Intermatic FD60MHW 60-Minute Spring-Loaded Mechanical Wall Timer - White | Countdown Timer for Lights, Fans & Appliances | Perfect for Home, Office & Garage Use

I wore out the first two of these I've owned in my life prematurely by turning them backwards to make them stop. Don't do that, and buy the "hold" feature if you might ever need on/off functionality. I like the idea that "holding" the fan on while the shower is running, then timing the fan afterwards, saves some wear on the spring, as opposed to winding it twice.After an exhaustive search of the digital and analog options which were on the market in 2019, I bought more of these. I wish I had bought even more at that price, although I expect I will be good for a decade. I don't like the failure modes of digital timers.So, if you don't wear out the timers by turning them backwards, the plastic knobs will not last as long as the timer. I'm sure some cost cutting was involved, but this wasn't a particularly recent change, as one of my timers is seven years old. At the non-bulk price of the replacement knobs, I have bought milled aluminum guitar knobs with set screws for a slightly bigger shaft (1/4" or 6mm instead of 3/16").After putting a tiny dab of silicone grease on the set screw threads and tightening them up, I did not feel any need to pad out the shaft, they were rock solid and fit almost flush with the faceplate. 1" diameter is easy to grip and matches the faceplate. I avoided models (some of which were more expensive) with plastic inserts, especially "universal" ones with both splines and set screws. The minor annoyance is that the arrow is 180 degrees off - you want the arrow, if any, to be inline with the set screw. I might fix that with a Sharpie some day. I expect these to outlast the timers.I have installed 3 of these timers in our bathrooms to control the exhaust fans. They are easy to install and reliably turn off the fans at the set time. I highly recommend them.Timer very easy to install and works perfectlyI just purchased this switch and installed it on my bathroom fan so that I could leave it running for a while after showering. Previously we have been doing this manually, but I usually leave the house right after showering in the AM and so the bathroom was getting mildew. Before buying this switch I bought an electronic timer to install however it turned out my electrical box did not have a neutral connection (as whoever installed my light/fan unit only ran the hot down to the switch box), so using this mechanically (spring) driven switch was the solution.In general I would say the switch is reasonably well made. I see these same brand switches all over the place so they are extremely popular. It was annoying during the install to get the switch lined up in exactly the right spot so that the decora cover plate fit over it. I ended up installing it once with the switch not tightened into the electrical box (so it could move to the right place when I put on the cover), but then once I put the knob on the switch I realized it felt pretty loose and so I went back and tightened down the screws to hold it to the box (just guessing what the alignment should be). Really, the time dial piece of plastic is pretty annoying to install outside of the switch plate - I think they should just build the time dial into the switch (but I think they are riding the fence trying to make one part that works in "classic" light switch face plates and decora style ones.I do have to agree with another commenter that the press-fit dial handle on the front was very hard to put on (plus you don't really know how deep it is supposed to go and when you should stop applying force - breaking the switch is a real possibility). As stated above, I installed the switch twice trying to get the alignment right and pulling the dial handle off was very difficult (resorted to prying with a screwdriver which could mar the switch or the faceplate). This is where I would consider it to be poor quality. (hence only four stars)I also need to call out the instructions from in the box and also posted on this product info page as being poor quality. Specifically, from what I can infer, they offer at least three versions of this switch: Single pole single throw (this one I bought and wrote the review of - it is your basic light switch), single pole double throw (3 way switch), and double pole double throw (i.e. 240v applications where you need to break both "hots"). From what I can glean from the instructions in my package and the wiring examples on this site, the single pole double throw switch actually can do a lot more than that. It seems to have two current paths through the switch, one of which the current is broken when the switch is "on" and one that is closed when the switch is "on". By wiring this switch in different ways you can use it to turn something off during the timed interval, or use it in 3 way situations. They really badly need to provide a series of diagrams that shows the electrical operation of each type of switch rather than just providing specific wiring examples (which they don't explicitly tell you which type of switch you need to buy to accomplish).This is the right switch for a lot of use cases, but I wish there was a slightly higher quality option, better documentation, and a little easier installation in decora style faceplates.-EricIntermatic has been around for years . This mechanical wound timer switch is not affected by a power outage in its timing function. The wind up timer is basically your old style wrist watch thinking . still works fine. Many outdoor Jacuzzi's have these because they are so reliable.Sturdy & reliable timerGood buy just what was needed most turn on for a few minutes this one is half an hour.Easy to connect. I am using it as a timer for my gas fireplace replacing a standard wall switch. Be aware that you may need to enlarge any faceplate that goes around it, as the ones I had did not fit, and I had to dremel one. Otherwise works great.Our bathroom timer finally gave out after eight years of use, after checking the big box stores all I could find were the digital timers.After doing some reviews on these digital timer they seem to have a short lifespan. Found the lntermatic spring wound timer here on amazon and it’s the exact same replacement for the one I have. I give this timer five stars for ease of installation and use. Time will tell if it last as long as my old one.This was supposed to be an exact same manufacturer replacement switch since Home Depot no longer stocked it. Almost identical except they did not drill out the inside centre holes as in last version, so wires could not be loaded from right side of the receptacle to hit posts on the left side. So I had to adjust and shorten previous connection to the left side. manufacturing quality control eh?