Richard, I have used the same Intermatic TN311 (heavy duty, 15A, 1750 W) for over two years continuously.
Even if a spark was the same as a surge (which it's not--a surge is a sudden rise in voltage, a spark is electricity jumping from one contact to the other when they get close enough--if memory serves, it takes 20,000 volts to jump 1 cm or something like that), turning the machine on and off manually generates a spark also, by your theory, and so should fail also. Again, two mechanical switches. If anything, the timer takes the wear of sparking away from the red switch, making the red switch essentially wires/conductors instead of a switch. bmc "Faith will move mountains, but you'd better bring a shovel....." > From: Richard W <[email protected]> > Reply-To: <[email protected]> > Date: Fri, 5 Jun 2009 15:46:14 -0700 (PDT) > To: Brewtus <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: Brewtus II. No Power light. Sunday morning emergency > > > mariowar, > I suspect that 1st-line is right. > > Most, but not all, mechanical switches produce a spark when the switch > is closed. Spark = voltage surge. > You can often see this by looking at a wall switch in a dark room as > you flip the switch. This is also why light bulbs burn out just as > they are switched on. > > This is the timer I use: > http://www.amazon.com/Intermatic-TN311C-Heavy-Duty-Grounded-Timer/dp/B00002N5F > O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1244240412&sr=8-1 > > I actually replaced this with a newer one recently because the > previous one failed. > First burn out of the Brewtus II was with the older timer. Second was > about a month after I got the new one. > > I am going to get a surge protector as a precaution. > Maybe this one from Belkin would be the simplest and least expensive. > Maybe the one you linked to. > http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-SurgeCube-Surge-Protector-1-Outlet/dp/B00006BBAB/ > ref=rsl_mainw_dpl?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER > > For those who responded that they never have had problems with > appliance timers, which brand & model have you used. > Not all switches are equal in quality when it come to sparks. Maybe > some timers are better than the one I have. > > > On Jun 5, 4:43 pm, mariowar <[email protected]> wrote: >> "Timers are just a switch and as such, can't actually produce a >> surge, >> Not any more than just flipping the switch on and off or plugging and >> un-plugging the machine." >> >> Ira, when I read it I found it weird as well, however, they service >> machines and they should know what they are talking about. >> >> http://www.1st-line.com/cofffact/power_protection.htm >> >> b) if you have a timer on the outlet, you should plug in the timer >> first, then the surge supresor, and then the espresso machine. We have >> found in several instances that timers can cause a surge." > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Brewtus" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/brewtus?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
