Changing dark time
- Thread starter tav
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You'll probably be fine, how many days did it run on the new schedue? A day or two won't make a difference.
You will be totally fine. Return to your normal schedule. Plant will never know the difference.
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Just today from 730 am to 130 pm
it’ll be fine. Need a few days at 9 hour darkness minimum to initiate a change. I would recommend a timer though.
Yes. Nothing gets old as fast as having to visit the indoor garden to turn the lights off and come back hours later to turn them on. To do it properly without a timer means the grower cannot go to a party, take a one or two day "red eye" trip to visit friends or relatives and certainly cannot take a week off to have a vacation. And as many threads here show friends or relatives often do not have the dedication as the gardener and they often forget to work the lights or water, etc.
Even the very basic analog or push-pin timers can be used and they are very inexpensive, often starting at $7 each. They can be found at neighborhood hardware or big box stores. Then there are the digital timers which often start at $30 and go up from there depending on how many bells and whistles are included.
I have several of the basic analog timers for the lights. Each timer is controlling two light fixtures so if one goes out the others will still come on. Keeps the vegetating stage plants going until I notice the bad timer and can replace it. Some of my basic timers have been doing their job every day since December of 2017 though they are starting to die. I am not sure that the digital timers will last any longer.
Absolutely. I wouldn’t be able to do it. 0600-1800 and 0000
Also during DLS time it would change an hour.
I don’t ever mess with my lights on time only off when I flip them.
Also during DLS time it would change an hour.
I don’t ever mess with my lights on time only off when I flip them.
I used electronic timers for a while but none of them lasted long, largely because the internal battery does not recharge after a while and soldering in a new one is a PITA
So I'm back to using 2x mechanical timers, which last for years [13a GroWell greenhouse timers, IP66]
Smart plugs seem like a decent alternative and are fairly cheap.
I've heard of them but have not looked into using them yet since I'm not a big fan of putting apps on my phone. That brings up a question, if the timer on the Smart Plug is controlled by an app what happens when the phone is not around. Example being, does the phone still communicate with the plug when it is beyond the router's area? If I went to an area without "cell phone coverage" would it still control the on & off time?
Exactly, dark side of the moon, Houston we have a problem...
You don't get that with mechanical - I don't need an app to grow plants lol
NB I am absolutely not in any way demeaning those who do use controller apps etc, it's just not for me
I think the first time you launch the app it would scan for nearby devices
then once the app pairs with the smart plug for example via bluetooth
it should also prompt for your WIFI credentials to connect to your home network.
Then you could likely control it from anywhere on the go using the app assuming they allow it.
Otherwise you'd be restricted to your home network for security reasons.
then once the app pairs with the smart plug for example via bluetooth
it should also prompt for your WIFI credentials to connect to your home network.
Then you could likely control it from anywhere on the go using the app assuming they allow it.
Otherwise you'd be restricted to your home network for security reasons.
I’m using the old analog timers too, they’re cheap and reliable. CL
As I understand it, the device can have a unique mac/ip/port# so it is remotely available via the web; cloud printers employ that tech
Some smart devices won't allow control outside of the local network by default though.
I have some smart bulbs that's about it but they work as I described essentially.
I have some smart bulbs that's about it but they work as I described essentially.
The average analog timer does seem to be more reliable than the average digital/electronic timer. The only downside I can see is that push pins are usually for 15 minute intervals though there are some timers that have 20 and 30 minute push pins.
I do have and use one digital timer that can be adjusted down to 10 second intervals and up to 99 hours at the other end so it is not limited to 24 hour cycles.
the timers with metal pins and gears are bullet proof. the timers with plastic pins and gears will jam, leaving the appliance permanently on or off, and sometimes overheat on their own eventually catching fire.
if you have hid i'd use an analog timer with metal pins and gears. the heat breaks down the plastic ones and they eventually fail.
also never use digital timers with hid. led kinda prefers digital. it's better on led drivers.
Interesting and out of curiosity, "How or why?".
You know what’s weird? I had a timer that had power bleed through. It would be off but definitely had power making it’s way past. My lights would have a little glow. Tossed that pos. Was a cheap digital. I like the programability in the digital timers.
it has to do with how the driver fires up. an hid pulls more through the timer itself on start up. a led driver uses signal, which is in milliamps to initiate start up, it only needs a fraction of what hid requires.
