Nelson 50 Pack Manual and Mechanical Hose Faucet Water Timer

The first one I bought lasted for about three years which I thought was excellent for the price. I have three of these now and they all work well for me.

It's a glorified egg timer! It's simple to use but here's the thing they don't tell you, if you want to run your water for less than the full 2 hours, you need to turn it all the way to 2 hours to fully wind the spring, then turn the timer back to our desired time. The maximum time allowed is 2 hours. I don't know how accurate the timer is, but I don't think that matters a lot if it runs a minute more or less than what you set it at. I have three different brands of these type timers and the all work the same. This nelson is a little more difficult to read the numbers but again this is not a big deal to me. The numbers are on the side of the dial rather than the top like on the Orbit timers. I plan on removing them during the winter so they don't freeze and break. I'm not a big fan of plastic gadgets like this but I haven't found anything better. I've been using these for a few months now without any issues. I figure they will last a couple seasons before failing. The other brand I use is Orbit which rebrands it's timers for other companies like ACE Hardware and Tractor Supply.

After between 10 and 15 years of dependable service, I'm replacing my original timer. Not only has this model of timer outlasted others that I'd acquire, it "failed gracefully" By this I mean that for some reason the flow rate decreased, but the timer continued to function and the flow shut off reliably. When other brands of timers failed, they simply did not turn off, meaning that a great deal of water was wasted.I'm a little perplexed as to why the valve failed to open fully (there does not appear to be any large obstructions, but maybe some contamination got into the valve diaphragm). Whatever, the important thing is that the timer continued to function properly and the water shut off properly.For this reason, as well as the relatively long useful life of the original, I'm giving this a five-star rating.PS Other reviewers indicate that this model is different from older models -- they must have really old models, as the new product looks identical to my original.

UPDATEWe've expanded our garden, but continue to use the same Nelson timers. The oldest must be 8 years old now.No problems, even with the intense sun and heat we can get here. We have added manifolds (splitters) to them so that we can run multiple hoses. ( We use soaker hoses along rows of vegetables, with heavy straw mulch over the hoses and surrounding the vegetables. A couple of hours soaking every week or so keeps the ground moist, even in intensely hot and dry weather.)WE ARE VERY PLEASED WITH THIS PRODUCT.OLDER REVIEWWe have used this water timer for 3 or 4 years and are very pleased. We ordered a second one last week. We have a large vegetable garden and this Nelson timer gets used a lot.We live in Eastern Washington, with high heat and intense sun in the summer, and have found this brand to work reliably in extreme conditions. We are careful to take the unit inside before a hard freeze, as none of the brands will probably survive a good freeze (we've had good brass fittings split like an overripe melon when left out during a hard freeze).We had tried other brands previously, but found that they didn't last too long. Some wore out because of bad design in the timing mechanism. Others decayed because of cheap plastic that couldn't stand the ultraviolet light of summer sun.This Nelson timer looks like it is brand-new even after intense use for 3-4 years.(One suggestion is to use a short piece of hose between the faucet and the timer - to act as a strain relief. If any timer is attached directly to a rigid faucet, a lot of stress will be applied to the timer if the hose gets tripped over or yanked on.)

I’ve purchased four of these so far. One I have for over two years and it’s been working fine, but the last two I ordered I’ve had to return because they were defective. Turning dial to set timer and once my hand was removed from the dial the water valve closed immediately. One would only stay on if I turned the dial past the 1 hour mark. The second one that failed would not stay on in any position, even the constant “ON” position. Slight pressure on the dial would open and close the valve. These dial timers are very easy to use and like I said above, I’ve had one that’s been working fine for over two year... One other quality issue is the decal for the time period on the dial comes loose at the seam. I had to re-glue one and I used clear packaging tape on the other to hold the ends of the decal down to the dial. Might look for a better made timing. I have three now that are working, returned to others...switching brands for my next purchase.

So far so good.This timer works well. I like it. I use it for supplemental watering and to act as a safety when washing vehicles or using the hose in the yard. Here in FL an unattended hose can blow open because of the heat and sun damage. This way if I forget to turn it off the timer shuts it down in 90 minutes.PROS:Up to 90 minutes of timed water.Seems to flow plenty of water.Easy to set. just dial the time you want.Has an ON setting where the timer does not work.Doesn't leak so far.Shuts off on time (so far)CONS:None (so far)This is probably the best working count down timer I have used. I am hoping that it will last and not cause any disasters. I have had many count down timers over the years and they have all broken within 6 months to 2 years, often wasting vast amounts of water in the process. Because of this I will promise to update this if I have any problems with this one. That way you can see how well it works by checking here. It might just work for a long time....

Easy to see and set the watering times, and I've had this brand for several years, they work well and last many seasons. Also it causes no noticeable reduction in the water pressure. Well worth buying again!

Purchased the 2 pack and they’re both broken. Avoid, avoid, avoid!!!

This unit did not work out of the box. The shutoff still allowed water through, I'm not sure why this is such a hard product to make work properly. I have tried 2 other brands and they were the same. I thought paying a little more would mean a better product ... not this time. I'm going to Lowes to buy 5, that way I'll be sure to get one that works I can return the rest. I need a new one each year because I forget to bring them inside when it freezes and they crack. perhaps all this hassle will teach me to bring them in??

Este producto reduce el flujo del agua, causando que el aspersor de martillo no gire, sino quede estático, resultando entonces inútil para el objetivo propuesto. Adquirí otro aspersor y el resultado fue el mismo y a pesar de tener buena presión de agua. Las mangueras expandibles hasta de 22.5 metros de longitud que tengo en ese mismo patio, se estiran completamente con la presión que actualmente tengo en casa.

The big nubs on the connector really help when you are connecting or disconnecting this item. It's a little confusing to try to interpret from the markings what amount of time the item is set for, because the setting disk will turn both ways. My main apprehension about this item is that it's made of plastic that seems pretty sturdy, but I'm not sure that it will survive being dropped (while on the end of a hose) onto decks, driveways, or sidewalks. Those abuses will inevitably happen occasionally in my yard environment.

My only wish was that it had a clock for even shorter watering than 15 minutes, but it has saved my imperfect memory from leaving the tap on and wasting precious and expensive water.