Recently we had been having a reoccurring problem at our house involving my wife and a curling iron that kept being left on. This “problem” inspired me to look for a simple outlet timer that could be easily used to give products like curling irons a way to automatically turn off after a certain amount of time. Now I have used automatic timers in the past for various things like fish tank lights and things of that nature but this was a whole different situation. What I needed was a simple way to shut something off after “X” number of minutes or hours. It took a little searching but what I found was perfect and actually led me to a whole line of great products that can be used all over our house. These items, especially the timer, have been so helpful to us that I thought I should share them.

Belkin Conserve Socket – The Simplest Outlet Timer You Can Buy

In my online searching for the perfect timer I found the Belkin F7C009 Conserve Socket. It seemed to be exactly what I was looking for so I ordered one to try it out.  It is a small unit that can plug into any standard outlet and unlike many other timers is small enough that it doesn’t block the second plug-in. It has a very easy to set timer with three setting 30 minutes, 3 hours or 6 hours. You simply plug-in the unit then plug your curling iron or what ever it is you want to turn off into the Conserve Socket. On the side of the Conserve Socket there is an easily adjusted switch where you choose one of the three times. Once the desired time has been set and you are ready to use the item you have plugged in, in my wife’s case the curling iron, you push the button on top of the unit which starts the timer. Then when the set time elapses the unit turns off killing all power to what ever is plugged in.

Needless to say I am in love with this product and being the typical tightwad husband that I am I have found many uses for Conserve Socket. I am always looking for ways to make our home more efficient and if you have read very much about energy conservation you have probably heard of electrical vampires. This is a term used for the small amount of power that all electrical items use that are left plugged in even when not in use. This small amount of power might sound insignificant but over time and with dozens of items being plugged in around your house all the time this small amount adds up. This is were the Belkin Conserve Socket shines because it kills all power once it turns off and uses zero energy until the next time you turn it on. Not only that but it can also increase the battery life of items like cell phones, power drills and other items with rechargeable batteries by keeping them from over charging. Most batteries completely charge within a few hours but most people charge things over night meaning that these items are over charging and wasting energy that cost you money. The Conserve Socket fixes all of this. Really the uses are endless for example you can use it on space heaters, curling irons, coffee makers, power tools, electric razors, electric toothbrushes, kitchen appliances, hand held games and on and on.

Now there are a few minor complaints that if changed would make this unit perfect. For one the LED power light which turns on when the unit is on is not very bright. So it can be hard to tell if it is on or not. Also it can only be used on the top plug-in if you want more that one item plugged into an outlet. There are two reasons for this one is that the unit taller on the top and the other is that the on/off button is also on the top. And the last minor complaint, idea for improvement is a better term is to allow for more time settings. Other than that this thing is great!

Other Belkin Conserve Products worth a Look

As I mentioned above finding the Belkin Conserve Socket led me to a whole line of energy “vampire killing” conservation products produced by Belkin International Inc. I have not bought any of their other products yet but a few of the items on my wish list include the Belkin Conserve Power Switch and the Belkin Conserve Smart Energy Saving Power Switch. At first glance the Conserve Power Switch may seem a little pointless but it actually is quite handy. What it does is allow you to cut all power to any device that is plugged into the unit with a simple on/off switch on the side, basically the same as unplugging but without having to unplug anything. Yes, you could just unplug things that are not being used but all those cords can get messy and confusing if you have more than one. The Conserve Power Switch is small enough that two units can be used on the same outlet and is best used on items that are only used occasionally.

The Conserve Smart Energy Saving Power Strip is another great idea. What it does is automatically turn off TV peripherals like DVD players, VCRs and game consoles when you turn off your TV. The way it works it you plug the TV into the green master outlet.  This master outlet detects when the TV is on and when it is off. There are five addition outlets that are for devices that you want to turn off when the TV is off. Plus there are two more outlets that are not controlled for devices that you wish to keep on like DVR’s and satellite/cable boxes. And all of this works with no assistance from you. I think this is a really cool idea.

To See Pricing and Reviews on the Belkin Conserve Products Click this Link.

This quote from a review on Amazon.com sums up my feelings of the Belkin product line perfectly “With many “Conserve” products, Belkin doesn’t necessarily create a brand new concept with their creations, but they excel in design and execution!”

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