Bob, this is a great idea! I think I am going to order one of those plug in timers for my compressor. Lately, I'm 50-50 on weather or not I remember to turn that off. This way, I can just leave the compressor itself on all the time, and hit the appropriate button for approximately how long I expect to be using it!
EDIT: Done, ordered! $11.99 and it will arrive Tuesday.
@Mr. Roboto, sorry I didn't see this sooner. That plug-in timer is good for light duty stuff like chargers but I don't think it will handle large motors well. I leave my 240v 3.5hp 60-gallon compressor turned on all the time but close the main ball valve. If I forget to close the valve, the compressor turns on after about two days. The mostly 1/2" galvanized pipe system seeps a little bit but I don't know if it's a Chinese fitting somewhere out in the 70- or 80-feet of pipe or maybe it's one of the two filters, the desiccant dryer or the two hose reels. I do know the first foot of fittings are leak-free because the compressor doesn't run for months.
FYI - I was looking at this option too - one thing I saw is the rating of 10 amps.. not sure how big your compressor is and what kind of amp draw but 10 amps is not enough for me.
Mark, much as I'd like to have a timer on the compressor, I am certain I would forget it was there. Next thing you know, there's a new motor, compressor and pressure switch sitting on the workbench -- all because the compressor didn't start when the pressure dropped.
It definitely wouldn't fire mine. I'd need two, and they'd still melt.
Kay, same here and I really don't want to spend a couple of hundred dollars to make using compressor more complicated. I run a 100-foot hose from the outlet on the side of the garage to the shed so I can use pneumatic tools down there. There I would be, staring at the tool that stops working and the next day there would be a pile of boxes full of tools at the front door. Don't laugh -- I have replaced tools because the circuit breaker at the panel tripped.
Those timers are great.
I used a similar one that is an hour maximum to control the light outside my shop door. I push it for 10 minutes so I can see my way out without having to leave the light on all night.
Mac, that's a great idea. The countdown timer I installed has a on/off button as well so it would replace the switch. On the short days in the winter I turn on the light outside the garage man door to put out the garbage and the light stays on for days.
Bob, the counter looks much-neater! However my OCD sees a couple of obvious issues:
The light color differing as it does would drive me crazy, obviously not as-much of an issue for you.
Your wall drill bits are longest left, shortest right. When I look inside my drill indexes, this is not what I see!
I have to spend some time in my garage arranging things and cleaning-off the workbench top. I am reluctant to discard anything as I know that upon doing that (discarding something) I'll soon need just that. At our primary house, I have only a 2-car garage, but it does have a loft, which isn't stand-up height, but it does provide me room for things I'd like to hang-onto, until I 'need them.' It's a bit-over 200 sq. ft. and half is filled with 'greasy motorcycle parts,' spare tiles for different parts of the house, surplus building materials, my old, expensive (once-upon-a-time) bicycles (Klein Attitude MTB and a Litespeed Ti road bike) and various and sundry other things of value to me (Williams pinball machine only allowed in the garage). We're retired, and this is where I expect we'll be until the long dirt nap. A 2,000 sq. ft. shop would be great, but by not having one, I'm forced to prioritize and consolidate. All under the same K of lighting, of course.
Philip, I would do something about the color of the outlets and cover plates if the industry would decide on a standard. Some fixtures are almond, others are white and they still have gray, red and ivory. I have given up.
The length of most of the bits correspond to their size but Milwaukee likes to sell shorter bit sets. To add to the confusion, the third set from the left is metric bits.
I have two attic sections. The main section is accessed via the pull-down stairs next to the workbench. The garage section is accessed via the pull-down stairs at the front of the bay and that's the section that has all the car parts stored. I don't put engines and transmissions up there because I can't carry them up the stairs by myself. The heaviest bits are stored close to the front wall of the garage so there's more than a truss holding them up.
Darn, you’re right. I downgraded from my 60 gallon 220 to a 26 gallon 110, but I just checked the specs and it’s max current draw is 15a. I was able to cancel the order. I’ll poke around and see if anyone offers something similar with a 15a limit.
@Mr. Roboto, good that you canceled in time. A lot of supplies have accumulated in our house because I was slow on the response.
You might have to spring for a contactor that's controlled by the timer.
Kay, I've seen a few setups that do that but it solves one problem while creating another. Both are memory-related.