Remote-Outlet

Monthly Archive: March 2014

Perfect for its Purpose

I also plugged another power strip into the 1st one to power up my phone, tablet and Bluetooth earbuds. My older TV was a rear projection unit that used a lot of juice. It died, I bought a LED and then my town went with electrical aggregation. Because you can adjust this unit to the exact cost per Kilowatt charged, I was able to see my cost per month for electric go from between $15 to $17 per month to only $4.44 now. Hence the TV should pay for itself in about 110 months. Great to see and calculate that.
But I saw in other reviews you should not use this for large appliances like refrigerators, microwaves or washer/dryer. It can cause those type of appliance to BURN OUT COMPRESSORS OR BURN UP. THIS SHOULD BE CLEARLY EXPLAINED IN PRODUCT DETAIL.
I was about to hook up to old fridge in garage that because of its age is a power hog. And it’s a good thing I read that review(s). You can’t buy old type fridge that you can leave in garage below 32 degrees anymore without paying almost $1,000.
It was inexpensive when I bought it, and has worked fine so far with the novelty/Christmas lights that I ordered.
There are timer settings for 30mins, 3 hrs and 6hrs.There is one thing I would have liked to see on it and it doesn’t have.There is no override switch to keep it on when needed. There are a few times where I need it on for the whole day, but there is no way to do that. I have to turn it on again each time the timer expires.
The only drawback is you won’t be able to fit two of them in the same outlets because they are too wide and tall. I just hooked up a power strip to it and use one of them to time out the two items I run off it. I use it to time out my boot dryers so they don’t stay on around the clock.
I use this with my electric blanket in the winter, which doesn’t have a built-in timer. I appreciate that it has three very easy settings (30-min, 3-hr, 6-hr) which are simple enough to adjust in the dark. I also like the look– it’s attractive, unlike many other timers.
This product works exactly as described. The one improvement I suggest (for 5 stars) would be to allow the timer to shut off the appliance without having to unplug it. (This could potentially be implemented through a long duration press on the timer start button).
It works great and has awesome features. It would be nice to be able to program the local cost of electricity though, because in Alaska electricity is much more expensive than most places so the monthly/yearly estimates are fairly inaccurate. But overall this thing is awesome!

March 24, 2014 Outlet, , , , 0 Read more >

Great for Normal Electonics

The only improvement I would like is to have more options for time. 30 minutes, 3 hours or 6 hours (I think) are a little narrow. I want to use it for 1 hour in a couple of applications. Maybe in the future. Did I mention simple?

I use it for the microwave, so the clock is not always on. Also the coffee pot and a hot water pot that has no way to turn it off except for unplugging it. Two fit nicely in one receptacle. I like that the switch glows green when power is on.

They produce quality products that last throughout the years. This particular device is also high quality and is very useful. It comes in 6hr, 3hr, and 30min settings. I use it for my room mobile heater and hard drive duplicator. Works great!

My primary use is to prevent over charging of phone batteries. Its a lot cheaper than buying new phone baateries!

I believe in full cycling batteries, regardless of claims that this is unnecessary. This product is perfect as a timer for charging for the period of time specified. I do use it in conjunction with a surge suppressor as we have a problem with power surges. I am very pleased with the product. It is exactly as described.

I am surprised that my computer with a 600 Watt supply and with four hard drives and three extra cards plus four USB drives only uses 300W or so continuous but that adds up to over $200 a year. I cannot wait to test our 35+ year old 25 cuft refrigerator and my 65 inch rear projection screen with router, cable box, HTPC, PopcornHour and DVR stacked on top. It will be eye opening. I have no idea how accurate it may be but it is good relative.information anyway. I think I will test a couple of “known” items and see.

Has 3 different length of time to charge settings. I like having to manually activate it after plugging your device into it. Keeps from overcharging your devices if that is what you are using it. Will definately buy more plus the price was right!

After we are finished flying, he plugs in a device that heats and dries the engine block to prevent moisture from corroding the battery and other engine parts. This is perfect because is turns off after a couple hrs. PERFECT!!!

I ended up buying two of them (and probably will get more soon) to just provide a simple light switch. One to my DIY under cabinet lighting, and another to control a hanging China Ball Lantern that had the switch at the socket. It works exactly how you would want it to and fits in the outlet nicely (not protruding out to the side too much). You can feel that it’s built well just by holding it, and I can tell it will last me for a long time.

March 23, 2014 Outlet, , 0 Read more >

Fantastic Product

I got it set on a 6-hr timer so it shuts off automatically and I don’t have to worry about my son forgetting to turn the heater off when he leaves for school in the morning. It works great, so great that I bought two more, one to use on my heater in the bathroom (3-hr timer) and the other to use on this battery charger.

We installed this little fella at work, as some poor fool had been leaving the water heater on over the weekend (being a fire hazard, and destroying the heating element). It works great, looks great, and couldn’t be better!

It’s a bit pricey, but if you liked to check a particular device, this thing is easy and handy.

There’s plenty of reviews here giving all the details already. Covering, the good, the bad, and the ugly. True, true,… it misses functionality, …. it gives you the avg. consumption per year. So you need to do some calculations, if you want to know, for example, lets say how much your TV cost for watching one hour. Yeah, I wished you could just see that on the device, without having to go calculate. Makes me feel this product is even pricier than I taught. But,… still for me it works fine, for what I needed. I monitor and check the devices I wanted to check, did my calculations, and get a pretty good idea of the energy consumption of the devices. I’ll keep it at this. Check the other reviews for the good, the bad, and the ugly….. :-) I just wished this could be offer at a better price though.

As I am headed to my weekend home, I always wonder, did I turn off and/or unplug the space heater in the bedroom? This outlet provides a nice option to provide safety and peace of mind on appliances you really don’t want to accidentally leave on. It works as described, activating with a simple press of the button on top, and shutting off automatically after the time prescribed by the side switch has lapsed.

Having just purchased this, I don’t know how long it is supposed to last before wearing out, if at all, but I’m extremely happy with it now and will probably purchase additional ones, although I’d like the price to be just a bit lower.

Nice to know you can leave your device charging without worrying that it will overcharge. We use it on the 3 hr setting for phones and camera batteries, and on the 6 hr setting for laptop. We also use to shut off items like toasters that we don’t like to leave plugged into an active outlet all the time. It would be nice if it had a separate “off” switch, but if you decide your device has had enough before the time is up, you can always just unplug it.

March 22, 2014 Outlet, , , 0 Read more >

Great for Curious, Energy-conscious Minds

He has used it on various appliances throughout the house. It has given us a better insight as to how much energy our devices use. It has not changed our habits based on the results, but we are pretty good about out usage anyway. The longer you keep this device plugged in, the more accurate the usage results. It is interesting, and made a good gift. It wasn’t life-changing, but is fun. It may also be a good way to teach kids power use.

This is a very simple product. It adds an on/off switch to your outlet. This is particularly important if you are dealing with anyone who is paranoid about appliance fires. This could also fall under adaptive equipment. This was purchased for a blind person who can’t see to plug in the toaster oven and will not leave it plugged in due to a prior toaster oven fire. This solved the problem because they were able to find the outlet by following the toaster oven cord which was plugged into the outlet unit. They don’t need to try and plug it in because it is already plugged in and they just need to flip a switch. Now the toaster oven is a two step on and off but the outlet provides peace of mind which is easily as important as it’s purported purpose of saving electricity.

Green fluorescent light is very distinct and would remind one when it time to turn it off if necessary.

However, its just what we wanted, and does exactly what it should. We use it to turn on a light that does not have its own on/off switch. The button is pretty easy to reach and operate.

You just plug it in, plug your item into it, pick a time on the side (1/2 hour, 3 hours, or 6 hours), and press the button on top to activate the timer. Once the time is up, it shuts off. The socket and whatever item you have plugged in don’t draw any power either, so it cuts down on “ghost” power. Awesome!

I don’t want to leave it running too long so the Conserve socket does just what I need. It plugs into your wall outlet, then serves as a socket to plug your appliance into. It has three timing setings: 30 min., 3 hrs. and 6 hrs. It shuts off after the time you select. I also use it for my coffee pot so I can leave the pot on, and it shuts off automatically in 30 min. (selection I set). The socket can handle a load of up to 1800 watts.

Although, some would just think-unplug it. Because the electric oulet only has a small amount of clearance from the file cabinet, it’s much easier to just reach in and flip the switch.

While basically a simple device, it has done a great job designing an exquisite product – small, sleek, and stylish. The illuminated on/off switch is a very nice added feature, allowing you to check its status from a distance. (It also verifies that the electrical outlet is energized.) It would be nice if it were possible to rotate the unit so the switch could be repositioned to the left, top, or bottom, but I realize doing so would probably increase the purchase price. Nevertheless, I still award it 5 stars.

March 21, 2014 Outlet, , 0 Read more >

I’m Very Glad I Bought This

I’ve also been concerned about how quickly our Cell Phone/GPS/Ipod/Cordless Tool batteries can wear out by overcharging. So I went looking for a plug in device to solve these problems. This turns out to be the one. I can plug in my cordless drill battery, for example, and let it charge for 6 hours and automatially turn off the charging. Days or weeks later, I can return and know I haven’t left the thing on charge the whole time.

You can choose a countdown timer of either 30 minutes, three hours or six hours.

I’d use the 30 minute choice for using the toaster, microwave, coffee maker, etc. I’d use the six hour timer for charging batteries. So far, I haven’t used the three hour timer.

I bought one of these units last month, and I’ve been so pleased that today I ordered two more.

In some situations, you may prefer to simply toggle the power on and off. This unit requires you to unplug the thing in order to kill the power before the timer has run down. Not a big deal, but if that is your more dominant need, there is a better suited product from the same manufacturer (for less money too)….

To avoid burning out my charger and wasting energy, this plug-in was the best answer. It also works great for charging my laptop.

The only negative thing is that sometimes if I want to unplug my stuff before the timer is up, there isn’t a button to turn the charger off – so you have to unplug it, or let it run the allotted time over.

Overall, I’d recommend it for the energy-conscious consumer, if only because it seems the cheapest and easiest option out there. Works well with a basic power strip fully used. Cheaper than implementing WeMo all over the house.

Doesn’t make much sense for outlets that are in tough to reach places like behind furniture, the outlet needs to be readily accessible so you can turn it on (but much easier than plugging and unplugging devices, even though that would be the absolute cheapest solution :p )

Needs to be placed on the top most socket otherwise it will block an outlet. I have confirmed that there is ZERO draw when the green light is not lit up. (thanks, kill-a-watt) I wish they made one that took up the entire two outlets with timers for each outlet

I have it set to shut-off after three hours, otherwise my young son will walk away and leave the TV on for days. If it does actually reach the time limit, he just has to hit the button. I also have a second one in the garage that I use to charge my drill, that way it doesn’t stay on and drain power all the live long day. My only complaint is that mine don’t have an off button. If you decide the kill power before the timer is up, you have to yank it out of the outlet.

March 20, 2014 Outlet, , , , 0 Read more >

Nice product, here are some details

It works great and does help save $$ from Energy Vampires (appliances that still draw energy even when off). It has a small footprint and cheap to boot. I have combined this with other Products like their energy monitor and their surges with remotes and have noticed definite savings in our electric bill. It’s cheap enough to buy a few of them for other electronics in the house.

Overcharging just destroyed those batteries (and it’s not too good on the lithium batteries, either). So I’d set a mechanical timer to a few hours, and walk away. That way we could charge a bank of batteries with a control on each charger.

When I moved to 18v lithium tools, i got these electronic timers. I have found them ideal for this purpose. I use mostly Milwaukee red lithium 18v systems, so the built-in battery charge indicator is a pretty good indicator of the amount of charging required: i’ve found that the smaller red lithium batteries require about 30 min for a half charge, the bigger red lithium battery packs require 1-2 hours for a full change, and so forth. This outlet allows me to time the charge accordingly. 3 hours is more than enough time for Milwaukee battery packs, and yet not too much overcharge.

These chargers are also useful for charging acid battery packs which are from my experience very sensitive to overcharging. I use these outlet timers to charge the batteries on my Currie e_bikes – just set the timer, plug in the charger, and walk away. Full charge takes about 6 hours.

I have had 3 of these for several years, and use them with power strips in the garage. They seem to work fine for my applications. Recommended.

I’d give it five stars if there was a way to shut off the timer once you have initiated power to a device. As it is, the minimum setting is for 1/2 an hour of power, and, once you start the timer, there is no way to shut it off without pulling the timer out of the socket.

Other than that, this little device is a real power saver, especially on high consumption electrical appliances like heaters and fans.

Works nicely in wall outlet. Good for setting device and using this item to switch device on and off. Make sure whether you need a two-prong or three-prong type. Quality made, but would like to see if less expensive that $6+ each. I would havbe bought more if they were discounted for quantity.

March 19, 2014 Outlet, , , 0 Read more >