IntermaticEI600C Time Switch Ivory

I bought this for my outside house lights to replace an old and basic Intermatic that required a minimum 40 watt load. I needed one that would work with LEDs as that would save some money over the long term. This has the combination of features I need and more. It's attractive and fits in a backplate with a standard cutout for GFI switches etc. Mine is ganged with two other light switches but it was easy to find the right combination plate on Amazon. I bought a second one to program plant lights for when the plants come inside in the winter.The programming documentation misled me, and if you misread it you are sunk. Before installing, I wanted to be sure I could program it but had tried every week or so and failed. Today, I worked out what was wrong and now it's easy and makes a lot more sense. The documentation says "Programs are created in two procedures: setting an ON time followed by an OFF time." There are 40 program settings so I assumed each included both an On and an Off, and that the Skip applied to the pair. Not so! The 40 settings are completely independent and each can be either an ON, and OFF, or a SKIP. That makes more sense too. But for weeks, I would set program 01 ON time and then set the program 01 OFF time and naturally it didn't work. Once the wrong model is stuck in your head it is hard to get the right one in. Now that I know, it is quite simple. There's nothing to prevent you from having one program for ON and two others for OFF at different times for example. Then you can switch either of them to SKIP if you want to flip between them. Again, they are independent. It's also hard to remember which is 12am and which is 12pm, so I usually just click back a minute before to see what it shows.It would be nice if the switch was a bit thinner. It is a very tight fit in older electrical boxes found in older homes. Luckily, if there are regular switches on either side it gives a bit more space.The manual ON/OFF switch presses so easily that when you open the flap to program, it easily turns the switch on or off. That's just a slight nuisance and I've got used to doing it carefully with my finger nail.Bottom line is that it provides great features at a good price and works very well once you get used to it.

This is a great timer! I have installed 6 of these over the past two years in my house to control outdoor LED lights and they work flawlessly through all seasons as dusk and dawn change and automatically adjust for Daylight Savings Time. I have a Doctorate in Computer Science so for me the programming was easy but I feel the instructions are very clear and well written so read the instructions completely before programming so you'll have a good idea what you are trying to accomplish. If you just want to turn on at dusk and off at dawn then you will have program 1 turn it on and program 2 turn it off. Real simple but read all instructions completely before you start and perhaps take notes on what you are trying to accomplish and that may make it more straightforward. Now if I can just get my LED lights to last longer than a year or so I'll be happy!

What a pain in the behind to program this unit! The display is too small and complicated. Instructions are just as bad. Once set it lost track of daylight savings. I don't dare touch it again.

First off this thing is big. It takes up a LOT of room in a box and if the enclosure is busy with wiring you may not make it. It comes with low quality, LARGE wire nuts and I recommend you use something better and smaller. It is not back lit which is a bummer but it "does" run on a battery which is why it doesn't require a neutral. While programming the date I noticed the default year was 2006 which I found concerning because I wondered if I was installing a 15 year old timer with a 15 year old battery.That said this appears to be a very nice timer. I've had no issue with the on/off function. I was very skeptical about it adapting to dawn/dusk times and pleasantly surprised to see it appears to do so.We like to have the porch lights on when we come home and have a habit of forgetting to turn them off in the morning and this thing is taking care of that.I'll be interested to see if it auto changes for daylight savings time based on wondering how old it is.

I've bought two of these. The first one I bought almost 6 years ago and it is still working fine. I use this timer to have the under-counter lights in my kitchen turned on in the early morning and again in the evening I did have to replace the battery after 4 years of continuous use (not bad in my opinion!). When the battery goes, the device won't work. The battery used is not the most common type, but can be found online much cheaper than in a store. Both of mine are installed on 3-way switch configurations, and the wiring of 3-ways is confusing to me, but I was able to install them without a problem. You do need to install the switch as the "main" switch (the one the power is running into) rather than the remote switch, for each switch to work properly. I did try installing one as the remote switch and the device works properly as a timer switch, but the other flip switch on the same line can't be used (at least not the way I wired it - maybe someone with a better understanding of how 3-way switches work would be able to get this configuration to work properly). I have tried the astronomic feature, and it does work. I highly recommend this product and would definitely buy another one, if a need arises for one.