Hi Christopher,
I agree. It's nice to have the pressure.
Hell, I can even shoot birds out of the trees with this thing!
PS: I may need to engrave the serial number on the nozzle in order to be legal in California ...
Regarding sourcing the 4" brass nozzles and brass valves ...
Q: Does anyone know of a better 4-inch brass hose nozzle or a better price?
Here's my quick nozzle summary, for others to benefit from, of the three types I bought from local box stores and tested this week:
ACE Hardware: $6.49
Home Depot: $7.67
Harbor Freight: $3 (regularly $5):
Of these three, I recommend the ACE Hardware 4 inch brass nozzle. If you know of a better nozzle, or, of a better price, let me know.
I might just do that as I found a new Sears nearby me. If I return my holy hose to Costco, that's (ummm... I don't remember), about $25 toward the purchase of that better Craftsman all-rubber hose!
Only my next rubber hose isn't going to have any stamped-in lettering on the outside!
And, I don't know if I'm gonna go black because my two black rubber hoses stain my hands when wet (no big deal, but still), while the two 3/4" red rubber hoses don't.
ALL my hoses though (except the cruddy green ones) are NOT those thin stamped steel threads (I only go for the machined threads).
Thanks for the pointer! I just went to Sears this week to return a broken tape measure (and diagonal cutters and a screwdriver):
Guess what they gave me? (Hint: It wasn't a Craftsman tape measure!)
Hmmm... it looks nice ... but ... at $13.69, it's a bit pricey considering I bought these half-and-half brass ball valves at Home Depot today for $6.00
Of course, yours is all brass, and mine is half plastic (or whatever that black stuff is) ... but still ... yours is twice the price:
QUESTION: What is that black stuff. Is it rubber? It feels hard but its also a bit soft.
Most people use trigger nozzles now.(water restrictions)
I bought a couple to test out on the rubber assault hose:
PS: Under California law, am I required to engrave the assault hose serial number #0000001 on the nozzle or on the valve?
Hmmm... I'll go back and doublecheck.
Thanks.
The wife used those trigger-style nozzles and hated them. Her main problem, she said, was they are difficult to set at a certain stream, and then just leave it there (she often walks away from the hose as it slowly waters plants).
So, we threw away all our trigger ones (even those very expensive sets from Costco which had quick connects - which turned out, for us, to be a waste of money).
This is the best garden hose nozzle ever made:
Are you allowed to carry them concealed in California?
By the way, I went to ACE today and picked up "their" rendition of the almost 100% brass garden hose shutoff valve:
Like the Home Depot garden hose valve, it had a black material where you'd rather have brass; but, for the extra dollar, it had a "two finger" shutoff valve, instead of the one-finger shut off valve of the Home Depot variety.
Presumably you can apply more force to this shutoff valve when it starts to get sticky ...
BTW, I just compared the two all-brass assault nozzles, side by side:
Clearly the double-action o-ring American-made ACE assault nozzle, at more than twice the price of the cheap Harbor Freight single-o-ring model, provided better aiming, and a more steady stream of fire than did the Chinese knockoff.
Just saying ...
Yea, but you can arm more people cheaply. If you have 1,000 folks armed with the high quality assault nozzles going up against 100,000,000 people armed with cheap low quality assault nozzles, it's no contest. The Germans learned this hard lesson in tank battles during WWII. ^_^
TDD
I saw something similar in the box stores, but I like it simple, and all brass - so I avoided them. In my environment (lots and lots and lots of sunlight), non-metal materials don't seem to last.
Of course, if they made the nozzle out of the same stuff they make my recycle bins from, then they *would* last outside.
If I think back, I almost never take advantage of these lifetime things - simply because of the need for receipts, and/or the mailing costs - or the hassle of the terms and conditions (like send in your radiator and we'll ship back a new one).
Are you allowed to carry them concealed in California?
BTW, I just compared the two all-brass assault nozzles, side by side:
Clearly the double-action o-ring American-made ACE assault nozzle, at more than twice the price of the cheap Harbor Freight single-o-ring model, provided better aiming, and a more steady stream of fire than did the Chinese knockoff.
Just saying ...
Yea, but you can arm more people cheaply. If you have 1,000 folks armed with the high quality assault nozzles going up against 100,000,000 people armed with cheap low quality assault nozzles, it's no contest. The Germans learned this hard lesson in tank battles during WWII. ^_^
TDD
I was surprised that the Harbor Freight Chinese nozzle, which effectively
*looked* essentially the same as the American model, actually performed far worse at higher speeds - and about the same at the lower, less demanding, speeds.a. They leaked when shut off (2 out of 7, versus 0 out of 3 for the American) b. They had a less satisfying spray at full force (the American just felt good) c. They only used a single o-ring (the American nozzle used two o-rings) d. The knurling was only parallel (the American knurling was diamond shaped) e. They had noticeably less heft (the American nozzle just felt good)
However, at low speeds (i.e., wide spray), which is what my wife uses them mostly for, the nozzles were about the same.
All in all - I don't recommend the Harbor Freight nozzles.
BTW, how often do you guys generally replace your nozzle o-rings anyway?
I was surprised that the Harbor Freight Chinese nozzle, which effectively
*looked* essentially the same as the American model, actually performed far worse at higher speeds - and about the same at the lower, less demanding, speeds.a. They leaked when shut off (2 out of 7, versus 0 out of 3 for the American) b. They had a less satisfying spray at full force (the American just felt good) c. They only used a single o-ring (the American nozzle used two o-rings) d. The knurling was only parallel (the American knurling was diamond shaped) e. They had noticeably less heft (the American nozzle just felt good)
However, at low speeds (i.e., wide spray), which is what my wife uses them mostly for, the nozzles were about the same.
All in all - I don't recommend the Harbor Freight nozzles.
BTW, how often do you guys generally replace your nozzle o-rings anyway?
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