Melnor3015 Digital Water Timer

Let’s start with the goodYou can control 4 separate hoses, irrigation systems with thisIt’s pretty easy to programThe badConnecting it to a tap is a nightmare. Didn’t mater how tight I did it up it still leaked. Still leaked after using loads of ptfe tape.Connecting hoses is also a nightmare as the threads are different to the unit which means you almost have to cross thread them to get them to fit or use more ptfe tape.The battery pack in the control unit is really fiddly when you put them in the screen comes on and goes off. It keeps doing this and finally when you get it working you go to slide it back in the housing and it switches off.Batteries don’t last long about 3 months for the AA Duracell’s I usedA nice device just a lot of annoying bugs

This fits my criteria for watering exactly. Couple of problems , firstly the clock keeps gaining, cannot find a way to slow down, just have readjust. Secondly it leaks water from under the coupling below the tap connector, sometimes fast sometimes a slow drip, i can tolerate this by placing a water butt under which I use for watering can so nothing wasted. Would have given 5star had these not been present.

Not suitable for the English home the thread on the gates are different size you would need adapters if you can find them to change from American thread to English thread so that you can connect your hoses to the unit. The unit should of come with four hose connectors or a warning on the the description that adapters would be needed to change the thread size.

cost £60 arrived valve 4 always open not workingnot possible to contact amazon about it easily not good

I have had a few of these over the years. Last year when I set it up, water was leaking at the manifold so I went to Canadian Tire and bought a new one. I set it up, tested it with the manual valves, and promptly left for Alaska for a good part of the summer leaving a house sitter in charge. It turns out that zones 3 and 4 would not activate with the system and when I got back a good part of my lawn was in pretty rough shape. I figured I had just gotten a dud, so I ordered a new one this spring from Amazon. After using it for a couple of weeks, I realized that it had the exact same problem - zones 3 and 4 would not activate. I tried a battery change and a so on, but it really is a defect. Based on this experience, I would have to say that I suspect that there is an inherent problem with these water timers and will not buy one again. I returned it to Amazon for a refund, since I caught this one while I could still return it, and ordered a Rainbird. The Rainbird looks very similar but on inspection is not just the same unit with a different name on it, so I am cautiously optimistic that it will work. My suggestion is to give this Melnor product a miss, or if you do buy it, watch it closely to make sure that it really works while you are still in the return window.