The Time-Delay Relay: Switching a Set Time Later

Many control jobs need a pause: start the motor, wait until it is up to speed, then load it; stop the burner, then run the fan a little longer to clear the heat; light the stairway, and switch it off a few minutes later. The time-delay relay does it. An on-delay closes its contact a set time after it is energised; an off-delay keeps its contact closed a set time after it is de-energised. The earliest timed their delay with a dashpot — a piston pushing air or oil through a small adjustable hole — or with a bimetal warmed by a heater. Electronic relays charge a capacitor through a resistor and switch when it reaches a threshold. This rung works out an RC delay and why capacitor tolerance and leakage limit it, draws on- and off-delay timing, and builds an on-delay relay with a 555 timer.