TaylorDual Event Timer

I bought five of these at once about a year ago. One was dead out of the box. Taylor replaced it immediately upon my emailed query about what to do. Since then, rock solid.Two timer windows are handy for timing simultaneous events of different duration. Separate hour and minute windows speed up settings for longer events. No ability to set seconds, though seconds show on countdown. Can't comment on magnet issue as I only use with stand. Taylor provides better service than does Presto for its otherwise comparable timer; unlike the Presto, all buttons on the Taylor still working after a year.Large numbers (1/2" high) are easier to see than numbers on most timers. Switch to clock mode on the back with a small durable switch. Cannot see clock and timer at same time, but clock is a full function time/day/date display. Hour setting permits using it as alarm clock -- just set the number of hours and minutes to sleep.Update: April 21, 2011. I bought five of these babies and they're still working like champs. That includes a lot of dropping. I have had a small problem losing the metal clip on the back that expands the stand; but the timer itself is wide enough to stand up without the stand so the missing metal bracket is not a big deal. My guess is that Taylor has a reliability problem in manufacturing. As I noted, one of my five timers was DOA. About 9 of 17 bad reviews here (ratings of 1 and 2 stars) report sudden death. That's worse than my 20% experience. Only one reviewer mentions contacting Taylor. That reviewer reported no success. Contrary to that experience, though, Taylor answered me immediately and sent a replacement at their own initiative. They did not request return of the broken timer. I did send proof of purchase (my Amazon order) along with my email asking for service. The replacement has been working fine. In a pinch, I'd give this timer a shot and report any lack of responsiveness of Taylor here on Amazon. Maybe this timer is like the little girl with the golden curl who, "when she was good, she was very, very good; but when she was bad, she was horrid".Update: December 24, 2012. Update. My five timers are still cranking along like champs; one occasional user in our family is a 12 year old. I don't doubt the bad reviews because there is not much to "understand" about these timers. I can only chalk it up to poor quality control at Taylor. too bad the company doesn't respond.Update: April 6, 2013. We wind up using these for all kinds of events -- timing exercise, countdowns to deadlines, short naps, and cooking. So they're spread around the house. I just bought two more. I checked timer and clock functions on both. They worked fine out of the box. The five I bought earlier are still working without problems.Update: February 2, 2015: My seven timers are still cooking along with no problem. I use them daily to time naps, work phases, cooking, etc. Where I use the calendar clock, they seem to keep accurate time. Nearly all the other timers I bought at the same time have stopped working.Update: December 26,2016: All 7 still working fine. buttons getting a little sticky on some of them and have to press down a little harder. I'm surprised at the large number of negative reviews. Maybe quality control problems. I'd certainly buy more of these at the new very low price, but I'm awash in them. They last forever.By the way, I have never been offered anything of value for these Taylor reviews and have never been thanked by Taylor. So far as I can tell, Taylor has not "bought" its positive reviews.Update: March 2019I've had these timers for about 11 years now and they're all still working. When I first bought these, I also ordered several other highly Amazon-rated timers. They all broke within a couple of years.U

I really like this Taylor timer, you can time two items at once. The alarm is not an irritating sound. Is loud enough for me to hear. Has a stand and a magnetic back to place on refrigerator. Plus it doubles as a regular clock with, date, time and year. I have bought a few only because of fumble fingers. Dropping the timer can make it not work properly. Other than that, it is the same with any timer, set it put it down, no need to worry about dropping.

UPDATE on this review. After the first battery change the sound has decreased markedly when these go off. Can't understand it. I'm replacing cheap batteries with good quality ones. Both timers have been affected. Very disappointed. I need to be right on top of them now to hear therm. Sorry for the previous rating.These timers work perfectly, are easy to use and loud enough to hear (which is something I was looking for.) So far they are very reliable. The only issue I have is that the magnet on the back is not strong enough to hold it to metal. The stand/clip on the back is nice but not something that works for me. I keep my timers on the side of my microwave which is above my stove. I always know where they are. I ended up tearing off the clip on the back and adhering another stronger magnet in place of the clip. Hated to do it but having it slide off and fall is not an option.

from my opinion:Pros:1, Works well. 2, It has a Clock 3, Big digits ,4 a clipper 5, a megnitant stick to fridge 6,pins for stand up7, cheap (within ten dollars)Not Pros:1, shade on the digits when look at it from side a little2, buttons need press very hard3, shade appear and flash when press4, the bottom and back color is a little blue and pink. I dont like it( I am a guy)5, the out plastic is so bad. Some there is sharp even can hurt my skin of finger6, made in ChinaI bought two clocks from the brand Taylor.The other one is ugly,but has good digits show and good buttons than this one.the

I just received two today, with multiple purposes in mind. I liked the thought that you could use two timers simultaneously and when not in use the time and date are visible. It is a little clunky having a switch on the back of the unit that needs to be manually switched from timer mode to clock to use each function. I can live with that though. I also bought these timers because Taylor is a well known professionally used brand in my industry. I work in Culinary Pastry. However, although they count down and work as expected, we'll see how long they last. The bodies of the timers are plastic. Nothing new here except the plastic feels so thin that I feel like holding them is like handling empty egg shells. Also, the clips in the back are designed to be multipurpose. Not a bad idea, but to use the timer with the stand one must tilt the timer backward with the clip opened to flip out the metal bar tget props open the clip. One slight jostle and the clip snaps shut and the timer falls flat. I feel that this could single handedly break the unit. Moving on, the clip itself is so weak that I don't think the unit would stay clipped to an apron or shirt/chef's coat, etc. Definitely defeats one of the purposes of one of the functions I was planning to use on the timer. As stated previously by other Amazon customers and may be found frequently in the reviews, the magnet on the back of the clip is so weak it barely holds up the timer on any magnetic surface, with the timer weighing a mere ounce (maybe). Finally, one of the timers I received didn't even have it's magnet anymore. This leads me to believe that the glue used to secure the magnet to the plastic clip is not strong enough to hold the magnet in place over years next to extreme heat, humidity and cold conditions. Those are things I need from a timer.