Timers

Timers

• 
• 

Statistics

Type	MechanismFurniture
Placeable	✔️ (1 wide × 1 high)
Use time	15 (Very fast)
Rarity	00*
Research	1 required

• Internal Item ID: 583–585, 4484, 4485
• Internal Tile ID: 144

Deactivated (top) and activated (bottom) timers.

A Timer is a triggering mechanism that periodically sends an activation signal to other mechanisms. There are five different types of timers, which differ in the interval at which the signal is sent: 5 Second Timer, 3 Second Timer, 1 Second Timer, 1/2 Second Timer, and 1/4 Second Timer.

Timers need to be placed in order to function; they require either a block or a platform beneath them. They are toggled on and off by pressing the ⚷ Interact button on them. Timers can also be activated and deactivated using other mechanism activation items. For example, a Switch on the same path of wires will toggle a timer on and off. Multiple timers on the same circuit will also repeatedly toggle each other on and off.

On the  PC version,  Console version,  Old-gen console version, and  Mobile version, timers can be crafted at an Iron or Lead Anvil. On 3DS and additionally on  PC,  Console,  Mobile, and  tModLoader, they can be purchased from the Mechanic.

Types

Timer		Tile ID	Tooltip	Buy	Sell
	1 Second Timer Internal Item ID: 583	144	Activates every second	1 / 50	20
	3 Second Timer Internal Item ID: 584	144 (2)	Activates every 3 seconds	1 / 50	20
	5 Second Timer Internal Item ID: 585	144 (3)	Activates every 5 seconds	1 / 50	20
	1/2 Second Timer Internal Item ID: 4484	144 (4)	Activates every half of a second	2	40
	1/4 Second Timer Internal Item ID: 4485	144 (5)	Activates every fourth of a second	2	40

Crafting

Recipes

Result	Ingredients	Crafting station
1 Second Timer	Gold Watch Wire	Iron Anvil or Lead Anvil
	Platinum Watch Wire
3 Second Timer	Silver Watch Wire
	Tungsten Watch Wire
5 Second Timer	Copper Watch Wire
	Tin Watch Wire

Notes

• If a timer A activates another timer B with the same duration, B will trigger before A (thereby deactivating A before it can trigger again).
  • This allows timers to be chained in sequence into a "timer cascade", to provide a long delay before activating a circuit. Normally, only the last timer in the chain will continue repeating; a timer cascade can be made to repeat their combined delay (and prevent the last timer from continuing) by having the last timer in the chain reactivate the first one.
• Exiting a world and re-entering it resets all timers to their inactive state.
• The Crab Engine and Bird Engine methods can be used to produce a similar effect at faster intervals.
• Timers are considered background objects when placed, so they do not block any creatures from passing through them.

Tips

• The buy price of the 1 Second Timer (1) is lower than the sell price of the 10 Gold Bars (120) or 10 Platinum Bars (180) required to craft it. Hence, it is more money-efficient to sell the bars and buy the timer than to use them for crafting the timer.

History

 PC version

• Desktop 1.4.1: All timers can now also be purchased from the Mechanic.

• Desktop 1.4.0.1: Introduced the 1/2 and 1/4 Second Timers; they can be purchased from the Mechanic.

• Desktop 1.3.0.1: Sprites updated.

• Desktop 1.1: Introduced.

 Console version

• Console 1.0.933.1: Sprites updated to match Desktop 1.3.0.1. ()

• Console 1.0.750.0: Sprites updated to match Desktop 1.3.0.1. ()

• Console-Release: Introduced.

 Nintendo Switch version

• Switch 1.0.711.6: Introduced.

 Mobile version

• Mobile 1.4.0.5.0: Introduced the 1/2 and 1/4 Second timers.

• Mobile 1.3.0.7:
  • Sprites updated to match Desktop 1.3.0.1.
  • No longer sold by the Mechanic.
  • Re-added crafting recipes.

• Mobile 1.2.6508:
  • Now sold by the Mechanic.
  • No longer craftable.

• Mobile 1.1.5536: Introduced.

Nintendo 3DS version

• 3DS-Release: Introduced, bought from the Mechanic.