Timers vs the Powerbar
 

Has any one else ever wondered why digital timers are so huge?

In an attempt to clean up my tank wiring I picked up a new power bar. I am using two timers, one to control my lights and the second runs my cooling fan. Well these timers are both identical digital units. Of course these things are shaped just so that if you plugged one into the top plug of an outlet, you can no longer plug anything into the bottom plug.
What a ridiculous design. Well you might have guessed, my new power bar had what I thought was just enough plugs to fit everything I needed on there. Until I tried to plug my last two items in, the timers.
I can plug one or the other in, but not both. These timers are the most compact design I have been able to find that still had all the features I want. Which brings me to my question:

Why do timers have to be so big and bulky?
Do timer manufacturers shun the modern world, by ignoring the current trend of making everything smaller? Its not like the timer needs to be this huge, other than the switch mechanism, all the other guts can be fairly tiny. And why can't the shape of the case be improved so as to function harmoniously with all other electrical cords and outlets?

What timers are the majority of you guys and girls using?

Thanks and sorry for the rant.

I agree that the timers waste space. I thought it was just me that was peeved about this.

I know exactly what you mean. I used analog timers but found the same thing. There is also no way to plug two into one power bar.

I've seen a power bar that has dongels for plugging in D/C transformers, sort of like mini 3 inch extensions. I think it was at Home depot.

There is a coralife power bar that incorporates digital timers. My buddy uses one and it works real good.
Coralife Digital Power Center

I have the coralife analog timer bar, but it isn't very good

Most people don't plug multiple timers in side by side, they were not designed for aquarium use... :)

funny that you mention this power bar. there is actually a powerbar/timer that is exactly the same at home depot. coralife just put's there name on it and the one at home depot is 1/2 the price

There's one feature on the Coralife which the HD version does not have and that is that two of the four timed outlets work opposite to the other two. They are colour coded yellow and blue, so when the yellow outlets are live, the blue ones are off. This can be useful for alternating between day and moon lighting.

I have a Coralife and am actually thinking of picking up the generic one as an additional timer. I also found a much smaller digital timer at Can Tire, but it is only a two prong so you're limited as to what type of equipment you can plug into it. It also has fewer timing features, e.g. it can only be timed at 5 minute intervals, not by the minute. It is small enough that you could plug two side by side into a power bar though. I think the main reason the 3 prong (grounded) digital timers are bulky is because they are buillt to handle up to 15 amps which is the maximum a normal circuit is able to supply. You can't miniaturize the relay too much if it needs to be able to handle that amount of power. Safety.....

Here is what I use
 

I have 2 of these on my tank.
http://www.apc.com/resource/include/...ase_sku=AP7900
They are meant for remote power control of servers. But, for me the fit the purpose, and I got them cheap. They have 8 outlets that are controlled independantly, and a network connection with a intgernal web server. They also have a digital amp. display and log power usage and run time of each outlet.
So, I know how much power I use, how long the heaters run and a real simple web interface to set the timer schedule. Heck, they even have over current protection that will shut down a single outlet if it starts drawing more power than you program it for.

I know the APC units new are expensive, but there is a few other brands with 8/16 outlets for about $120. For me, these were cheaper than 16 timers as I got them as demo units for one of my server rooms.

That's a pretty cool device, but I assume you need to be running it with a PC or Notebook 24/7?

you can buy digital timers that have a 1 foot cord on them which would solve your problem. a lot cheeper than buying a power bar that was made for the fish industry.

Steve

I bought a couple power bars from Home Depot that have "swivelling" outlets. The outlets actually turn 180 degrees around the power bar. I have 2 timers plus extra stuff plugged into each. Not pretty but works great.

That is a really cool device. Definatly see a huge use for these. One question though - what do you do with only 8/16th of an outlet?


jk....

check out the powerbars sold at lee valley they have a couple that allow larger plugs. I have found them very handy.. link below

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...at=1,240,41065

I use a Coralife Digital Power Center Timer for my lights and heater and a Natural Wave Multi-Cycle Timer/Wavemaker for my pump, powerheads and filter. I like both of the products.

They also have these at Ikea. 2 pac for $5 I think.