Irrigation Timers

About

Irrigation timers control when your pump runs. In any automated system they are the component doing the actual growing decision-making – and the cheap ones are the most common cause of a room being flooded or left dry. The critical spec: minimum cycle length Most household plug timers work in 15 or 30 minute blocks. Almost no hydroponic system wants a 15-minute flood. What you usually need is one to five minutes, several times a day – which means a timer that resolves in minutes or seconds , not half hours. Check this before anything else; it is the single spec that decides whether a timer is usable. System Typical cycle Drip, coco 2-5 min, 3-8 times daily Flood and drain 10-15 min fill, 3-6 times daily Aeroponics Seconds on, minutes off, continuously Reservoir circulation Continuous, or 15 min per hour Types Segmental (mechanical) – pins around a dial, usually 15-minute segments. Cheap, reliable, and too coarse for most feeding. Fine for lights. Digital – minute resolution, multiple programmes, but loses settings in a power cut unless it has a battery backup. Short-cycle / recycling timers – built for exactly this job, resolving to seconds. What aeroponics and frequent drip feeding actually need. Getting it right Check the load rating. A timer rated for a lamp may not handle a pump's start-up surge; use a contactor for anything heavy. Battery backup matters. A digital timer that resets to midnight after a power cut will feed at the wrong times for days before you notice. Test it dry. Run a full 24 hours before plants depend on it. Little and often beats one long soak in coco and pebbles. What we stock Segmental, digital and short-cycle timers, plus contactors for higher loads. See also water pumps , pipe and fittings and light timers and contactors . Why buy timers from The Hydro Bros? We are a hydroponics shop in Croydon and we will tell you which timer your system actually needs rather than the cheapest one on the shelf. Discreet UK and European delivery, and exc