Lutron MA-T51-LA Maestro Countdown Timer for Automated Lighting Control

FordCoKid: We now have several of these switches. They work well and have great longevity.

United States on May 26, 2023

Stef: Works flawlessly. Well worth the money. Easy to use.

Canada on Oct 08, 2018

Amazon Customer: Delivered as plan. The timer was easy to install and work very well.

Canada on Aug 01, 2018

John M Mc Mahon: Installation was easy, but was a tight fit between another switch and a receptacle. It operates perfectly. I could not find the ivory-colored unit anywhere, so was happy to get it from Amazon.

Canada on Jun 29, 2018

djh: Looks fantastic and operates flawlessly. The lights give a subtle animated "countdown" when in use, which is a nice little touch.

Canada on Mar 24, 2018

The Great Gazoo: After I first installed it there was some weird behaviour - it kept turning off and on over and over. However since then it has not happened again. However this is great for the bathroom fan - can leave it running after having a steamy shower and it will help remove the condensation.

Canada on Dec 19, 2017

J. S.: Super easy wiring, just connect the Line and Load. I don't have a ground wire so I did not connect it, but the switch works fine. I like the LED display as it is counting down. It works just as described and looks great. One thing to keep in mind with Lutron switches and similar switches is that they are bulky (both wide and deep), so making room in the switch box can sometimes be the toughest part of the installation. For my installation, the conduit entered the switch box from the side and extended into the box far enough that it interfered with the switch. I could not push the switch all the way in since the back of the switch was contacting the conduit and I still needed to push it back about another 2 mm to get it installed. At that point I was stuck, but I decided to do something that would definitely void any warranty (NOT recommending this to others!) -- I took my Dremel tool and started removing the excess plastic on the back side of the switch where it was contacting the conduit. The plastic was thick, so I was able to remove quite a bit without busting through. It was enough to get it fully seated in the switch box, so all was well after that.

United States on Jan 01, 2016

Canuck-E-N: I bought this to control a single bathroom fan in an ensuite, and it works perfectly. Wiring was straightforward, as with any switch, and I DID connect the specific bare ground wire despite the original (non-timer) switch only having 2 of 3 wires connected. Not sure if the ground connection makes a difference to whether it works or not, but thought it couldn't hurt in the potentially moist environment of a bathroom installation.

Operation is straightforward: tap the button to power on, and choose 'on' or your timer setting with the rocker switch. I like that the light indicating 'on' is green, while each of the timer settings are indicated with amber. A nice touch is that when the timer is counting down, the amber lights continuously cascade down slowly from the most recently passed time marker, giving you an animated display of the progress. Lutron's Maestro line continues to impress and is my first choice for switch replacements/additions around the house.

United States on Feb 09, 2015

Samuel L: Quick install.
When I opened up my existing switch I found 2 black wires and 1 bare copper ground wire.
The existing unit's wires mapped very easily and clearly to the new unit's wires.

I ordered 3 timer switches from Amazon so I could test them out and keep the one I liked the best.
Lutron MA-T51-WH (~$30)
Maxxima 800 Watt 7 Button Timer Switch (~$20)
Woods 59007 (~$13)

The Woods switch does not look like it will sit properly flush with the wall plate as many reviewers have noted. It's the cheapest looking/feeling, but seems solid. I would not worry about wearing out or breaking.

The Maxxima switch is nice. I was rooting for this switch to be my keeper. I like the looks a lot, but everyone reports how bright the blue LED is. The installation instructions really are terribly unhelpful. The switch includes the following 4 wires: neutral/white, hot/black, load/red, and green. I took a stab at installing this to see how bright the LED is, but I didn't do the wiring correctly, because I didn't connect the white wire. I gave up trying, bc I got sick of running up and down stairs to my fuse box to turn the power on and off.

So the Lutron wins....

United States on Oct 14, 2013

Alan: This is a very easy timer to install, and I am happy with it....

I basically just removed the plate, unplugged the existing wires, and plugged in the new ones. Had to fiddle with the grounding wire a bit (not an issue with the product....it was an issue with what was available in the junction box), but eventually managed to get a good connection to the existing grounds. This outlet supports both screw type terminals, and plug in terminals for 14 gauge wire (14 gauge max size for plug in terminals). No neutral wire is required. Apparently, the NEC allows you to also not ground the thing under very specific circumstances where a ground is not available. I had a ground available, so I used it.

Note the following:

This timer has a maximum current load rating of 5A (~600W). It is probably not appropriate for heating lamps (at least, it will be a close thing for these items - check your application). If you have a very tight fit in the junction box, you have to remove some metal fins from the side of the switch, and this will reduce the load rating by 1A or so.
The timer has good features - you can use the rocker switch on the side to adjust the timer from 5...

United States on Jun 25, 2010