Melnor 63280 Digital Hose Timer-4 Outlets Water

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I purchased this to replace a 7 year old Melnor 4-zone controller (previous model). That model's biggest weakness was the battery, eventually it wouldn't power on at all with new batteries. But it lasted a long time and was reliable--and I was able to keep using it even with no power because it had manual on/off switches for each zone. For this one, "manual" is controlled by the computer...i.e. not usable in battery failure. Otherwise, user interface for programming is improved. I guess time will tell on the battery reliability.

So much easier to control than Orbit timers. The two outlet user interface is still better than this one, and I don't know why they did not stay with that. And the older model of the 4 outlet device had some funny kinks that you had to figure out by really reading the fine print in the manual. This one was very intuitive.

I just started programming this device so I may come back and deduct more stars if it does not work as advertised. Just had to come on and tell the manufacturer this is starting with 4 stars because it does not work with rechargeable batteries. I am not a major tree hugger but it seems like keeping heavy metals out of landfills (while saving me money) is just the right thing to do for my grandchildren. My grandchildren would appreciate it if you would at least design it with the OPTION to use rechargeable batteries.

Wasn’t wired properly at the manufacture. After pulling apart the tangled mess of wires for zones 3 & 4 and applying electrical tape to all of the wires so they weren’t all touching each other the timer worked as it should. If I need another 4 zone timer I would consider buying again. I have two other timers of a different make and they are both faster to program and quality seems on par with Melnor.