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| Sylvania SA140 15 Amp Zip Set Digital Lamp and Appliance Timer | 
 enlarge | Brand: Sylvania
Category: Home Improvement
List Price: $29.99
Buy New: $20.03
You Save: $9.96 (33%)
Buy New from $20.03
Avg. Customer Rating:  (12 reviews)
Sales Rank: 22084
Media: Tools & Hardware
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: Yes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 3.6
MPN: SA140
Model: SA140
UPC: 843660000160
EAN: 0843660000160
ASIN: B000F5KYAG
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | 15 Amp zip-set digital lamp and appliance timer automatically turns on lights at sunset; auto-adjusts for seasonal time changes | | • | Zip-set system allows timer to be programmed simply by entering ZIP code | | • | Provides battery back-up to maintain settings during power failure | | • | Includes random settings for added security and 7-5-2 setting for full weeks, weekdays, or weekends | | • | Lifetime warranty |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Product Description
The Sylvania 15 Amp zip-set digital lamp and appliance timer automatically turns on lights at sunset, auto-adjusting for seasonal time changes. The zip-set system allows the timer to be programmed simply by entering in a ZIP code. The timer also includes random settings for added security and 7-5-2 setting for full weeks, weekdays, or weekends. With a battery back-up (batteries included), it saves resetting time in the event of a power failure, and it includes an extra untimed outlet for use with other products. This timer features a large, illuminated digital display, and a decorative protective cover that acts as an on/off light switch. It comes with a lifetime warranty.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 Very useful, high quality construction, but a little complicated to use. October 21, 2008
I purchased a few of these timers to use in conjunction with portable, oil filled, electric radiators. Our house has a single heating zone, so it is very wasteful to heat the entire house in the morning when all we use in the AM is the kitchen and breakfast room. These timers work well for that purpose.
I was pleasantly surprised by the sturdiness of the plastic case and cover. The buttons have a nice click. The unit comes furnished with a battery and is already set with the correct time. All I had to do was slide the "daylight savings time" button over and the time and date were properly set. The instructions are printed on a single page of paper (a spanish version is provided as well). Programming can be done with the unit unplugged. I was able to program it to turn on and off, 5 days a week (Monday-Friday), at the times I wanted, in about 10 minutes ... while sitting comfortably on my sofa. With an engineering degree, I am probably a little better at this sort of thing than some people, but I think most handy people wouldn't have a problem. I'm very pleased with the unit's performance and I have ordered another two units.
From a design standpoint, this sort of product always has to strike a balance between flexibility and ease of use. For me, this product gets the mix about right, though it borders on the too flexible (i.e. not that easy to program) side of the range. In my opinion, the best products can be operated without instructions ... this product does not meet that high standard.
Pros:
-Very flexible programming options and features.
-Nice quality construction.
-Simple 2, 5 or 7 day programming options.
-Comes with clock battery installed and set to the right time and date.
Cons:
-Not obvious how to use without reading the instructions. I doubt that some of my non-technical family members would not be able to figure out how to use it.
Once you figure it out, it's a great timer! February 8, 2008
This timer is not particularly user friendly nor is it's function intuitive. And, once you set it and need to change the settings later, you've got to get the manual out again. However, it does the job when set.
 Poor Clock Accuracy December 6, 2007
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
When I first received this timer, I thought I would have trouble free lamp operation in the house. I did not want to adjust the start time throughout the year for sunset time changes. I bought one timer for the front living room and one for the rear family room. At first, they seemed alright. But after using them for awhile, I noticed that they don't keep good time. I even tried the reset button to no avail. The one in the front room is probably good enough; it seems to lose about a minute a week. But the one in the back room loses a couple of minutes every day. Now I could send it in under warranty, but they want $10 and I would also have to pay to ship the unit out to them. That would amount to about three-quarters the price I paid for the unit in the first place. It seems that the clock is not driven by a crystal controlled oscillator and must be adjusted in the factory. Apparenty they don't have much quality control in their manufacturing process (It's made in China; sound familiar?). So don't bother buying this product unless you like playing Russian roulette, or in this case Chinese roulette. Given the above circumstances, I thought I might open the unit to see if there was a variable capacitor or resistor that might adjust the clock speed, but they use non-standard screw heads, so I would have to drill them out. I may still try that, since the unit is worthless to me anyway. Beware of products made by Hardware Innovations, LLC.
Follow-up: I decided to experiment and open the unit, since I had nothing to lose. I found what appeared to be a crystal and variable capacitor for the clock circuit. I made adjustments to the capacitor and it seemed to keep good time...during the day. However, over night when the house temperature dropped, the unit would lose three minutes. This is why I didn't notice any problem over the summer months. Either the clock circuit was poorly designed, or components that offset temperature effects are missing, or maybe some other possibility. Either way, I'm done with this unit. It seems that so many American companies are quick to export their manufacturing without adequate quality control. Welcome to the 21st century.
Works Pretty Well October 27, 2007
Works pretty much as advertised, although it comes on about 45 minutes too early. It was easy to set up, using area code.
Only one program active at a time... October 26, 2007
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
While you can program a "sunset" on program and four other programs, you can only have one program active at a time.
This makes the timer worthless.
Had I known this, I would NOT have purchased it. Amazon's documentation failed to make this point clear.
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