20 Best Water Hose Timer (2022 Updated)

I have been using Orbit timers for years. Last year I left a couple timers outside too long and they got freeze damaged, so I bought this EXPENSIVE single outlet timer (Model 24620) from Tractor Supply.

I read the programming instructions, similar to past models I have used, programmed the new timer and hooked it up. on the first cycle of watering, the timer functioned as programmed; but then an hour later came on again and ran until I discovered it and turned it off.

I tried to reset (there is no reset button/hole on this model) by removing the batteries, then reinstalling. no good. The net time it ran, the “ghost program” started again. I have not figured out how to reset the timer.

I contacted Orbit and have requested a replacement. Too bad, I am loosing my faith in these timers; going to start investigating different brands. There must be something out there that is more reliable.

the old dial style seemed to work much better and you could do a reset on those with a pin.

Best not consider this product a long-term investment. It is a low-cost electronic device. Expect maybe 3-5 year max. life. That said, it is simple to mount, program and use. It works well during its life.

Customer service service does not answer nor return calls. Pay attention to negative comments on Orbit website.

Seems to work fine. Setting the timer was straight forward and intuitive. I did not need the instructions. Seals well. The only thing I did not like was the short power cord. Unless there is an outlet nearby, you’ll need to use an extension card which is not a good thing for outside mounts.

I cut the plug off and passed it through the wall to my wash room. Then attached a new plug. Recommended.

We have several of these Gilmour mechanical timers. They seem to work well for our garden. Well made and durable. Like being able to easily turn the mechanical timer to where we want it and leave the timer do the rest.

I highly recommend them!.

Timer works really well. It’s pretty easy to over muscle by mistake and that starts the device on a ‘broken’ path. In this condition after it’s been over turned the wrong way even once, when it shuts off as timed, the force of water jolts it back to the ‘on’ position, so if you don’t pay attention, it’ll run until you realize.

I bout a couple instead of an irrigation system. They really do work well, but doesn’t hold up once you over turn it. Really good at not leaking as well. maybe a couple drops here and there at full pressure (80 psi).

Mechanical Water Timer,No 200GTM, Gilmour-Robert Bosch Tool Corp Quite happy with this purchase. Easy to install and simple to use, no batteries, no programming, just turn the dial and walk away. Just to be on the safe side, I would suggest adding a pressure regulator.

Does the job for me.

I’ve had several battery operated hose timers over the years, but Orbit has been the most reliable. I run 6 concurrently. Why Orbit Is Better: If you disassemble an Orbit, you’ll find a hermetically sealed solenoid valve.

An electric magnet moves it, but it never touches water itself. The solenoid just pushes on a sealed rubber ‘bladder’ to start water flowing. Because of this engineering, most of my units hold up well to my very hard well water – 5+ years on average.

Two other makes I owned clogged and ceased to function within 1-2 years, so I now only run Orbit. Of the 10 I’ve owned, I’d say the “average” failure rate seems to be falling right on the 6 year warranty mark.

In other words, I usually get at least 5 years out of them. I’ve also found their warranty program to be customer friendly. The only thing I would improve is the sun resistance of the plastic. In Arizona, the face print will fade if completely exposed to sun.

Not a real big deal, though. 12v permanent irrigation timers are the best for reliable longevity, but for this niche, I consider Orbit to be the best.

This is a very reliable controller. I’ve had one just like it installed for 20+ years and it never gave me a problem. I recently purchased a “knock off” that looked almost identical, it never worked properly and I threw it in the trash; I subsequently purchased this unit and it has been working flawlessly.

Works great. Allows up to 3 waterings per day with the frequency setting. I haven’t had a problem but am a bit worried about the plastic male connector. However no leaks and the water is flowing well so maybe it will hold up.

So far, so good. Easy to program and range does not seem to be an issue. We installed 4 and they all were immediately connected and the app is extremely easy to use. We have a slight drip on one unit that may need to be replaced but have not had a chance to fully trouble shoot it.

Glad I went with this product, I researched a few of them and most of them had issues sitting up. This couldn’t have been easier. Works Great

I’ve tried a competitive Bluetooth Timer and had nothing but issues. Never would stay connected and customer service never returned my call. only communicated via text. The DIG worked out of the box and has continued to work flawlessly.

This product sounds like a good idea. I would return it if I could (I consider it expensive compared to other similar timers). I’ve had it for 2 years. Over that time, it has failed to shut off 3 times for no obvious reason.

On 2 occasions it drained my well. For this reason I consider it untrustworthy and unreliable. Therefore it get’s one star. It has been replaced with another (hopefully trustworthy) product. I do have another water timer that has never failed.

I LOVE THIS SUNRISE SPRINKLER! This is the perfect sprinkler for my needs. I have some precious little yellow flower blooms coming up from seeds I planted a year ago. For some reason, Tampa has been in a semi-drought mode this year with very little rain.

Instead of having to go out early & sprinkle them each morning, I rely on this wonderful sprinkler to gently spray them when the sun rises. DETAILS: It will automatically sprinkle every morning within 30 minutes of sunrise as it has a sensor.

You can also set it manually (on/off) if desired. It requires 2 Alkaline AA batteries & conveniently, there is a flashing light when batteries need replacing. The sprinkler itself is 4″ Wide~5″ High and 2″ Deep.

There is a dial on the face of the unit with “on/off” settings for 5 minutes to 120 minutes. The bottom of the unit attaches to a regular hose or faucet. It’s possible you may need an adapter for connection if you don’t have the same size.

I LOVE THIS SPRINKLER and I’m sure anyone else who would like to enable a soft sprinkling in the morning for flowers, ferns, etc. , would, as well. It’s VERY helpful & useful! Highly ‘Recommend!.

This is strictly mechanical. You turn the dial to the length of time you want and it turns off when it winds down. That’s all it does. You cannot program this to water for a length of time, certain days, or a number of times.

It’s not what I needed. Should have read the whole description for sure.

I had read other reviews saying that about 1/2 of them immediately fail. I bought 2 and sure enough, one did not shut off first time I used it. It hung at a couple of minutes before shut off and keep ticking, but 2 hours later had not shut off.

These are so unreliable that I still have to remember to check to see if the water turned off. But since this is the only brand you find in stores, you have no option other than to keeping buying and returning until you get one that might last a season.

The more expensive electronic ones also seem to have a high failure rate. Other similar mechanical timers by other manufactures that can be ordered also have similar online reviews. Orbit responds to some negative reviews saying they have a 6 year warranty, but the cost of sending one back approaches the purchase price.

Identical to more expensive units, just a name change on the casing. These are simple timers. They are well designed and there is little to go wrong. You can start your hose watering and if you forget it the hose doesn’t run forever.

The Dig B09D is easy to set up and program. You have to supply your own 9v battery, but that is not worry as if the item is on the shelf for some time the battery would be weak or leaking so it is overall better to have your own.

After I set the time, number of days and hours of operation it worked flawlessly. I am really pleased with the overall design and seems to be waterproof. I am not saying it will be a submersible unit, but it rained today and the control flap did keep the water out of the push button control panel area.

Easy to connect after program and feels sturdy and sufficient weight of the outdoor design. I do recommend this product for misting and drip systems.

Everything is working great. But just got it so we?ll have to see the longevity. Otherwise I would give it five stars. Easy set up

It works well. It is programmed for days of the week. Unlike other timers that just do days. (Ex: every 2 days) This one I programmed for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It is also set for the time to run.

Good hose timer. Also has a manual timer option.

Original review, see update below it. I bought one of these irrigation timers as a test and was so pleased I bought four more to water all the zones in my yard. They are very easy to install and program, and have all been keeping accurate 24 hour clock time to within a minute or two.

The manual override button is very handy. It defaults to 10 minutes of watering but more minutes can be added by pressing the + plus button. I have no idea how long these timers are supposed to last but they feel solid and sturdy, and I am very impressed with this economical irrigation solution.

Update. A few weeks later, two of these five timers failed completely, with the valve in the open position. No amount of resetting, reprogramming or brand new batteries could revive them. To be fair they were not brand new, but appeared to be in excellent condition.

Disappointing, because I primarily installed them so that watering could take place while I was away, but a failed open valve would flood and kill some of my exotic plants that cannot survive in standing water.

So I either have to shut them off when I am away, or ask a neighbor to check once a day and turn off any valve that may fail this way. Also, I have discovered that pressing the Manual button twice during the same day can cause the valve tostay open, requiring a turn-off and reset.

Nevertheless, I am replacing the failed units with the same kind to give them another chance. The other three have worked flawlessly, and this is still a very economical system.

This is Orbit’s single valve 24/7 timer that runs on two AA cells. They also have two and three valve units and I have used all of them since about 2010, mostly with soaker hoses and drip systems. They are dependable and last several years.

I use a simple inline pressure regulator on the inlet side to keep the dripper flow or watered area constant with changing water pressure. They are good for hose end use, but last longer if they are held off the ground and out of standing water.

Don’t let them freeze. Change the batteries yearly. Don’t break it by pulling on the hose to make it stretch another foot. I started using one to limit how much water can be used to fill my cow’s water trough after it broke the fill valve float and water ran continuously while I was on vacation.

The cow needs 5-8 minutes a day, but the timer runs for as little as one minute once a week.

Incredibly, I have purchased FOUR of these timers. The programming is terrific. However three of the four of the timers began to leak from the body of the timer itself, rendering it useless. One failure is inconvenient.

Two failures is suspicious. Three would certainly indicate a fatal design flaw. Walmart has been great with it’s return policy. Orbit, on the other hand has been unresponsive to my inquiry. What a shame, as I could really use some well constructed water timers.

This one obviously does not qualify.

I love this Orbit hose timer and today I just bought another to replace a less functional timer that finally failed. Though, as with any timer, you do have to bring it in before it freezes, it is very resistant to weather, even the brutal Arizona sun.

It is easy to set, and that includes the ability to set the current time, which some timers won’t do. It is easy to remember how to do everything, since all the instructions are right there in big, weather-resistant letters.

You can manually override to water for as long as you wish without messing up the program you have already entered. You can easily ask it to refrain from watering for a day if it rains, and not mess up the program that’s already entered.

Super functional and the essence of simplicity to use. I’ve tried at least five other timers, some that were much more expensive, and none perform like this one. The only thing I wish is that it had those quick-release ends (which I always add to them since it makes hooking them up so much easier.

).

So I was buying sprinkler heads from anyone including the ‘O’ brand so I made the expensive mistake of getting involved in the ‘wasps’nest of problems with their wifi hyve of problems. With a newly brown lawn I turned to Rainbird which matched my 9 zones.

I threw the old controller onto the ground taking it out of Orbit forever for killing my grass and replaced it in 15 minutes, programmed and all with this Rainbird which worked perfectly upon install and every day since.

The second day I installed the rain sensor and the third day it was raining when I awoke to see the Rainbird honoring its promise to not waste water when it rains. This is a perfect device that has followed its programming every day since.

I love not worrying about a controller operation. And yes, the whole wifi failure with that other brand just turned me off to complex systems. Now I have a simple system that just works so I don’t need the wifi.

Let’s just see how long this new timer will last. The two previous RainBird timer have failed, both in a relatively short time. Oh they work fine, but suddenly for no reason the system goes on. I just can not depend on it.

Water is an expensive commodity, and I do not want to waste it, by a timer that does what it wants to do. [YES I DO KNOW HOW TO SET IT!] As I said in a previous note, I like “rain” and I like “birds” ,but how this third timer will pan out, time will tell.

I do guarantee you that this is the last time I will buy a RainBird. Three times, and out! Ted Zondervan.

I purchased this about two weeks ago to water at the lake during the week while we’re in the city. It is set to water every morning at 4:30 am for an hour. My neighbor reported at least one morning where the sprinklers were running past 7 am.

I’m at the lake today and just woke up to find the sprinklers still running at 8 am. The display shows everything should be stopped. I set a 1 minute “water now” timer, I hear the click of the valve opening, even though the water never stopped running.

Once the minute was up it clicked again, but did not turn off. I set another minute, and after the initial click I turned off the water then slowly turned it on again. Once the minute expired the water finally stopped as it should.

Hoping I can return this now as I don’t trust it to do it’s only job.

Both timers allow water to enter where the Batteries are. Which made the Battery terminals Corrode. Other than that the product was good. But both are useless a you cant by replacement terminals. I soldered one off them but that in time corroded again.

If they are out of the weather they are fine. Most garden tapes are not under cover.

Really good product, had a slight leak initially. Then added an extra rubber washer from Bunnings and it works perfectly fine. Just love it. Recommend to package some extra washers just in case customers face issues like mine!!!.

Seems reasonable quality, but only time will tell. Have had a few of these devices and they all seem to have a limited life. The set up menu could do with improvement. Still its good value compared for the over priced rubbish Bunnings is selling.

received this item from the Walmart Spark Review Program for no compensation – just an honest and unbiased review. Thank you! The Melnor AquaTimer has a built-in photo cell that will automatically water your lawn and/or garden when the sun rises each day.

It turns your water flow on at the first hint of sunlight then runs for your pre-determined and pre-selected time period of watering. Obviously, you hook the timer up to a hose connected to your home tap (which is left on) on one side and to your watering apparatus on the other side (either a sprinkler or soaker hoses).

We run our Melnor AquaTimer to a splitter that allows us to hook up 3-4 soaker hoses, which will then cover our whole small garden. Much easier to program than other water timers as there is no need to set an on and off time.

Just select how long you want it to run after installing it and you’re set to go. Simply turn the knob to set the amount of time to water for 5 minutes up to 2 hours, or set the knob to the manual mode for however long you want some extra watering completed.

Requires 2×AA Batteries (not included). Backed by a Melnor 7 Year Limited Warranty.

Do you enjoy taking care of your lawn? Do you like taking your time on the weekend and mowing, seeding, watering, etc. ? Well I don’t. I hate it. But sadly we live in a neighborhood where the majority are retired and apparently take great joy in babying their grass.

I did in fact see one of our neighbors out on a foam knee board, with a measuring tape and scissors one day. So to make our lives a little better and not be ‘those’ people with a sad pathetic lawn, we were fortunate to get this Melnor digital water timer for review.

So far it has saved me time, my lawn looks good, and I feel that it helps conserve water as it doesn’t constantly run – it only waters when it programmed to do so. I went to the manufacturers website for tips on programming and found it pretty helpful.

We have used this for two summers now, and it is still working fine. I recommend this product – it has saved me time and our lawn looks great.

Ordered three of the DIG B09D ¾ inch hose end timer w/LCD display. All arrived in a timely manner and were packaged well. Did a quick read of the directions before they were installed and programmed.

Programming the unit was relatively easy and they are working as desired. Would recommend this product.

This timer by Orbit comes with a 6 year guarantee. Granted, I have had to have 2 replaced, as they did not last 6 years, but Orbit replaced them without requiring my sending them anything, although I kept receipts.

It is easy to program and while it works, it works well. And with the replacement policy it is worthwhile, even if it does not last 6 years.

I owned two of these timers for about 12 years. Loved them. I wore one out and the other one I forgot the batteries in it and it was ruined. I bought two more and like them even better. They added the digital dial for time and setting.

Same simple durable construction and ease of operation. Batteries last all season and best of all I love the battery cover. Stick it out in the weather and stays dry and keeps on working. Very reasonably priced.

Simple to use timer, very reliable as long as your water is actually on ( my kids turn of the water sometimes. ) Runs on batteries and they do last a good while. There is a cover that goes over the dials to keep them dry.

Its helped me keep alot of trees plants, shrubs, vegie garden and flower garden alive in a hot dry climate. I did bring it in for winter. This is the second season and it still working great!.

I absolutely loved this product for the first few days but it quit working after about two weeks. I had two of them. One lasted for almost 6 weeks. They were wonderful when they worked and I am so disappointed that they don’t hold up.

The problem is that even though the battery compartment is water tight, it eventually leaks and batteries and water just don’t mix.

Orbit LCD Single Port Digital Hose Faucet Timer is reliable and very easy to use. I have used several other brands and settled on this one. I recommend using a short rubber hose strain relief between the faucet and timer so that you will not put too much strain at angle to the timer hose connection when pulling the hose around at an angle to the faucet.

I do not know how much pressure it takes to break the hose connection on the timer, however I know it is possible. The hose strain relief also makes it easier to see and use the simple controls. Walmart sells these already made up.

Shame on you Orbit. I’ve been an Orbit fan for a very long time and use Orbit products every day. for the most part Orbit is known for quality. Totally missed the mark on this 56619. The electronics are fine, easy to use, reliable.

IF you can prod poke twist and bend the battery tray contacts so that the battery’s actually make contact with the tray assembly. Problem is, the tray contacts sit in a deep groove, and the battery doesn’t reach deep enough into the groove to make physical contact.

Very hard to see, but the VOM tells the story well. Bend ALL four of the tray contacts to the top of the groove and it works. Then, the Valve Assembly cracks! Just under the actual micro-valve inside, the valve body cracks, water leaks past the valve and the hose runs on forever.

Not full flow, it’s just a cracked body, but it never shuts completely off at that point. The battery case problem is from engineering, either the grooves are too deep, or the contacts are shaped incorrectly for the deep grooves.

The valve body seems to be cheap materials, or a material not stress tested in this environment. Overall this 56619 is a failure, scrap them ALL!.

No complaints. Minor quirks: All zones in a schedule share the same start time. Station B will start after station A ends even though it shows station B starts at the same time as station A. Start time is a concept of the whole schedule, not station.

Initial valve status could be On, which is undesirable but can be easily corrected. Time setting takes time since you have to go through all 24 hours and their minutes.

I like these orbit timers. Very easy to use, batteries last a long time if used with lithium batteries. Also the lithium batteries dont leak battery acid so they wont harm the timer if left in after dead battery.

I own six of them and I now have plants and trees that live because they have watering. Its nice because theyre battery no wires no electric just simple battery power. Highly recommended.

These one zone watering timers are ideal for drip irrigation systems. I’m using two in my large vegetable garden. Especially good for thirsty tomato plants. In hot weather you can program them to run every 4 or 6 hours for your specified time.

In wetter times, they can be programmed to run every or every other day. I cover the units with small plastic tubs from the dollar store to protect against UV damage. These timers are also great for keeping water available to outdoor pets and small livestock.

This device keeps be from having to wake up at 4am to water the lawn & garden. It works great as a sprinkler system alternative. It offers a one programmed automatic daily cycle. You can also set cycle to every other day ect but cannot set multiple cycles for the same day.

Times when the sun is roasting the vegetation, you can press the manual button, and it will run the water for a preset of 10 minutes. You can change this preset time to whatever you want. All & all I was able to germinate 2000sf of grass seed in the middle of summer without any crabgrass catching (keeping it damp for the first 14 days).

The timer works but had been badly assembled so that the outlet leaked badly. The rubber sealing washer fitted was the wrong size and had simply moved inside the timer outlet so the connector did not seal.

As I had the correct size washer I removed the wrong one fitted mine and it sealed perfectly. If you are handy and have spare washers then buy this as it works and is a good price. Be aware it will come from AMAZON.