timer keeps blowing out, plants in the dark!!!!

so ive messed up 2 different timers in the last week leaving my plants in the dark for atleast 10 hours each time! now ive re- configured everything and i think i wont blow this one, even though i dont know what changed because the first timer that blew was the same one ive been using for like 9 months, and the second one was brand new, and didnt last two days!!!! so will the darkness hurt my plants? what can i do to help?

All you can really do is put it back on cycle. If its in veg run the lights 24hrs for a couple days. If its flower time the extra dark is better then extra light. Good luck you will be fine!

You need to upgrade to a controller..climate control or PCL (EXPENSIVE)

trust me ive looked....very expensive....one thing ive done is run the timer through a surge protector so i think that should help but idk much about electronics, just DA HERBAL. lol if anyone has any suggestions let me know. i cant run the lights for 24 hours because most are vegging but several are autoflowering and some have begun to flower.

cannabillion7 said:

trust me ive looked....very expensive....one thing ive done is run the timer through a surge protector so i think that should help but idk much about electronics, just DA HERBAL. lol if anyone has any suggestions let me know. i cant run the lights for 24 hours because most are vegging but several are autoflowering and some have begun to flower.

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what all do you have plugged into the timer????? ther should be a wattage and or amp rateing on the back of the timer figure out how many watts and amps your running on that timer and dnt ecceed the rating on it.... if your running multiple things on this timmer get more timmers and seperate some shit between 2 or 3 timmers... ive been useing the same timmer for like 2.5 years and no problems and it was the free timmer htg sent me when i ordered a bunch of shit..... add up your wattages and add up your amps and keep your timmer happy

tusseltussel said:

what all do you have plugged into the timer????? ther should be a wattage and or amp rateing on the back of the timer figure out how many watts and amps your running on that timer and dnt ecceed the rating on it.... if your running multiple things on this timmer get more timmers and seperate some shit between 2 or 3 timmers... ive been useing the same timmer for like 2.5 years and no problems and it was the free timmer htg sent me when i ordered a bunch of shit..... add up your wattages and add up your amps and keep your timmer happy

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check the amps on your timer and then total up all the amps that are pluged into that timer.

tusseltussel said:

what all do you have plugged into the timer????? ther should be a wattage and or amp rateing on the back of the timer figure out how many watts and amps your running on that timer and dnt ecceed the rating on it.... if your running multiple things on this timmer get more timmers and seperate some shit between 2 or 3 timmers... ive been useing the same timmer for like 2.5 years and no problems and it was the free timmer htg sent me when i ordered a bunch of shit..... add up your wattages and add up your amps and keep your timmer happy

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Exactly what tussel said. Are you running all your lights, the fan, the humidifier, and everything else on one timer? Can't do that bro, they overheat when they're overloaded. I have my light on one, fan on another, and humidifier on a third timer. Try doing that and it should fix your problem. Good luck.

now a 1000 watt, and a box fan on the timer, and thats it.

Many cheaper timers fail with over 1000w on them. Initially the ballast uses more amps to fire the bulb. The can trip breakers and fail timers. Get a relay. Plug light in to relay, relay into timer and wall. Problem solved.

Landragon said:

Get a relay. Plug light in to relay, relay into timer and wall. Problem solved.

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Do this. This will stop your timers from repeatedly blowing, and also greatly reduce the risk of you or someone else dying in a fire, as a result of your grow.

ok so what is a relay?

They are also known as contactors, in the UK at least. It is a device with 2 plugs and an extension socket. One plug goes straight into the mains, and the other plug goes into the timer. Your light plugs into it's extension.

When the timer switches on, it switches the load on the second plug, to power on your light. By using 2 seperate plugs, the surge that is created by the HPS ballast does not have to pass through the timer at all, preventing sticking timers, and fires.


A word of warning to people who are going off the rating on their timer, and thinking that they are safe. The inductive load of a magnetic HPS ballast can be up to 20 times the normal load. This means that, for example, a 400 watt HPS might seem like it would be fine on a timer that is rated at 3000 wats, but the startup surge may be up to 8000 watts, which can lock up or burn cheap timers easily.

People may say "I have used one for years, and never had problems", and whilst that may be true, it is still a very real risk, and easily avoidable for a small cash outlay.