Works as advertised

A-OK

I really liked this timer, so much that I was going to order another. I had used my Prime for the purchase, but now this item is showing up as an add on?? I ordered a different timer that I could use the Prime that I paid for.

Osh, Lowe's, & Home Depot don't sell this timer anymore so it was good I found it on Amazon. Excellent timer for Christmas lights. Rain proof too.

Too early to tell reliability on this as I just got it, but hopefully it's long lived. I really like that it two outlets, which can simplify wiring, especially around the holidays. It would be nice if we all had six outlet receptacles outside our homes, but that isn't the reality. I've only ever seen a dual outlet receptacle on the side of a house/garage. So these double the number of things you can plug in, without needing to go to a power strip or multi-tap adapter, etc. Since we've gone to all LED lights outside, both for holiday decoration and year-round path lighting, there's no worry about overloading anything. I like the LED backlit dial, a nice touch to show your available selections. Unfortunately, the knob in the center of the dial is not illuminated, so you can't really tell where it's pointing in the dark (other than turning it all the way to one direction or the other, then counting the clicks to the opposite direction). And, all of the available options are always lit - would be far more useful if only the currently selected mode was lit. Also, the selector switch feels really really flimsy and cheap - far more so than two other holiday light timers I have which were similarly priced. But I only really use dusk-to-dawn, so as long as it can stay in that mode, no big deal.

Where this thing really lets me down is the shortness and the direction of the power cord. Now, it would be perfect if we all had our outdoor AC receptacles two feet off the ground/floor - but that's not something I've ever seen. You want the timer's outlet receptacles pointing down to keep rain out, and this also keeps the short plug aligned properly with a right-side-up receptacle on your house. It also mentions screwing the timer to a wall using the included mounting tab (a nice touch), which is a good idea. Unfortunately, all the outdoor receptacles on my house/garage are only a few inches off the ground (or porch/deck as the case may be) Meaning, I have to either just lay this thing down horizontally, or try and twist it through 360 degrees in an 'S' shape, which just isn't possible with the shortness and stiffness of the main cord and plug. Naturally, the manual says that you should never attach an extension cord between the wall outlet and the timer, but they honestly don't give you any choice, unless you forego having the output receptacles pointing down, or at best horizontal. As far as I can tell, there are only two solutions to this (excluding a short extension cord): 1. Remove the receptacles from the house walls and reinstall them upside-down - probably fine, don't need them right-side-up for any particular reason, or 2: cut off the input plug on this timer and install a much longer and more flexible cord and plug, to allow proper placement of the timer

Other than all that, this WAS the cheapest outdoor timer with photocell I could find, but could not find it by searching directly on Amazon. I had to find it through Google and then circle back around to Amazon.