Garden hose

[Zootal]

Meh. I'd rather have a good quality product then a piece of junk that needs replacing periodically. A warranty doesn't do me any good when I have a broken tool that I need now and the stores are closed until Monday. Case in point - I made the mistake of buying a cheap off-brand tiller (you think I would have learned by now to NEVER buy cheap off-brand products). After two years the handle breaks. Replacement? No problem! Just wait 5 weeks for us to get one from the factory. Spring...ground is dry, but rain is coming next week. Till the ground now or wait another month or two for another break in the rain. And my tiller is broken and the best warranty in the world does me no good because I bought a cheap made in China plastic piece of crap and it takes 5 weeks to get a replacement handle. Moral of the story. Never buy cheap plastic made in China (or made anywhere else for that matter) crap. Fork out the bucks for something good so it doesn't bite you later.

[Mark Anderson]

While that may true for complicated equipment with motors like tillers, lawnmowers, and snow blowers that's not the case for simple things like hoses. Pity the fool who buys the cheap snow blower and spends space storing it all summer only to have it crap out during the first blizzard. A hose is kind of hard to screw up manufacturing wise and if it does break they're trivial to fix with splices. I only buy the cheapest hoses sold and my hoses go through the most brutal environmental conditions on my rooftop garden. They stay up there year round and suffer intense heat sitting on a flat rubber roof in the summer to intense sub zero cold during the winter. Only twice in seven years did a bubble appear in the middle one of my main transfer hose that needed to be cut out but that only costs a few dollars each time. Sometimes leaks pop at ends of tributary watering garden hoses due to stress from changing out watering wands but then again, that's trivial and cheap to fix as well. Why spend $50 on a hose when there's one for $20? The thing I do buy quality are hose splices, new ends, and splitters, I only get the copper stuff. The plastic splitters and splices never lasted more than a week in my garden.

I can't believe some of you people get warranties for something as simple as a hose and are organized enough to keep track of your hose warranty. I'd rather fix the damn hose myself than even drive to some big box store, stand in line, and explain to some bored clerk that my hose is broke and I want a new one. Actually, I'd be kind of embarrassed doing something like that. Some people, however, have no shame LOL.

[brooklyn1]

Apples/Oranges... no comparison between a tiller and a garden hose. For a few bucks one can easily replace a garden hose with a quick trip to any store that sells gardening stuff. A tiller is not so inexpensive to replace (although were I in your spot I'd have rented one for the day). The moral is not about cheap price so much as it is about never buy machinery except from a reliable service center nearby that stocks the parts for and services what it sells. I bought my tiller from the Authorized dealership in town that sells all sorts of farming equipment including huge tractors... when a belt broke on my practically new tiller requiring a couple days wait for a new one to ship they delivered a loaner tiller right to my door, and picked it up three days later when they brought the new belt, installed and test ran it. Never buy mechanical equipment except from a reliable dealership that services what they sell. I would never buy a new tiller, mower, chainsaw, snowblower and such from a big box hardware just because it's $30 cheaper.

[brooklyn1]

That they have no shame is right... 99.9 percent of garden hose failure is due to user abuse, which is very easy to ascertain, at least you are honest enough to admit that you abuse your garden hoses. When the big box stores replace garden hoses (and other merchandise) under warranty no questions asked it's really for customer good will. The big stores have an agreement with the manufacturers to share the loss., and they know that the products are abused but they sell enough volume that the loss is spread amongst all who buy those products by selling at higher prices. The honest consumers get hosed in all orifices, wealth has been spread around for many years, losses have also been spread around for just as long, if not longer... such policies are nothing new but of late the greed factor has crossed the line and so there'll be hell to pay when it all backfires. Only individuals can decide what level of charity/good will is comfortable and a good cause, but when people are forced to give charity to the undeserving they simply stop giving anything. It's by no accident that Democrat and Depression begin with the same letter, same as Republican and Revolution.

[Bill who putters]

I'd like to thank you for impetus to look about and found

NEAT.

Bill who thinks history always written by the victor

[Billy]

"I'd have to retrain the gardener!"

OK, garden owners, get your lemonade, umbrellas, and whip, and get to gardening.

[Mark Anderson]

I too find it incredulous that the Democrats hoisted Herbert Hoover into the Presidency.

[harry k]

I have had quality ones, cheap ones and medium ones. All kinked and once kinked, always kinked. My solution?

The yellow ell cheapos (I get 'em at Wal Mart). Yes they kink but are easily unkinked, usually just by walking down them and kicking them. They also don't kink in the same places. About the same amoutn of kinks as a heavy duty one but the fooling around unkinking beats them hands down.

Harry K