type (these old eyes neede a magnifying glass), and pretty convoluted. You can set it to start at sundown and shut off at dawn, but to get other times set up took three readings of the instructions.
2. Unless I missed something in that tiny type, you can't set it to come on at dusk and stay on until the small hours of the morning (say 1 am). It'll automatically shut off at midnight, so if you want it to shut off and come back on in early morning, you have to program the first shutoff before midnight.
3. If you set it to daylight saving time, all the times you set will be off by an hour until DST ends.
4. Unlike the timer I replaced, this one starts and stops precisely at the time set. There's no randomness to make the place look "lived in". That's a purely value-driven judgement, but be aware.
As for longevity, I've only had it for a few months, and the one I replaced lasted five years, so I'll wait to see how it does.
Customer Review: Good timer, but keep your receipt!!
Summary: 4 Stars
First off. It's a good timer. I like the idea of programming it once and letting the internal software figuring out what time sunset/sunrise are and turning the lights on accordingly. In that respect, this timer does what it says it will do. You can program it to turn 'on' at sunset and 'off' at sunrise OR you can program it to come 'on' at sunset and then 'off' at a time of your choosing and then 'on' again at a time of your choosing and 'off' at sunrise.
I bought a TI-035 in Aug 2007. Worked fine until Dec 2009. The digital display became weak and unreadable. There is a note in the instructions about the display becoming weak if it's subjected to cold temps, but it's supposed to be normal once the temp warms up. My display stayed permanently dead. Switch still functioned in the on/off mode though. Fortunatley Aube has a 3 yr. product warranty. I called them and after the obligatory go-around with technical support (to no avail) they agreed to send me a replacement timer after I faxed them a dated sales receipt. I save all my receipts, so I was fortunate.
Expensive timer. Good function. Save your receipt for 3 years.
Customer Review: Timer that works with compact fluorescents
Summary: 4 Stars
This is one of the few timers that work fine with popular compact fluorescents. It also has a built in rechargeable battery backup and uses a solar table to automatically adjust for sunset once you input your longitude and latitude. You do have to manually change it for daylight savings twice a year. I bought the T1035 model that works with a single switch. The T1034 is for 3 way switches (i.e. 2 switches). When I replaced my existing toggle switch I had get a new switchplate (decora) that fit the timer. When I wired it, I had to find the white wire in my junction box since the timer connects to three wires (white, black, and blue) vs only two with my old toggle switch. The third connection is to allow the timer to be powered when the light is off. I also connected the existing ground wire to the metal mounting bracket on the timer. Don't know if that was necessary since it was not mentioned in the timer instructions but I did it just to be safe. I bought the timer directly from Smarthome since they had a discount running at the time (no pun intended).Customer Review: LOVE IT ! ! !
Summary: 5 Stars
What a Wonderful Piece of Innovation! I don't need to keep adjusting the on/off time settings as the sunset/sunrise times change throughout the year.
The only difficulty I had with this timer was --> I couldn't get it to switch into Automatic mode, it was only acting as a Manual switch. I finally found a section in the instructions that states that the unit will power up and stay in "Manual" mode until you set it to "Automatic" mode by pushing the switch in for about 3 seconds. They need to highlight this piece of information more in the instructions (it was kind of hidden).
Other than that, the instructions were clear and the timer is GREAT!
I'm trying to think of other places I can use more of these.
I BOUGHT THIS AT AMAZON ON 9/22/09 FOR $23.95. SINCE THEN I'VE SEEN AMAZON'S PRICE AS HIGH AS $81.95 . . . . RIGHT NOW (10/1/09) IT'S $36.95 . . . . HEY AMAZON, WHAT'S THE DEAL??
Customer Review: Product Customer Service
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought two of these timers just over a year ago. Aside from having to reprogram following extended (6+ hr) power outages, they worked just fine (one handles a front garage light and the other breezeway light).
Last week (when they were just days over one year old) one failed (refused to turn off either manually or via timer) and then a few days later the other one failed the same way. I was getting ready to replace them both, but reading reviews here brought to my attention that they had three year warranties, not the one year I had assumed.
One phone call and one fax later, the company is sending replacements. The Honeywell/Aube support staff was polite, efficient and prompt (particularly since it was a Monday morning).
If they hadn't both failed at one year (bad batch?), I'd have given the product five stars instead of four. I do give the company a full five stars for their service.