Sheldon wrote:

Mr Libido Incognito wrote:
> Sheldon wrote on 28 Feb 2006 in rec.food.cooking
>
> >
> > wrote:
> > > wrote:
> > > > My plug-in popcorn popper takes 3 minutes to make a batch
> > > > of popcorn, and when it's done, I have to turn it off manually.
> > >
> > > > I want to be able to plug the popper into a timer (which is itself
> > > > plugged into the wall) and set the timer to turn off the popper
> > > > after 3 minutes.
> > >
> > > > It seems obvious to me that a timer like this exists, but I can't
> > > > find one so far on the Internet. Can any of you point me to such
> > > > a timer?
> > >
> > > Yes, a timer like that does exist. In Europe it is common for
> > > apartment buildings and hotels to have hall lights controlled by a
> > > timer such that you press a button and the lights come on for a
> > > short duration.
> > > I assume they are programmable for various durations and 3 minutes
> > > seems within the range of times I saw.
> >
> > Nothing new about the concept and certainly not restricted to Europe...
> > all my outdoor floodlights are equiped with motion detectors, I can set
> > the On time duration in various increments, from about 15 seconds to
> > about 15 minutes. I think 3 minutes is one of the settings but none
> > are very accurate. I have a few of those clock timers used for turning
> > lamps on and off but those are not very accurate either, certainly not
> > to the second, not even to the minute.
> >
> > For timing a hot air popper use an ordinary kitchen timer, when the
> > bell buzzes shut off the popper, what's too difficult??? Actually I
> > use the electronic timer on my microwave oven to time my hot air
> > popper, same three minutes is how long it takes to melt a stick of
> > butter.
> >
> > Sheldon
> >
> >
>
> There are computer pakages that can turn a puter into a fancy timer for
> houshold lights etc...the controling signal run at high freq over
> existing household wiring not bothering/bothered by the 120 VAC on
> them...But that's only for the serious pop corn maker as it would require
> a dedicated puter and various control boxes on the plugs you wanted to
> control
>
> Or there are things like this:
>
> http://www.prodigitusa.com/prodigit/2000t/2000t.htm

>Yeah, right.... all for the occasional 3¢ worth of popping >corn.


And is the OP not in the vicinity of the popper and EAGERLY awaiting all
that popped goodness!? I know when I pop corn I watch it the last few
seconds, salivating at the thought of popping those delicious morsels into
my mouth...don't have to be "reminded" that the stuff is done.

This guy kinda I guess wants to turn what should be a simple task into a
science fair project...who knows, perhaps when MicroShaft releases it's new
Vista OS later this year they'll have a corn - popping & timing utility
included.

--
Best
Greg