how much amperage does a timer for my plug in need to be able to handle? any suggestions on brands/where to buy that hold up and don't burn the house down?

 

I used one of the many I have for Christmas lights. It is an outdoor version with a cover and has a short cord rather than plugging directly into the outlet. I used it last night w/ no problems.

 

The block heater pulls a little over 6 amps, "resistive load". Keep in mind that over a period of time, the contacts of a small timer may corrode due to the make and break arc. I have mine set to go off after I leave, and unplug while it's still on to save the contacts from one less cycle.

 

I bought an exterior weatherproof Intertec? 2 weeks ago rated for 1500W at Home Depot for $10. It has the capability to turn on and off twice a day. So far so good.

 

I bought a intermetic (sp, but close) one at Target for $13... Couldnt find one at walmart, lowes, northern tool, and Kmart.. first one that I got the timer didnt work, but when i exchanged it the second one works fine..<br><br>It has a weather cover, dual time settings, non digital (mean you put a green pin at the time on the wheel you want it to come on and a red pin when it should go off).. It is rated for like 1875 watts (??), UL listed.<br><br>Do search on block heaters and a while back (more than 30 days ago) someone had all the specs to look for..

 

i also went to home depot.look in outdoor lights or like i did ,in the pool section.have mine set to come on 4 hours before i leave in the morning.works just right.been using the same timer for 3 years now. ;D<br>mike

 

I just bought a cheap inside type for 9 bucks 3 years ago and it works just fine. Have mine set for 3 hrs before leaving for work, that seems to be the right amount for me.

 

I got a cheap outside one at Home Depot, I think it was 12 bucks.
Couldn't remember the specs I needed so I got what seemed to be the biggest amperage one they had.
Wasn't sure if I wanted it in the garage or outside.
Decided on inside, harder to steal the cord that way.
Can't park in the garage, so just have it going under the garage door.
Analog with green and red tabs for on and off.
It came with 2 sets of tabs so I have it go on for an hour around 1am, then on again 2 1/2 hours before I usually leave to get the kids to school, around 6am.

It seems to slip time a bit, so I might get a digital one in the near future.

I remember someone saying they got a digital one for about 20 bucks online somewhere.

phox

 

The size rating for the time should be rated for the load that you are going to put on it and the outlet size you are plugging into. Most of your block heaters are 650 to 750 in watts. Oil pan heater up to 400 watts, Battery heaters 100 watts each. 1500 watt time would be the smallest if you live in a cold weather region.