Looking for a self-rewinding garden hose reel....

[dean]

Looking for a self-rewinding (spring action) garden hose reel....

Anyone seen a good one they can recommend? Need at least 100' of 5/8" hose.

Thanks

Dean

[Gideon]

I bought one at Home Depot last summer. It was the only battery operated self-winder that they had, so it shouldn't be hard to locate at HD. Mine is now loaded with 100' of 5/8" hose and it works great. Just press the foot lever and watch it wind up rather neatly. I'm pretty certain that this is the brand and description: Suncast Powerwind Garden Hose Reel w/ 100' Capacity

Mine is located just a couple of feet from an outdoor outlet and my only regret is that the hose reel doesn't come with an AC adapter. I keep procrastinating on testing the charger to see if it can be safely left on continuously, which is almost as good as a true AC adapter.

I benchmarked the motor under various loads, the most significant being winding the entire 100' of hose up a moderate grade. It draws about 6 to 10 amps, which means that an auto battery charger could provide the current needed to power the motor without using a battery. And, of course, building a dedicated 10 amp power supply should be very easy. Folks - don't mess with improvised power supplies unless it is plugged into a GFCI outlet.

The unit tends to tip over when you pull out the last 10 or 20 feet of hose. Two spikes are provided for anchoring the unit in the ground, which solves that problem.

I believe that Hydro-Industries makes the "ReelSmart Automatic Hose Reel", which is water powered. I haven't seen one and I didn't look hard since I was content with the battery operated model.

I purchased mine for less that $100, but I can't remember the exact amount now. Now that I see how great they are, I'd pay $200 for one if I had to.

Good luck, Gideon

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Anyone seen a good one they can recommend? Need at least 100' of 5/8" hose.

Thanks

Dean

[dean]

Gideon - ok I'll check it out at HD. Can it be bolted to the floor or wall? Thanks for the long reply!

The type I was looking for is a solid steel reel with a spring mechanism, like the ones used on air lines sometimes. They are like $300-400, a little bit too much perhaps, depends on how long and easy it is to rewind.

Thanks

Dean

[Eric Houkal]

I have the same unit, love it, but wonder why you are so concerned with battery life? Mine seems to go on forever on a charge, considering how long the motor has to run to pull in all that hose.

[Harry Everhart]

I purchased a water powered hose winder from Lowes for $50. It worked fine for 100 feet of 5/8 inch hose - my problem is that I have a 120 foot hose. You press a handle and water power coils the hose up - there is a small outlet for the water that powers the little motor. It cost $50 and was made in Israel.

Harry

[Gideon]

Eric,

Any lead-acid battery should never be left on partial charge for more than 24 hours. So, to optimize battery life, you should be removing and recharging the battery soon after using the hose reel. That's a pain.

One solution is to keep the battery on continuous charge (assuming that the charger is "properly designed). Running the system directly off of an adapter is even better since you are no longer using a battery.

If you are using the hose in a somewhat normal day-to-day manner and only charging the battery when the motor appears sluggish, you are greatly reducing the life of the battery. That may not be the end of the world, but it is a situation which I would prefer to avoid. Likewise, the battery should be recharged at least once per month during the off season.

FYI - these batteries are the same as the removable batteries in the Harbor Freight 3,000,000 candlepower rechargable lanterns. I'm pretty certain that the lanterns go on sale often for a price lower than the purchase price of a battery by itself.

Gideon

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I have the same unit, love it, but wonder why you are so concerned with battery life? Mine seems to go on forever on a charge, considering how long the motor has to run to pull in all that hose.