DIY cycle timer mod

[Kaiser Puff]

I thought I would share how I modded a $15 96pin 2 outlet timer from Lowe's to run a 40min cycle with 25s increments instead of the 24hour 15min increment stock operation. A very simple mod, it actually makes the timer work more consistantly as well.

The case is secured with 5 screws, remove them and lift the cover off like in the first pic.

The gearbox is where we work, only 2 changes are made. In pic 2 I'm holding the gear in the spot it was originally in, remove that gear completely. Flip the blue gear upside down and replace it, this will make it to where the blue gear is contacting the 2nd gear from the bottom in the row to the left bypassing the one below it. I leave that unused gear in the gearbox to act as a spacer for the gear above it.

Reassemble the timer and voila!

Required Items: Utilitech 2-Outlet Dual Mode Timer #0143158, Philips head screwdriver, steady hands.

 

[Kaiser Puff]

I realize I didn't post what this is useful for... for you guys playing with Aero or NFT and want a pump going 1min on 4min off or what have you this will save you about 50 bucks over a fancy timer. Modded lamp timers like this can also be found on ebay for 20ish bucks.

 

[Kaiser Puff]

Err, I guess the model would be helpful... (Utilitech 2-Outlet Dual Mode Timer #0143158) I found this at Lowe's despite the website saying they were out of stock.

 

[RMCG]

Nice Mod!

 

[Kaiser Puff]

Nice Mod!

Thanks man! To be fair it was inspired from this intrepid guy's product:



When I saw this item, I said 'well hell at that price it can't be that bad to DIY one' so that's what I did. But mines going strong over 2mos 50sec on 5 min off so I'm sure this guy's timer is good too if you don't feel like ripping one apart. :)

 

[leadsled]

Thanks for sharing. FYI, just got one of these timer on closeout sale for $3.79, $4.09 total damages. Works like a charm and saved me some $$.

another tool that helps to have handy is: small flathead or nail file, etc so you can pluck the sides of the gearbox open. If you got em can also use the all purpose fingernail tool :)

 

[squarepusher]

wow nice stuff. I actually bought from that guy on ebay before, nice timer he i could tell it just a $4 GE Home Depot modded somehow. I didn't know how he modded it though, will the same thing work for different brands?

 

[dxco]

Thanks! Reminds me of the days before electronic power meters -Used a dremmel tool to cut the teeth off of a drive wheel so it ran about 33%. I bet the next renter in that place loved it for a while (until they changed out the meter for an electronic unit & his power bill trippled!)
Those were the days -Now you've got to cut the conduit or do some digging to tap the line (VERY DANGEROUS, OUTLAW STUFF -DON'T GET ELECTROCUTED & DON'T GET CAUGHT).

 

[dxco]

That's totally cool! My $2.98 appliance timer has been running about 50-seconds per click! Had a Lowe's (Utilitech) mechanical timer sitting around & did your mod'. I had to cut the teeth off the one on the lower-left, that you have the tweezers on, other wise the wimpy little motor was having trouble trying to start off in "fourth gear".
Check out www.dxsoundco.com for some other ideas & info (some useful & some utterly useless garbage). Thanks again for that post!

 

[Luke Highwalker]

If you mod one of these and it will turn the timer OFF but not ON....

You put the Motor in Upside down!

One amature is silver, the other gold. Note there position before you take the gear box apart. if you get it backwards the "Ratchet" inside the timer dial wont let it turn the timer on but will drag it enough to turn it off.

 

[grinkeeper]

big props to all the DIY people here who have come together to explain this little simple mod.. I can easily say cycle timers have been something that I have always been reluctant to buy as I just felt like I was getting bent over if I bought one..

now I feel like its been cracked open literally.. thanks guys

 

[Kaiser Puff]

Awesome I'm glad people found this useful! I've heard from others that different model timers use the same gearbox and some don't so YMMV.

 

[Kaiser Puff]

If you mod one of these and it will turn the timer OFF but not ON....

You put the Motor in Upside down!

One amature is silver, the other gold. Note there position before you take the gear box apart. if you get it backwards the "Ratchet" inside the timer dial wont let it turn the timer on but will drag it enough to turn it off.

Thank you for pointing this out, definitely could cause someone some frustration!

 

[Str8Dank]

man i cant thank you enough! i just modded one at 6am on no sleep in 5 minutes. this is great gonna go install it on my aero cloner and see how it works! i used a Brinks from wally mart i had lying around. the only difference is my gears are different colors but the same size and layout so it was identical.

i think mine is doing 12 second or somewhere near not 24 seconds for sure it was shorter unless i am counting really slow which i highly doubt. I'm gonna run a stop watch on it later today to get exact time.

 

[beeler54321]

other models

could someone please tell me other models that this will work with and if so the model number for example i read someone got a Brinks to work but what model number was its please ?

 

[Kaiser Puff]

could someone please tell me other models that this will work with and if so the model number for example i read someone got a Brinks to work but what model number was its please ?

I don't know the model off the top of my head but the Brinks 1 outlet grounded lamp timer they sell for about 7 dollars definitely works, actually I like that one better and it's easier to find.

 

[Daniel123]

10/6/2015 Update! Utilitech #0224879 from Lowes. Same gearbox. Worked like a charm. Thanks!