My new grow light timer failed right after the 30-day warranty ended

It cut power for 48 hours during the seedling stage, so I had to jury-rig my old manual timer. Do you think a timer failure is worth the risk of buying a cheaper model again, or should I always invest in the more expensive ones?

3 comments

3 Comments

mason7282mo ago

So your timer waited until day 31 to die? That's some impressive planned obsolescence. I'd be too mad to trust that brand again, cheap or not. A cheap timer failing is just annoying, but killing your plants is a real cost. I'd pay more just for the peace of mind, because rigging up a backup every time gets old fast.

evan2952mo ago

That 48 hour blackout is rough, but seedlings are tougher than we give them credit for. I've had power cuts that long and everything bounced back fine. A timer failing is just a hassle, not a total loss. Paying double for a fancy timer doesn't guarantee it won't break either. I'd just buy another cheap one and keep the old manual timer as a backup. It's not worth stressing over.

jana_ellis951mo ago

Mason makes a good point about the cost of losing plants, but I've found that cheap timers usually die because of power surges or water getting in, not because they're cheaply made. I keep a few spares in a drawer and swap them out every couple of cycles, that way if one dies I just grab another without missing a beat. Also, running your timer through a basic surge protector can double its life, I've had the same $8 model from the hardware store last over a year now.