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[bkenobi]

I just bought a dehydrator for use with fruits and whatnot.  The model I ended up with does not have a timer but I'd like to be able to have it run for a specified time so-as not to over dry food.  I have considered using an appliance module and setting up a timer in my HA software, but I don't think that's really all that convenient.  The other option is a countdown timer that I plug it into.  However, all the ones that I've seen locally (and online even) are the 24-hour type that you flip a slider that represents 15 or 30 minutes.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Defiant-15-Amp-24-Hour-Plug-In-Heavy-Duty-Mechanical-Timer-with-2-Outlet-49807/203677447

I have a non-grounded version of this unit and it works fine, but if the food requires close to 24 hours to dehydrate, it could potentially turn off and then back on prior to someone getting to it.

I know this is an automation forum aimed at X10, but we all have projects that use other equipment so I figured someone might have a thought.  I'm leaning towards just getting the mechanical above and setting a reminder on my phone or something so I don't leave it running for too long.

[Tuicemen]

  I'm leaning towards just getting the mechanical above and setting a reminder on my phone or something so I don't leave it running for too long.

You'll most likely want to have a reminder anyways. My experience with dehydrating is it never takes the same amount of time.

[bkenobi]

I set a timer on Ultracron this morning when I was trying the dehydrator out and that worked well.  But, it would be nice to have something automatic so I can run overnight rather than having to make sure I'm around (and awake).  I'm primarily running Asian pears from my trees and they take ~4 hours.  That's just long enough that if I set it up after dinner I'm requiring I stay up past when I would want to typically.  I had a cheapo dehydrator this summer that worked pretty bad.  It didn't have a grounded plug so the timer I bought was just the cheapest one I could find and it worked ok.  If no suggestions are available, I'll just get a grounded timer like posted and run a timer on my phone.

[JeffVolp]

X10 3-prong Appliance Module and a macro....

Jeff