Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - Dumb Chargers - Timer Solutions & Strategies

The lovely Mrs. got me an early Christmas present, a Cygolite DualCross setup. This has dispelled my doubts about LEDs. It's definitely brighter than the 15W Planet Bike Alias halogen I've been using for the past two years. BUT, unlike the Planet Bike product, this model did not come with a smart charger. I've seen references to using a lamp timer for a work-around to keep from frying the battery, but my search for specifics turned up empty. If anyone has found a good solution, I'd love to read about it here.

Looking at a couple of local stores, I noticed that most of the timers they carry have a 24-hour cycle. If you set the timer to give juice to your charger for 8 hours today, and don't unplug it, it will get another dose tomorrow. I did find one timer by Woods with a weekly cycle at the local Big Lots store for $4.50:
http://www.woods.com/images/timers2-bg.jpg

I assume this will give me more peace of mind and margin of error for forgetfulness. I don't recall the last time I went a week without using my lights. Still, it seems like the ideal would be a timer that you flip on manually and doesn't cycle at all. Anyone here found an inexpensive one that they can recommend?

This timer (http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100026919) will do what you want. Put one of the red plastic things into the time you want it to shut off and don't put any of the green ones in so it won't turn back on again.

I've seen references to using a lamp timer for a work-around to keep from frying the battery,

I doubt any manufacturer is using a slow charger that's faster than 1/10, so I wouldn't worry about frying the batteries. Plug it in when you come home from work and unplug it when you leave in the morning

I doubt any manufacturer is using a slow charger that's faster than 1/10, so I wouldn't worry about frying the batteries. Plug it in when you come home from work and unplug it when you leave in the morningI have zero confidence in my ability to remember to do such a thing, and 57 years of compiled evidence to support my calculation.

This timer (http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100026919) will do what you want. Put one of the red plastic things into the time you want it to shut off and don't put any of the green ones in so it won't turn back on again.

That's what i do. You'll have to remember to set the switch back to the "ON" position when you plug the light back on but that is it. Very simple and effective.