# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Electic timers



## fishfriendly (Mar 2, 2003)

Is there a timer that I can plug two pieces of equipment into? I want to turn on (and off) my power compact lights and Carbo Plus CO2 generator at the same time. I'd rather not have to buy two timers.

Thanks for any information.


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## fishfriendly (Mar 2, 2003)

Is there a timer that I can plug two pieces of equipment into? I want to turn on (and off) my power compact lights and Carbo Plus CO2 generator at the same time. I'd rather not have to buy two timers.

Thanks for any information.


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## JamesHoftiezer (Feb 2, 2003)

no, but power strips are cheap.

I have several timers controlling multiple appliances this way.

*James Hoftiezer
Hoftiezer.Net - Journals and Libraries
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## Justin Fournier (Jan 27, 2004)

To expand on what James was saying, I have a single timer with a power bar plugged into it. All the lights ect are plugged into it, so that they all go out at the same time. You could put your Carbo on the same powerbar as your lights, thereby reducing the number of timers you would need to run them all individually. Some people say that daisy chaining power bars is bad, but it's not if you still pull a safe amount of power.


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## gsmollin (Feb 3, 2003)

There is a three-outlet adapter that can be plugged into the timer as well. It has three, side-by-side outlets, and doesn't interfere with the timer.


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## Justin Fournier (Jan 27, 2004)

By the way, Welcome to the forums!!


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## fishfriendly (Mar 2, 2003)

Thanks all of you - you're great! 
Boy, talk about not being able to "think outside the box" - I currently have a timer plugged into my power bar and my lights plugged into the timer. I have other things on the power bar that I don't want to be turned on and off. Now that I have two devices that I want turned on and off at the same time it didn't occurr to me to plug the timer into the wall and plug a power bar into the timer so that anything I plugged into the power bar would be turned on and off together. I'm not usually this dense - and I thank you for responding to my question and helping me to see the light, so to speak.


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## lucille (Jul 6, 2003)

Of course instead of an $8.99 power strip you could purchase the new Neptune Controller system at $300-$500 which actually looks like a very yummy piece of equipment as you can plug all sorts of equipment in, program each one and even interface it to your pc.....


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## ranchwest (Jul 17, 2005)

I've got my pH Controller, lights and canopy fans all on the same power strip tied to a digital (battery powered) timer. These are items that I want to all be on or off at the same time. The timer is programmable, so I vary the "on" hours to best match my hours at home.


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## George Willms (Jul 28, 2004)

Hey Ranch....where di you find the digital timer? I've been looking for one that wasn't too expensive. Did they only have battery powered ones? How long does the battery last? Thanks.

George

Tank specs in profile


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## Vicki (Jan 31, 2003)

George, all my timers are digital because I can't find any mechanical ones that will accept a three-pronged plug; I usually buy whatever Wal-Mart has in stock, and they've ranged in price from about $11 to about $18. I had one crap out almost as soon as I bought it, but all the others are going strong; oldest is about three years now. They all have a battery backup so that they don't get screwed up if the power goes off, which is very handy. As long as they're plugged in, the battery system remains charged. We had a bad ice storm this winter, and the power was off for 12 or 13 hours; all the timers held their configuration, none of them had to be reset. I suppose the battery backup will quit at some point, but none of mine have yet.

http://www.wheelpost.com


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## ranchwest (Jul 17, 2005)

George, I was specifically looking for a battery backed timer, for the reasons noted by Vicki.

The one I bought was at Home Depot for 19.95. Rather pricey, but I was really looking for something that was nice and would provide some flexibility.

Since I just bought mine a couple of days ago, I don't know how long the battery will last. Since it is probably only active when the electricity is off, I would assume it will last a long time.

As with Vicki's unit, mine has the three-pronged outlets, in and out. My unit also specifically mentions being appropriate for flourscent fixtures.


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## George Willms (Jul 28, 2004)

Oh...Ranch I didn't realize you meant battery-backup.







I understand why you'd want that!

Vicki, I've never had a problem finding a 3-hole timer at a hardware store! They are usually sold as appliance timers by me. I've bought 3 or 4 of them at separate times. We've even got several of them at work here too.

George

Tank specs in profile


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