My Melnor water timer loses time. 12 hrs. in 4 days. batteries are good. What to do??? Send it back?? 3rd time since purchased in July 8,2014.
1187518
It is a piece of junk, I threw mine away within a month of purchase.. Nothing but problems..... FInd something better for the money
1187519
My Melnor also loses a bit of time, but only about 10 minutes a month. So I just reset it. Otherwise, it has performed flawlessly. I initially had problems when I installed cheap batteries. When I changed to a higher quality and more expensive battery, they now last much longer and lose less time as well.Mike
149556
Hi Helene, I found the AAA batteries lasted an incredibly short time. I started writing the date on them as I replaced them. using the radio 20-30 minutes a day, I rarely got more than a week's use. Unacceptable. I gave up re-setting the clock since I was replacing the batteries so often. The clock would also return to zero whenever I got a static electricity shock, which happens a lot in the winter. To set: press and hold the clock button until it blinks, then use the up/down tuning keys to change the settings. Press 'clock' again to change minutes, etc. Press 'clock' when you are finished. I think this radio is a dog. Hi Helene, I found the AAA batteries lasted an incredibly short time. I started writing the date on them as I replaced them. using the radio 20-30 minutes a day, I rarely got more than a week's use. Unacceptable. I gave up re-setting the clock since I was replacing the batteries so often. The clock would also return to zero whenever I got a static electricity shock, which happens a lot in the winter. To set: press and hold the clock button until it blinks, then use the up/down tuning keys to change the settings. Press 'clock' again to change minutes, etc. Press 'clock' when you are... » Read More Hi Helene, I found the AAA batteries lasted an incredibly short time. I started writing the date on them as I replaced them. using the radio 20-30 minutes a day, I rarely got more than a week's use. Unacceptable. I gave up re-setting the clock since I was replacing the batteries so often. The clock would also return to zero whenever I got a static electricity shock, which happens a lot in the winter. To set: press and hold the clock button until it blinks, then use the up/down tuning keys to change the settings. Press 'clock' again to change minutes, etc. Press 'clock' when you are finished. I think this radio is a dog. « Show Less
1706511
I agree with the other comments about it probably being a bad battery. This timer should run for a very long time on one battery. I'd try a new battery before going through the hassle of returning this timer. These are great timers, and they are hard to find in stores. If a new battery doesn't work, try e-mailing Polder directly and see what they might do to help you out.
1912635
I usually water 7 days, 2 hours/day and I'm using the same battery as last year..but remember the default position for the valve is closed so you're asking for 7 hours/day from that battery to keep the valve open...
547382
I don't bother with the coin battery timer; when the flow drops off noticeably, I tease a few gallons out slowly into storage and then change. We do a lot of juicing and drink more coffee than is good for us, and get about 5 months out of a set, either the FQ or the other.
1546660
Start with a lower water level and see if that helps. The only times mine has not stayed on for several hours is when the water level was too high.
762724
I've only had my replacement about 4 months and it doesn't hold a charge more than 40mins. Return it!
803534
Quite honestly, I set the clock ias in the instructions and c a couple of days it needs setting again. i guess it needs seting in advance of ther outing you qare baout to take and i am not sure itr would even last for that. i do like the battery backup in spite of the clock so I will deal with it but they could fix it if they wanted to.
1088015
We still have not had to replace batteries yet. My wife played with just 4 cubes until we got a replacement for the cube that came out of the box with a dead battery. We got a replacement for the dead battery around 1 Jan, and she has been playing with all 5 cubes since. We are still using the original batteries, but I have no clue how many actual hours of playing time.Has anybody tried the inexpensive batteries that are available on Amazon yet? (See 4 Jan post above.)ww
1373640
I timed it today and it was a little over 6 hours. It could have something to do with humidity or maybe someone else put in a little more water? I don't know. I had never timed it before but I know from the beginning it was more than 4 hours.
1395505
It's not a durable timer. Mine was never dropped, and never got wet, but part of the hour display disappeared after a couple of months of light use. You could still time things, but it was hard to tell from the partial display how much time was left. I finally threw mine out.
2280675
I set mine on "timer" and then switched it to "on". It worked for a while but about half of my timers wouldn't hold the actual time so they wouldn't come on at the right time.
1343248
Hold the side button and the timer button at the same time! The battery might be dead b/ c the battery only lasted about 2 weeks on the one I bought!
1260994
I had read somewhere online that people had the batteries last 30days. I found that after 48hrs the motion detection started to be significantly less sensitive until I put fresh ones in again.
861821
No if I remember right it is only for like three hours. You select how many minutes, it might have been up to 240 minutes. Been all winter haven't messed with it in months and don't have access to it currently. I love the timer though, it has worked great and reliable for me last year. My only quam with it is that it doesn't have a calendar type setup. My watering days are on the even days of the month, so if I select it to water every other day then I have to reset it come the 31st. So as long as the month ends in 28 or 30 I'm great. But otherwise it has helped me tremendously. Good Luck.
266998
I would suggest that you contact Melnor, the maker of this item. I have NO idea what might be wrong, as long as you've put in new batteries, in the correct direction.
100773
Hit the button a few times, it is on a timer. I have this one at my lake house with no issues. Perhaps contact seller.