Need a hose reel recommendation

[harley]

After seeing all the good responses on Al's ladder thread, I thought I would draw on the collective knowledge and experience of the good people here on ER.org. I need a hose reel, one that will last more than a year or so. I've had a number of the cheap (quality, not cost) plastic ones over the years, and they seldom make it more than a year without cracking or springing unpatchable leaks or something.

We live on the shore, so there's some additional corrosiveness in the air. I don't necessarily need a hose reel cart, although I wouldn't rule one out if it turns out to be the best option. I don't want to attach it to my house (stone foundation, vinyl siding) although I could build a little frame to attach it to. I'm just looking for something that will last, and allows for easy unrolling and rolling. I've considered one of the big pots that the hose goes into, but DW doesn't want to have to roll it in and out manually. She wants a hand crank system.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. We do a lot of gardening and it would be great to have something that lasts a while.

 

[Texas Proud]

I will have to do some digging, but we bought one that has a motor to rewind the hose... my wife was tired of the crank...

IIRC, it was in the $100 range... I think we bought it two years ago and I have only charged the battery once since the initial charge...

 

[Dimsumkid]

I got this unit from a neighbor and it 4+ yrs old now, the axle cracked at the weld near the wheel. I called the manufacturer, Liberty about it last year and they happily sent a replacement to me. I think the crank arm is metal but is a little weak/flimsy. Overall it's a nice unit, but it costs $85. I can tell you the customer service for Liberty is very helpful. Overall, this unit is still in excellent condition, they mention you need to maintain the unit for rust, etc, but I can see this unit lasting for at least another 5-7 years.

4-Wheel Hose Cart-840 at The Home Depot

 

[Texas Proud]

This looks like the one I bought... I guess I paid more than I thought...


Suncast Electric Battery Powered Hose Reel PW100

 

[45th Birthday]

I got tired of buying new hose reels every few years because the "cheap" plastic ones don't last. I finally bought some made by www.rapidreel.com. They are more expensive, but extremely well built, with a 10-year warranty. They also operate much smoother than the plastic ones. Pretty much rust-proof, and you can get replacement parts if needed. Good stuff. Also, a family business like we need more of in this country.

 

[jazz4cash]

I sprang for one that rewinds itself using water pressure. I was very reluctant to spend $70 for a hose reel, but after getting it I was so impressed, I bought a second unit for the back of the house. The rewind works much more quickly than I expected. I use a high grade kink free design hose with it....approx 120 ft long, I think. I found a coupon somewhere for Lowe's to reduce the cost. It has a hydraulic piston engine so it has to be moved indoors well before a hard freeze. I used it two full seasons so far and it seems to be working well.
Hydro Reel Smart Crate 125'

 

[JPatrick]

This guy is all metal, and as you can see, mounted on 2 4X4's.
I did that so I could angle it so as to make it useful both right and left.
I have two, and I installed a third at our DD's house. All working great so far.
It is made by Ames and I got them at Lowes during a year-end sale for ~ $70.

 

[TromboneAl]

This Ames ReelEasy has worked fine for over 11 years.



The only thing I don't like about it is that if you don't guide the hose, it can wind up outside of the actual reel.

 

[ERD50]

I sprang for one that rewinds itself using water pressure. I was very reluctant to spend $70 for a hose reel, but after getting it I was so impressed, I bought a second unit for the back of the house. The rewind works much more quickly than I expected. I use a high grade kink free design hose with it....approx 120 ft long, I think. I found a coupon somewhere for Lowe's to reduce the cost. It has a hydraulic piston engine so it has to be moved indoors well before a hard freeze. I used it two full seasons so far and it seems to be working well.
Hydro Reel Smart Crate 125'

This guy is all metal, and as you can see, mounted on 2 4X4's.
I did that so I could angle it so as to make it useful both right and left.
I have two, and I installed a third at our DD's house. All working great so far.
It is made by Ames and I got them at Lowes during a year-end sale for ~ $70.

This Ames ReelEasy has worked fine for over 11 years.

View attachment 13947

The only thing I don't like about it is that if you don't guide the hose, it can wind up outside of the actual reel.

Thanks, but $100 is rather rich for me for such a basic thing. I'd rather crank than worry about the extra mechanics. And we need to be able to easily drain it and pull it inside for the winter, so that a freeze doesn't break it. I bought a cheap one a few years ago, and it's cheap. I no longer buy cheap hoses, thick black rubber or nothing.

-ERD50

 

[harley]

Thanks everybody. I like the look of those Rapidreel ones. The 10 year guarantee sounds good, and I like the fact that the hardware is aluminum, brass and stainless steel. Pretty expensive, though. If I get one I'll probably go with the wheeled one so I can haul it around to the various parts of the yard instead of buying multiple ones. Al, you must live in a much milder climate. I've had a number of the plastic Ames reels, and the place where the feeder hose connects to the reel starts leaking (spraying) after one year, or two if we're lucky. Plus with the heavy winds we get they blow all over the place, even with the hose in them (the box ones, not attached to the house). Anything made of regular steel corrodes out here pretty fast, so I'm hesitant about the Ames metal one. But it might work. Is the part where the feeder hose connects plastic or metal? I'll have to head into to Lowes and look at it.

 

[JPatrick]

Anything made of regular steel corrodes out here pretty fast, so I'm hesitant about the Ames metal one. But it might work. Is the part where the feeder hose connects plastic or metal? I'll have to head into to Lowes and look at it.

I said metal, but I should have said aluminum. I don't think there is any plastic on it. If Lowes doesn't have one there is more info here.
Ames® - ReelEasy® Aluminum Wall Mount Hose Reel

 

[ratto]

Considering the total combined weight of hoses (if multiple sections coupled together) and water inside, it's hard for any reel to last unless it's made of very durable materials and becomes inherently heavy and expensive. My current approach is to loosely wind and lay them (mine is 150 feet) on ground, no reel required. One less thing to worry about. One less thing will be sent for recycle later on.

 

[eytonxav]

Considering the total combined weight of hoses (if multiple sections coupled together) and water inside, it's hard for any reel to last unless it's made of very durable materials and becomes inherently heavy and expensive. My current approach is to loosely wind and lay them (mine is 150 feet) on ground, no reel required. One less thing to worry about. One less thing will be sent for recycle later on.

+1 my plastic reel gave out on me last year, so am deploying this strategy this year. But with water restrictions, I am not sure what will be allowed in terms of using the hose to wash the cars.

 

[harley]

Considering the total combined weight of hoses (if multiple sections coupled together) and water inside, it's hard for any reel to last unless it's made of very durable materials and becomes inherently heavy and expensive. My current approach is to loosely wind and lay them (mine is 150 feet) on ground, no reel required. One less thing to worry about. One less thing will be sent for recycle later on.

I feel you. But when I use this method, no matter how carefully I wind the hose on the ground (and I used to run cat 5 cable and know something about organizing lines), when DW takes the hose and hauls it out she ends up with it kinked and tangled and tied in knots. Then I end up untangling it and spending a lot more time on it than I want to. So, based on Your Money or Your Life, it's worth $100 or so to me to free me up from fracking around with a garden hose when I could be wasting my time in a much more personally satisying manner.

 

[Texas Proud]

I feel you. But when I use this method, no matter how carefully I wind the hose on the ground (and I used to run cat 5 cable and know something about organizing lines), when DW takes the hose and hauls it out she ends up with it kinked and tangled and tied in knots. Then I end up untangling it and spending a lot more time on it than I want to. So, based on Your Money or Your Life, it's worth $100 or so to me to free me up from fracking around with a garden hose when I could be wasting my time in a much more personally satisying manner.

Agree...

And the one that I bought has a thing-a-mabob that moves the hose back and forth when winding so it does not all go on one side or the other... to me, that is one of the problems with the other wheels.... you have to keep moving the hose back and forth to wind properly.... I like having the winder do that for me.... was worth the $140....

 

[Badger]

I never had much luck with hose reels but then I never bought an expensive one either. So now when I do finally get the urge to store the hose instead of just letting it lay on the ground for use the next time I coil it in a figure 8. Doesn't take any longer than reeling it up and it nevers kinks or tangles. However, I do like the idea of sturdy reel with a winder that keeps the hose moving back and forth on the reel. Otherwise I found reels too frustrating to use. With a gadget like that I may have to reconsider.

Cheers!

 

[ratto]

I feel you. But when I use this method, no matter how carefully I wind the hose on the ground (and I used to run cat 5 cable and know something about organizing lines), when DW takes the hose and hauls it out she ends up with it kinked and tangled and tied in knots.

I know what you're talking about because it happens to me too. I have 2 hoses coupled together. The green color one I bought from HD is a good kinker. The gray one (PowerFlo) I got from Sams Club has much better build quality with thicker & firmer wall, and it hasn't kinked on me yet in the last 3 seasons. It's not fun to haul 150 feet hose to water my vegetable gardens everyday in summer. So I just leave it on grass and move it a little bit after a few days. I only wind it whenever I need to mow the lawn.

 

[ratto]

just letting it lay on the ground for use the next time I coil it in a figure 8.

I will try a figure 8 next time. It sounds to be a better idea than my current figure 0.

 

[oldphd]

I got tired of buying new hose reels every few years because the "cheap" plastic ones don't last. I finally bought some made by www.rapidreel.com. They are more expensive, but extremely well built, with a 10-year warranty. They also operate much smoother than the plastic ones. Pretty much rust-proof, and you can get replacement parts if needed. Good stuff. Also, a family business like we need more of in this country.

I'll second the rapidreel recommendation. My wife had bought a few of those plastic things which didn't work very well. Sometimes one would break, sometimes she'd just want to try something new because it didn't work. I found the rapidreel and was leery of spending that much. But then I thought about it and figured we'd spent that much over several years and only had ones that didn't work well. They also drip at all connections!

So, I pried my wallet open and went for it.
Also got a new heavy duty hose. Got the rapidreel that bolts to the wall, and used teflon tape on the hose connections. Several years later and still not a single drip at the connections, works fantastic, I highly recommend it.

To (mis)quote John Travolta, "It's the Cadillac of hose reels!"

 

[ratto]

To (mis)quote John Travolta, "It's the Cadillac of hose reels!"

Is this one you're talking about?