Aldi Garden Tap Timer
Verified4 reviews
Cheap product that cost alot when it fails – Do not buy this product. It will work as it should for a while but the plastic deteriorates, cracks and splits, the product states IPX4 RATED, how ever even if completely protected from the elements and only under low water pressure (ie, rainwatⁿer tank outlet) the product will be lucky to last a few years. Water is precious and or not cheap, trusting in this product to control water is not recommended, 5 different times I have had to replace these tap timers with new tap timers of a different brand.
Best tap timers on the market – These are the best tap timers I have ever had, easiest to program, reliable, cheap, long battery life. And Manual control is so simple. I have used the big name ones and been disappointed, these however are great. I now have about 8 of them in use, the oldest is over 5 years old still going well
Purchased in for $28.
Leaks – I took the first one back as the collar, where it attaches to the tap, cracked and leaked when the water was turned on. The initial cost was refunded with no problems, so I decided to buy another one. Guess what, the collar on this one cracked too, just like the first one! Unfortunately I misplaced the receipt and was unable to get my money back this time. Definitely not recommended.
Purchased in .
Great product - on paper – Had a Pope analogue tap timer for years. This is great when you want to automate the lawn sprinkler. However it had certain drawbacks - runs on 2 AAA batteries - that need to be really good (Energizer Ultimate Lithium AAA Battery) - else they die down by the time you are back from vacation - hence a bit pricey to run. Also the timings are pretty approximate. So when the Gardenline tap timer came at our Aldi 3 years ago, I bought it. Was much cheaper than similar products at Bunnings.
And then the lockdown started - no travels - so it was lying around for 3 years unopened.
So I put them to test this time.
Pros: 1. The advantage is that they work off 2 AA batteries - and AA batteries as you know, have more capacity - you really don't need the lithium batteries. Normal alkaline work. 2. Programming is very very easy. No guess work, as you get to see on the clear LCD screen what it is going to do. 3. Very accurate. To the second. 4. Cancelling the operation, manually overriding is a breeze - w/o having to set the original settings (clock time, when, how long, frequency). So as compared to our analogue one, this one is really good.
Cons: 1. Significant loss of water pressure. The sprinklers operate much better w/o the timer than with it inline. So I ended up reverting back to my old analogue sprinkler. Approximation is much better than loss of pressure - especially if it means not reaching all parts of your lawn. 2. Surface of the timer is delicate and prone to scratches. Mine got scratched within the 1st 5 minutes when worked upon using normal plumbing tools - just touching the surface. 3. If your timer is going to be fitted outside your house - its a soft target waiting to be vandalised. Our old (shoddy) tap timer fits the bill perfectly!
So unless you have your tap inside your garden (and not outside like the front yard), and you are okay for a loss of pressure, I'd avoid it. We've finally used it to operate our drip irrigation system and does the job!
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