Rain Bird 1ZEHTMRP Premium Professional Grade Electronic Digital Hose End Timer/Controller, One Zone/Station, Battery Operated, Brass Inlet/Outlet

Due to recent lawn repair for cable work, we got a section of new sod. Happens to be dry season in SoFlo which is ultra hot and dry this year. Irrigation pump died and it’s not really worth replacing. Sod immediately started to die so I setup a hose end sprinkler which has been a pain to remember to turn on/off each evening. After looking up options for timers, I decided a simple mechanical wasn't really much of an improvement and we certainly don’t need a high end wifi type, seemed like a basic digital type is best bang for buck for simple needs and this unit might be worth spending the extra since it’s the only one I found with brass inlet and outlet which will hold up to the extreme uv exposure here better than plastic. Figure we will need it at new house later this year to water the new lawn so hoping the rest of it holds up as well as the brass fittings. Anyway, unit feels well made, took all of maybe 5 min to setup. Instructions are not really needed but available online. Just attached it 10 min ago, used manual button to set water flow and it seems fine. Manual on/off worked without any problem, has a bit of a delay but it’s only seconds. Will see how it does on auto in a couple hours. Update: it came on and shutoff just as I programmed. Certainly appears to be a well made timer. No leaks at either end, just double check the washers and maybe add a second washer if a fitting doesn’t tighten up before the point of bottoming out.

This timer is easy to use and offers clear selection options for Date, Time Duration, Auto or Manual mode. However, when you purchase the timer you should also purchase a "Water Hammer Arrestor" as when the time shuts off it is a very sudden stop that creates a hammer effect. The Water Hammer Arrestor help reduce / eliminate the hammer sound and effect.

Easy to program and I like the brass hose connections. Works great so far. I have ordered a couple and they all are still working after their first summer (they go inside for the winter).

I own three of these items, one for several years now, and they all work very good. They seem to be high quality and will last a long time. Operation is simple and quick, and the battery life seems fine. Inserting the batteries is a little unusual, but they seem well sealed and one gets used to it. I had previously owned hose end timers from another brand (not Rainpoint or Orbit) and all of them froze up after about two years, plus were more difficult to configure.)

These work great when they work. I bought two for my chicken coops water misters. One of them all the sudden wont turn off at programed time, but the other one is working fine. May have to return one. I like that they have two start times and run up to 6 hours. They are easy to program also.

I am returning this for two reasons. 1)Directions for programing are not provided in the box - you can only access on-line---and once you locate them they are impossibly small and hard to read. I even tried to print the directions and the text is too small to read. 2. I had a heck of a time pulling out the battery receptacle - just to simply add batteries to this gizmo. I figure if these simple first two steps are not easy the rest of the machine will be just as difficult. Not a good investment!

Large easy-to-read display. Didn’t come with instructions inside the box, but side of box does provide programming steps. It’s straightforward to program. A paper insert with more detail explanation of function would be helpful e.g. the meaning behind “2x” (online details clarified 2x was for a second on/off cycle for a given day). Plus a paper version is easier to file for later reference by a different person. The battery compartment needs a firm pull to overcome the gasket, another point that detailed instructions could include so the user knew that pulling hard was OK and there wasn’t a special method needed. But overall, it appears to be a well built device, and it’s been working flawlessly for a couple of weeks.

I like the relaibility of this timer, its been out in the Texas sun for a couple of years and still works well. It was simple to install and program. The Water Now feature is great. I prefer this unit over ones that are 100% plastic, this has metal connections for the hose.