Intermatic IW600K Astronomic Digital In-Wall Timer

Seems to work, although as other reviews have almost universally noted, programming it is a challenge. I still don't have it all figured out, and I'm an engineer. At first, however, I thought it was defective. So did the manufacturer when I called them. It simply wouldn't come "on" to start programming. I let the battery charge for an hour in case that was the problem. I even put a meter on the supply connection to verify that it was getting power. No difference. Finally removed it, called the manufacturer, called the supplier Hardware Sales, Inc.), and got return authorization and the promise of a new unit to be shipped within a day. Certainly can't complain about the service or integrity. But since the manufacturer said they had had virtually no problems with this unit, I decided to check it out in the shop. Bingo! It came on! Seems the light I was trying to control with it was burnt out, so apparently it needs a "load" to come on the first time, even though it's designed to switch a circuit on and off. Nothing is mentioned about this in the instructions. Seems strange, but it must start in the "On" mode out of the box so it senses load and triggers the circuits.It is Very Deep, however, just as other reviews have noted. Thankfully, this unit isn't inside a wall, so I could use a box extension. But in an existing flush box, it may not fit at all. This is one of those units that's perhaps tries to be more sophisticated than it should be, which is what makes it hard to program, so using it for simple timed control functions may be more trouble than it's worth, but it's very cost-effective if you don't count the value of your time trying to program it.I selected this unit because the load I'm controlling is very low (about 9 Watts), and many of the newer electronic timers require much higher loads to operate at all. If you have low wattage LED lights, and are a whiz at programming your smart phone, this may be the unit for you.

The timer works fine once programmed. I spent a few days figuring it out though. Read the instructions CAREFULLY and note that there are DAYS OF THE WEEK at the top of the display that are soooo small that I overlooked them several times. My daughter noticed the blinking "mo" in the upper left corner during programming or I'd still be pulling my hair out. Once we set it sunset to sunrise all seven days of the week it worked fine. I had installed it on Thurs and fought it until Sun night when she helped me. I assune it would have worked monday tho, lol.Still wondering if DST should stay on all the time or not since we do DST here, but it's standard time right now so I left it off.

I bought this model in January 2017, I still have not successfully programmed it. I never have trouble following written directions for products I buy, and I use technology all the time. I have read the directions; I've had someone else read them with me. And, we have not successfully programmed the timer to come on at sunset and go off a at specified time (not go off at sunrise). And I specifically bought it so that it would adjust itself to sunset time in my locale, come on, and go off around 11:00 PM each night. That way, I would not have to manually adjust the time to go on at different times, to accommodate the change in sunset times as the year progresses. I have spent far too much time trying to decipher the written directions from the manufacturer. They are too brief, and we find ourselves asking each other what we think the directions mean. Plus, the font is so small, I put the directions into a photocopy machine and enlarged them so as to be able to read them more quickly because the timer "times out" if you do not do each step quickly enough.Frustrating features of this timer:1) You have to restart each step if you pause. If you pause too long, you lose the step you are on and have to start all over again2) You really need to have someone read the steps to you so that you don't lose time looking at the timer, reading each step, and looking back at the timer because you will have to start all over again.3) If you want to program the timer to start at sunset in your area (not just start at a specific clock hour) the directions are NOT clear at all. I keep reading the directions, and they seem to have some steps or information missing. Directions are not written well at all. Consumers should not have to read, re-read, have another adult read, discuss the meaning of the directions, try pressing "timer" one time, try pressing "program" another to figure out how to get the device to accept your local sunset time and go on automatically and turn off at a specific clock hour.4) Spending so much time trying to decipher the tersely written directions is very frustrating. The manufacturer should should have "proof readers" try the steps they have written for the consumer - test the directions out to see if they are easy enough to follow. Again, I have no trouble reading and following directions. I found the directions for this timer to be lacking in clarity and completeness.5) Not sure if product is defective with all the trouble we are having trying to program it.6) Needed a flashlight to see text on the screenI would like to purchase a product, spend a reasonable amount of time learning its features, set the features, and forget it.I wanted this timer to go on automatically at sunset throughout the year and go off each night at 11:00 PM. I do not want it to stay on until sunrise. I do not want to have to manually re-set the "on" time as sunset times change throughout the year.The manufacturer needs to put a few more "clearly written" steps into its directions to all me to do that. I've spent far too much time trying to set this timer up.I would not recommend this product.

I bought this to replace the same item that failed after 5 years of use, probably in connection with an electrical outage that occurred in our neighborhood. The earlier version worked fine, except be forewarned that the battery that provides backup is not accessible. One the battery dies, you no longer have battery backup. In my case it failed after about 4 years.Based on this new order, I am giving the product a low rating because it is hopefully defective and not just poorly designed. The buttons on item I just bought kind of work but not real well. They have to pressed and held and even then only work some of the time. I am suspicious the particular item they sent me was returned previously. Although the packaging appeared normal, one of the wires looked like it had been installed previously.I am returning this item and requesting a replacement. Hopefully the replacement will work as it should.

I have used Intermatic timers for at least 25 years, and have always found them to be extremely reliable. They have always given me years and years of trouble-free service.I think most people will find this timer to be fairly easy to install, and you should be able to do it in 30 minutes at most. However, if you have a bit of experience working with electricity, you can likely install it in less that 10 minutes.Programming is easily the most difficult thing about this timer, and you will definitely need to refer to the manual. And don't lose the manual, because you will definitely need to refer to it at some point in the future, too.If you're wanting to replace a simple switch with a timer, this is definitely the one to go with, in my opinion. If this Intermatic timer doesn't give me years of trouble-free service, I'll be very, very surprised.If you have any questions about this timer, please feel free to ask, and I'll try my best to answer. I hope you found this review helpful.