Compact Flourescent - Intermatic Timers?

[eengr86]

I recently changed all of my outdoor floods from incandescent to compact flourescent to save energy. I found out after the fact that the intermatic wall timer switches do not support compact flourescent bulbs. Does anyone know of another brand 24 hour timer wall switch that supports compact flourescent? :confused:

Needless to say the switch I have no longer works. It lasted about 2 weeks before it died.

[al hildenbrand]

I recently changed all of my outdoor floods from incandescent to compact flourescent to save energy. I found out after the fact that the intermatic wall timer switches do not support compact flourescent bulbs. Does anyone know of another brand 24 hour timer wall switch that supports compact flourescent? :confused:

Needless to say the switch I have no longer works. It lasted about 2 weeks before it died.Any timer that is not a mechanical contact, making and breaking the supply to the CFL ballasts, is going to have to be rated by the manufacturer for it.

Personally, I'm not aware of any solid-state, wall-case-mountable timers that are rated for electronic ballasts.

[mdshunk]

You need to look for a timer that has a seperate motor, that makes and breaks a contact or switches relay contacts (not a transistor). Generally, these are device mounted timers that take a neutral. The Tork 701A series is one such device mounted timer that will work for you. http://www.tork.com/pdf19.htm

[brian john]

eengr:

I parted with the big bucks today and went total Californian, replaced all the incadescents with CFLs.

One question in my kitchen I have 16 recessed fixtures will I notice a lamp color difference if one of these goes bad, mixing a new lamp with older lamps?

Next week AFCIs???? I truly believe if I do one I will do all the 20 amp CBs.

[NoVA Comms Power]

... Does anyone know of another brand 24 hour timer wall switch that supports compact flourescent? ... Intermatic's "Heavy Duty" in-wall timer switch (http://www.intermatic.com/Default.asp?action=prod&pid=193&did=3&cid=43&sid=112) uses motor-driven mechanical contacts and should suit your application.

[goldstar]

If you used the Intermatic model # EJ351C, that timer requires a neutral reference to operate. That reference is usually obtained through the filaments of the incandescent bulbs it controls. Changing over to CFL's will cause your timer to seek that reference through the ballasts inside the CFL and eventually burn out. BTW, if you customarily use this compact little timer be aware that the time set memory will be lost if the bulbs burn out.

I have many Intermatic SS7C timers installed that have been working for a long time and just as many that have failed both in short time and upon initial installation. Yoiu should be aware that Intermatic has had problems with this timer and has a factory full of defective units. One of the things you should be aware of is that the display is liquid crystal. If you're in a cold climate area do not locate these on an outside wall or in a garage. The cold has an effect on the LCD's and the internal mechanics. The Tork timer and the Intermatic heavy duty in wall timer that the others have suggested are the better way to go.