Thomas 5013 Traceable Flash LED Alert Big-Digit Alarm Timer, 0.01 Percent Accuracy, 2-1/4" Width x 3-1/2" Height x 5/8" Depth

This alarm is simple to use and has a nice display. We've had it a few months now and have used it consistently every day, and the batteries are still good. This alarm does not work well for our intended use, however. I didn't dock any stars for this because it has nothing to do with the performance or quality of the product. (I hate when people spend the time to write a review and they knock a rating because the item didn't fit their specific purpose). We have an industrial metal fabrication shop, so there is constant noise. We bought these to use with our powder paint ovens as they had no timer built in. We only have one time setting because the powder paint we use only has to bake for a specific time, so we have no need for the multiple time memory, but it's a good feature nonetheless. The alarm is not loud enough for our environment, unfortunately. The guys are using it in the paint room, which is a distance from the metal fab room where all the welding/grinding/pounding is happening, but the noise from there does interfere at times when it's particularly noisy. Also, if the guys are using the paint sprayer, it is a little hard to hear over the noise of that machine. The paint room is also quite large so if they are at the opposite end of where this timer is then they have a hard time hearing it. They could carry the timer around with them, but we have two ovens and they don't always get started at the same time so we like to keep the timer on the oven it's timing to avoid mixup. We also don't want them to get lost, obviously. Also, it only sounds the alarm for a minute. This might be good for many scenarios, but again, not for us. Because it's hard to hear, it would be nice if the alarm did sound for a few minutes so the guys would have a better chance of walking past it and hearing it. The main button does blink red when the alarm sounds, but it is not very bright and not very visible across a large room. When the alarm stops, it goes back to solid green so you can't visually see from a distance that it went off already unless you can see that the numbers are now counting up instead of down, which again, is difficult from across a large room. I don't think it's a bad alarm. I'm sure it's plenty loud for a household setting, or even a shop setting where there isn't a high level of noise. It just isn't loud enough for us, which is too bad. It's hard to buy something online like this because even though people say it's loud, like many of the comments on this product did, you don't have any way to really know.

Nice timer. One of the few that has optional silent operation. I had planned to use it to time video'd performances that can be no longer than 3 minutes. I read the specs that say the green light blinks once per second when it hits ten seconds, which would be great to warn the performer that time is close. ...Unfortunately.... it also blinks but at a slower rate during the entire timing event, making this timer useless for that application. However I did buy it for a kitchen timer also. On the loud setting, you can hear it from quite a distance. I like the magnets on the back. Because it had a tendency to slip off the counter, I put a couple of silicon microblobs on the back bottom only, so I could still use the magnets. Now it nicely stays put. The three time sets make it useful for timing lots of things including Pictionary. If the green light stayed off during countdown and you could set the time where it comes on once per second, it would be a perfect timer for events like I mentioned above (let's say you could set the light to trigger at 30, 20, or 10 seconds) to give you a warning that time is about to expire.

I am getting older and, with my age, I have become slightly forgetful. There have been times when I have left the water running in the kitchen sink. I have over-cooked a few meals, etc. But since I started using this timer, I have not had any senior moments in the kitchen. This timer is extremely easy to use. The numbers are large and easy to read. The alarm is fairly loud which is good for people who might have some loss of hearing. But to me, the sound is slightly irritating. When the alarm goes off, I turn it off as quickly as possible just so I don't have to hear it. Perhaps you can adjust the sound/volume. I guess I should go back and re-read the instructions! Otherwise, this is a great item to have. It has kept me from burning (and wasting) food. In that respect, this timer has more than paid for itself.

The flashing light while it counts down is a very intense green LED. Once the counter hits 0 it is replaced by a very weak red LED. Instructions indicate it will flash on the countdown every 4 seconds when greater than 60 seconds remain, 2 seconds less than 60 seconds, every second when less than 10 seconds remain. My intended purpose was to have a timer that wasn't a distraction that would visually alert me when the time was up. Sadly, it distracts me while it counts down and then doesn't draw attention to itself once the time is reached. Unfortunately, due to the weakness of the red LED, I do not feel this product would be safe for critical applications in quiet or non-audible environments. At a minimum the red LED needs to be boosted. A nice feature addition would be the ability to minimize or disable countdown pulses.

The display pictured looks nothing like the actual appearance of this timer. There is NOT a light blue background and it is not easy to see the way true LED displays should be. The other features are good but I specifically bought this timer for brightness and clarity of the display (as pictured) but I'm thoroughly disappointed and will be returning it.

This is a very nice quality timer. It's roughly the size of a bar of soap. There is a fold-out plastic leg that you can use to make it stand up, and this makes it very stable. Or, you can fold the leg back in. It is powered by two AAA batteries, which are included. The volume for the alarm is controlled by a switch on the right side of the unit, with three settings: Hi, Lo, Mute. The LED light that blinks is around the S/S button, and it is bright green during countdown flashes, followed by red after 00:00 has been passed. There are three memory set buttons that can be used for frequent numbers. The unit comes in a cardstock box and includes a one-page certificate of calibration (and it has a standard calibration sticker on the back). Nice timer! I use it around the house, but I could see it being useful for a variety of academic and other uses.

I like this timer because you can easily see the digital read-out, but I also really like that you can set 3 preset times that you use frequently, and just press that button when you need it. I have to test the water on my salt water aquarium and need to wait varying times for the result of my tests, so I set 3 buttons on this timer to 1 minute, 3 minutes, and 5 minutes. These are each of the times I need when I am testing the water. This timer works great for my purposes, and there is no more running back and forth to the stove timer. I just press one of my preset buttons, and I'm done. Presto!

I do a lot of outdoor grilling and have always use a timer. This is the best quality and easiest to use timer I have ever owned. The timer is easy to set and the large numbers are very easy to read. One feature I really like is the fact that when the time is up, in addition to the alarm going off, the timer automatically starts counting up so you are able to see how much longer food has cooked before you were able to react to the timer so you can then adjust your cooking time when you flip your food over. Great quality piece.