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Watering timer buying guide

Updated: October 2026

You are at an outside tap with twelve timers that look like the same black box. A watering timer buying guide for this amazon.co.uk set starts with the schedule you can store, then the water source, then the inlet. Zones, a clock, and a water butt are three different decisions. The rows, from £14.95 to £119.99 on 15 October 2026, are on the [watering timer comparison](/hub/garden-watering/watering-timer). Who each listing is for is on [best garden hose timer](/hub/garden-watering/watering-timer/sub/watering-timer-best). There was no lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are at an outside tap with twelve timers that look like the same black box. A watering timer buying guide for this amazon.co.uk set starts with the schedule you can store, then the water source, then the inlet.

Our top picks

Gardena Gardena Water Control Easy

Best overall

Gardena Gardena Water Control Easy
7.5/10about £28.82
View offer
Rainpoint Rainpoint 3-programme timer

Alternative

Rainpoint Rainpoint 3-programme timer
8.4/10about £39.99
View offer
Johgee Johgee 3-inch timer

Rank 3

Johgee Johgee 3-inch timer
8.8/10about £31.89
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What you are actually buying
  2. 2.Schedule before outlets
  3. 3.Mains tap or a butt
  4. 4.Inlet, washer, cells

What you are actually buying

What you screw onto the tap is a battery valve. It opens for a set run and it is supposed to close again. A gateway lets a phone cancel that run, but the valve is still outdoors and the cells still move it. An interval dial, a preset knob, one start plus a repeat, and three clock times are different purchases. A second outlet is a second hose, not a second clock. The Johgee two-zone timer at £31.59 and the Rainpoint two-zone timer at £59.99 are both one start plus a repeat. The hub is a separate choice on WiFi watering timer vs tap timer.

Schedule before outlets

The Kingfisher WT100, £14.95 with 4.0 from 2,993 reviews, has two dials and no clock. A 6pm start every 12 hours is 6pm and 6am. The Gardena Water Control Easy, model 01896-20 at £28.82, is 15 presets on one knob, with 4.4 from 291 reviews. The Amazon bullets state no maximum run. Gardena’s UK page conflicts too, 1–45 minutes in a table and up to 2 hours in the prose, so neither figure is settled. Three clock programmes are the Rainpoint single-outlet timer at £39.99, the row UK reviews use for 7am and 8pm. Outlet count comes after you know whether you needed a second time or a second hose.
Gardena Gardena Water Control Easy

Testsieger

Gardena Gardena Water Control Easy
7.5/10about £28.82
View offer

Mains tap or a butt

Most of these timers are solenoids. Rainpoint prints 0.5–8 bar on two listings. The Johgee two-zone prints 0.05–0.8 MPa, the same span. A UK review of the Johgee three-inch computer got only a drip from a 40-litre bin, while a 210-litre tank about a foot up still ran when a fifth full. The RESTMO ball valve is the barrel listing, claiming low head as well as household pressure. Severn Trent states 0.7 bar at the supply connection, not at the timer. A week away is a separate problem, on watering timer for a holiday.

Inlet, washer, cells

A modern UK outside tap is usually 3/4 inch BSP, which the clearer listings name. Brass does not stop a stuck valve. On the Johgee two-zone, UK reviews place leaks where the brass meets the body, not at the tap nut. The Rainpoint four-zone listing says the timer leaks if you leave out the filter washer. Clear listings omit the cells. Kingfisher takes 2 AAA. The Johgee three-inch and Rainpoint three-programme timers take 2 AA alkaline. One Johgee two-zone review said NiMH cells were refused.

Common questions

Do I need two outlets or two clock times?
You need two outlets when two hoses must run, and you stagger them because a UK Johgee review saw the pressure drop when both opened. You need two clock times when one hose must start at 7am and again at 8pm. In this set that is the Rainpoint three-programme timer at £39.99, not a two-zone body. A two-zone timer stores one start plus a repeat on each outlet.
Will a solenoid open on a water butt?
Often not, once the head falls. Printed floors here sit near 0.5 bar. A 40-litre bin only dripped on the Johgee three-inch timer. Gardena’s UK Easy page mentions 0.8 bar, which is a maker figure rather than an Amazon bullet. The RESTMO ball valve claims low head, on 13 reviews with two UK texts. Keep a butt as full as you can if you try a solenoid anyway.
What thread is a modern UK outside tap?
The usual modern outside tap is 3/4 inch BSP, and that is the thread the clearer rows print. The Brandson includes an adapter for 3/4 or 1 inch. If the nut will not start by hand, stop and check the thread rather than forcing it. Adaptors sold for other brands are not these ASINs.
Is rain delay a rain sensor?
No. On these listings it is a button, often for 24, 48, or 72 hours, or a manual press on the Johgee three-inch timer. It will not cancel a wet week by itself. A sensor or a WiFi weather skip is a separate claim. The Rainpoint three-programme sensor is sold separately, and one UK review said that sensor never worked.
What pressure is printed, and where is that measured?
Rainpoint’s three-programme and four-zone listings say 0.5–8 bar. The Johgee two-zone says 0.05–0.8 MPa, the same span. Severn Trent’s 0.7 bar is at the supply connection, not at the timer. A listing with no number, including the Kingfisher and the Gardena Easy bullets, has not given you a floor. Do not paste 0.7 bar onto those rows.
Which listings have too few reviews to treat as a pick?
Hbzunt has 2 reviews and no review text. The Rainpoint four-zone has 7. The Brandson has 10. RESTMO has 13, mostly not UK texts. The Johgee WiFi timer has 16, including a dead gateway. Those counts can show a fault. They cannot show that the fault is rare. Read them as skip lines, not as a ranking.

Related pages

Water butt comparison

Watering timer

Best garden hose timer in this twelve-listing UK set

Watering timer for a holiday of one to three weeks

How to set a garden watering timer on an outside tap

WiFi watering timer vs tap timer for remote cancel

Sources

Sources checked for this comparison; amazon.co.uk listings captured on 15 October 2026.

  1. Water Industry Act 1991, section 76 (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  2. Ofwat, hosepipe bans and what they mean (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  3. Thames Water, temporary hosepipe ban FAQs (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  4. South East Water, Sussex hosepipe restrictions FAQs (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  5. Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999 (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  6. Water Regs UK, Type HUK1 (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  7. Severn Trent, water pressure policy (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  8. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  9. Gardena UK, Water Control Easy (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  10. amazon.co.uk listing, Kingfisher WT100 (retrieved 15 October 2026)