Good Cook Timer Stopwatch Basic Utility By Joan Young on Oct 31, 2007 - Updated Oct 15, 2011

When I'm working in my office I can't hear the timer on my stove, so I decided to buy something inexpensive to remind me that I have something cooking. No need to mention how many times I've forgotten...

The timer I bought is about 3" high, 3 1/4" wide and about 1" thick at the bottom. It has a large (1" x 2") LCD screen that displays the minutes and seconds. The beeper is loud and annoying enough to remind me of anything! It beeps 25 times before automatically turning off. I can hear this beeper from anywhere on the same floor of my house, and if the ambient noise isn't too bad, even from a different floor.

The seconds can be set from 1 to 60, but the minutes will go from 1 to 99 (the maximum on a 2-digit readout). You set the minutes with the left hand button. You can push it one time for one minute, or hold the button down and it will scroll quickly through the numbers to reach higher values. It does beep once on each digit, which is a little annoying. Seconds are set the same way, but with the right hand round button. See picture.

To start the countdown timer, push the right hand oval button.

To clear the display push the two round buttons together. I tried to do this with one hand, but it really is a two-handed project.

If the display is set to 00 00, you can push the oval button and the timer will count up, like a stopwatch. Push the oval button again to stop this function.

The timer runs on one AAA battery, and one is provided with the initial purchase. The battery box is a slide open style on the back of the device. It opens fairly easily, but someone with arthritis might have a little trouble.

There is also a good magnet on the back so you can stick the timer to a metal surface. The case is hard plastic, and can be wiped clean easily.

Drawbacks:

The unit is a little bit “tippy.” Not that it doesn't sit squarely on a surface, but it will fall over pretty easily if bumped.

You have to be pretty much right in front of it to read the display. From much of an angle you see all of the lines of the display- looking like 88 88.

For a $2.99 item, I this unit nicely meets my needs for a portable timer.