Minuteries d'irrigation

Irrigation timers control when your pump runs. In any automated system they are the component doing the actual growing decision-making – and the cheap ones are the most common cause of a room being flooded or left dry.

The critical spec: minimum cycle length

Most household plug timers work in 15 or 30 minute blocks. Almost no hydroponic system wants a 15-minute flood. What you usually need is one to five minutes, several times a day – which means a timer that resolves in minutes or seconds, not half hours. Check this before anything else; it is the single spec that decides whether a timer is usable.

Types

• Segmental (mechanical) – pins around a dial, usually 15-minute segments. Cheap, reliable, and too coarse for most feeding. Fine for lights.
• Digital – minute resolution, multiple programmes, but loses settings in a power cut unless it has a battery backup.
• Short-cycle / recycling timers – built for exactly this job, resolving to seconds. What aeroponics and frequent drip feeding actually need.

Getting it right

• Check the load rating. A timer rated for a lamp may not handle a pump's start-up surge; use a contactor for anything heavy.
• Battery backup matters. A digital timer that resets to midnight after a power cut will feed at the wrong times for days before you notice.
• Test it dry. Run a full 24 hours before plants depend on it.
• Little and often beats one long soak in coco and pebbles.

What we stock

Segmental, digital and short-cycle timers, plus contactors for higher loads. See also water pumps, pipe and fittings and light timers and contactors.

Why buy timers from The Hydro Bros?

We are a hydroponics shop in Croydon and we will tell you which timer your system actually needs rather than the cheapest one on the shelf. Discreet UK and European delivery, and excellent customer reviews on Trustpilot.