Galcon 11000L Hose End Water Timer

Nice design. The dc latching valve is perfect for use at my offgrid remote property. My run times are 10-12 hours. In this way the battery is only used to flip the value open and then to close. I expect I will get very long usage (1 year perhaps) from a single 9V battery. Another reason I picked this design is that it allows the user to program the exact day of the week and time for the value to open and close. As I am running several of these from a waterline backbone, I must phase them so there is no overlap. As most other designs only allow the user to program the time of day and number of days between waterings, this is far better for my usage. I have had these in use for a month so I can't speak for long term reliability yet.

I bought this timer and it worked wonderfully for about 6 months. Then, when it was too late to return it, it became clogged letting through all but a tiny trickle of water. I unscrewed a few panels in an attempt to fix it, but was not able to. I emailed customer service for the company, they answered, but then failed to replace, repair or tell me how to fix it. Do not buy.

Used one of these for several years - worked fine. This year it would not work. Bought this one to replace it. Unfortunately the seal/gasket between the green display screen and the black pipe portion of the device was loose and had visible gap. Was worried that water would get in and destroy the electronics. Also, the display would not stay up since this was loose. On my old one, the gasket was very tight and the screen stayed up if you moved it up. Returned the device and bought a different brand.

I have a large vegetable garden with multiple hose bibs in it. I use these timers to avoid walking the 600 feet to my garden. Once programmed I haven't had a issue. They even hold up in 110 degree heat!

Works great! Very easy to use and program. The LCD display makes it incredibly simple to review the settings you've selected. If you've ever programmed an electric timer, thermostat, or any other water timer then this will be a breeze to use. Design appears sturdy and well constructed. Accessing the 9V battery for replacement is a snap. I suppose my only gripe with it, and consequently the reason for only 4 stars, is the device may not handle high water pressure. The box states the working pressure to be from 1 - 10 bars. I initially found that if the pressure is too high, the shutoff valve cannot close completely and the water continues to flow causing your plants to drown until you notice it. You'll need to turn your spigot down until the pressure is low enough for the valve to close completely. This can easily be determined by turning the 'manual on' function on and off while incrementally reducing the water flowing out of your spigot until the valve completely closes and the water stops flowing. That will be the maximum water flow your unit can handle. ODDLY, after a few months my unit can now shut off with the maximum water flow out of my spigot. Not sure why. I suspect the internal mechanism for closing the valve loosened up or something. Thus the 4 star rating. Otherwise a great deal for the price!

This is one of the few hose timers I've found where multiple specific start times could be programmed. In my case, it's programmed for 5AM, 11AM and 4PM. Most other timers, and all the timers I found at my local hardware stores and nurseries, can only be programmed for evenly spaced intervals, such as every 1, 4, or 12 hours, which could mean watering at times when I don't want my plants watered.So far I've been using it for a few months in temperatures ranging from about 40°F at night to 100°F during the day, and I'm expecting much hotter temperatures this summer. The timer sits in full sunlight and runs a dripper system with about one hundred drippers. As far as I can tell, it has never failed to turn on and off as scheduled.One other feature that I love is the button that allows an extra watering cycle to be started manually, which I expect to use a few times this summer during heat waves that may raise the temperature to 115°F.UPDATES:2015-Sep-29: I loved this device when it worked. Unfortunately it flooded internally only about half a year into the 3 year warranty. Finding out how to contact a warranty or customer service rep at Galcon was more difficult than it should be. Unfortunately Galcon wants me to ship the device to them at my cost for them to investigate. Why can't I send them pictures? I'd be fine with doing video and then further breaking the device like some companies ask for. Paying to send them the timer and then having to wait a couple weeks for that process to go through is just too much for timer that's supposed to keep my garden alive, at this price, and especially for something with a warranty this long. Then what happens if they decide the failure isn't covered by their warranty? Will I have paid to give up a device that I might have been able to fix if I took it apart? Since their CEO personally responded to me, and because this device did work well initially, I'll give this device a 2 star rating instead of 1. If things change, and they can only change for the better, I'll revise the rating upwards.2018-Aug: Shortly after the last one broke, a replacement was ordered. The replacement has been working great even though it's in direct high desert sun most of the year. I'm still disappointed in their customer service, but the years of service out of the new unit have been worth it.2019-Aug: I've taken it apart and found out a few things. To remove the front display plate, there are 3 hidden screws under the "display". Fortunately the display is actually two parts. On the outside it's a piece of thick plastic that's stuck on with adhesive, and the adhesive is good enough to restick multiple times. Mine didn't leak internally. The water made it through the gasket under the front display plate, so I'll be using caulk there on my other timer.

This will be the second year I've used this timer. It's wonderful. Easy to set up and reliable. Without it, I'd be a prisoner to my home. With it, I can go on vacation and not worry about coming home to a dead garden.Update: I am really surprised that this product only got 3.4 stars. I'm on my fourth year now with it and finally had to change the battery. I think four years on a battery is a long time. I also left it out in the garden one year all winter...still works great. I'd buy it again in a heartbeat.

We have owned 3 of these (very large diverse gardens) for 4 years. Still work perfectly! We do change the batteries before storing for winter and again to start up in spring. Reprogramming for our complexity is a bit difficult.