Time is running out!

March 1, 2012 6:32 PM

Plug-in appliance timer filter: Does a one-minute timer exist?

I'm looking for a timer (or switch) that I can plug in to a small indoor appliance, and that will make it run for a minute at a time, every other minute, for several hours at once. So one minute on/one minute off.

I've found all kinds of timers that you can program to go on/off at certain times of the day, and some that will work in 15 minute intervals, but nothing that will go one minute on/one off.

Does such a thing exist? Am I using the wrong search terms? Can anyone point me to such a device? Thanks!

posted by Ms. Toad to Home & Garden (3 answers total)

I have vacation timers that have 1 minute increments. They're more expensive than the 15-minute jobbers. Adding the word "digital" and/or "interval" to your search might help. Not sure if there's a limit to the number of switches the vacation timers will do.

Not sure how handy you are or how permanent a solution you need, but when I needed to do a similar thing I used an Arduino and a Power Switch Tail. It would be a dead simple matter of setting it up and you could program it to turn on and off in any pattern you want.
posted by Ookseer at 7:38 PM on March 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Best answer: You may want to be cautious about what appliance you're cycling that much. That interval would quickly destroy anything with a compressor or electric motor.
posted by chrisfromthelc at 8:44 PM on March 1, 2012 [2 favorites]

One of these timer relays in 'flicker' mode will do what you want.
posted by Confess, Fletch at 9:09 PM on March 1, 2012