Why don't they make a garden hose puncture repair kit?

[hubops]

... but what about the Crest tube ! ? Huh .. John T.

[micky]

Yes, you're wrong. Cindy posted a brass fitting,

"heavy duty machine brass couplings and shank, with heavy die-cast metal clamps." And I've bought brass from Amazon.

But frankly I dont' think brass is needed. Plastic works if you dont' buy a coupling that is for hoses bigger than one's own hose. If you do that, the screws bottom out before the coupling is on tight. How many people remember to measure their hose before they go to the store?

Somone else posted that a $6 coupling was a lot to spend for a $50 hose. Even if you buy two for $12, you've saved $38! Plus when the hose fails entirely you can take the add-on couplings off and save them for when you need them again.

My hose reel is on the north side of the house but I've had hoses for 20 or 30 years that don't seem to get any older.

I've never bough one new. 3 or 4 of my hoses I found on the curb -- I don't know how old they were -- and only one has gotten so bad in 40 years that I threw it away. Come to think, I think I think that one had a couple leaks and I wrapped them with tape. Maybe it didnt' stop the leak but it stopped the leak from spraying me! And that was enough for me until I threw that hose away.

[Scott Lurndal]

[Scott Lurndal]

Everthing I've purchased from Lee Valley over the last decade has been of the highest quality. Can't speak for their hose, but they do provide quality.

[Scott Lurndal]

They _are_ nice.

I've used those barbed fittings to repair a number of hoses over the last two decades. Rock solid repairs.

It works. It works well.

[micky]

Self-fusing silicone tape is great stuff, does things nothing else can do, and everyone should own a roll. It definitely fuses in a few hours or a day until it's like one blob, but the question in your case is, Will it stick to the hose (as well as it sticks to itself). The hose is not made of what the tape is made of, silicone rubber or whatever.

LOoking at the first one listed here, first, it says for Emergency repairs. an indication it won't last very long.

More importantly, it says "Safe and Long-lasting – We use only top-quality silicones, which are strong, flexible and stretchable. Our waterproof leak seal tape is water resistant, wearable and anti-skid. It will only sticks to ITSELF, it will NOT stick to other item"

***** .... it will NOT stick to other item.

Still if you wrap all the way around the hose, it will continue ot envelope the hose and water should only dribble out through whatever space it can find through the tape and the hose. If you try this, follow the instructions. You have to stretch the tape, a little at a time, to maybe 3 times its length before applying to start the self-fusing part.

[Andrew]

Scott Lurndal wrote on Sat, 02 Dec 2023 16:48:45 GMT :

I apologize for my rant against "you get what you pay for" idiocy.

It's always said by people who don't understand what is being bought so they think that the price fully reflects the quality of the item.

An example is those faux-brass fittings aren't real machined brass. For example, look at this crummy hose with the faux-brass fittings.

It's garbage at any price. But nobody is going to tell you that in the marketing literature.

Often, they'll bronze-tint the Zinc/Aluminum to l@@k like it's brass. Or they'll say it's brass when it's really cheap "stamped brass" and not the more expensive machined brass or they'll make only the parts that you see brass (like "brass threads") when the failure is never in the threads but in the other sections.

It irks me when stupid people say "you get what you pay for" because I can go on for hours about how putting a brake pad in a pretty box sells for more than that same brake pad put on the shelf in a brown paper bag.

Sure, you're getting a pretty box. But you're not getting a better product - which is what you paid for.

I can always learn more about garden hoses, where I make my decisions on quality first & then I try to get the best price for _that quality_.

What I would love is to find a good-quality hose for less than $1 a foot.

Why less than $1 a foot? Because I can get it for that price anywhere. I want better.

As for quality metrics, the question would be what are the most important features in a quality hose - which takes much more intelligence to digest than simply spewing stupid platitudes that "you get what you pay for."

That Continental 5/8ths inch rubber garden hose is $50 for 50 feet.

It has machined brass fittings. And 100% rubber (AFAIK) in the middle. I have a few of them already and they seem to me to be of good quality.

The color doesn't matter much, and in fact, black is bad in some ways. Here's a blue rubber hose that says it has brass fittings, which are nickel plated. I can see why blue is better than black but why the nickel plating?

Some black hoses, for example, leave black marks on your hands after being outside for many years - but so far these Continental hoses don't do that. This is the one I have that leaves black marks in your hand. 's not necessarily garbage - but it's a quality metric to know about.

The fittings have to be machined brass though, but the size of the hose could be 5/8ths or 3/4 - where it doesn't matter to me for what I use a garden hose for so I'll take any hose diameter - I have both sizes.

I have a few of those cheap green hoses and they kink and crack like you can't believe, but I also have a few of those red thick 3/4" 100 footers that over the years will never even once kink - but they crack like crazy.

I apologize for the tirade about the person who tried to advise me but giving bad advice that everyone knows is bad advice isn't helpful to me.

I am wide open to suggestions as to what a good quality hose entails. And I'm wide open to suggestions as to how to get it at a good price.

If I could get a rubber hose with machined brass fittings for less than $1 a foot, then I wouldn't need to repair punctured hoses with $16 worth of fittings because a repaired hose is always inferior to one that is not because the repair fittings are crappy that you can find in the store.

Or, if I could find a good quality repair fitting, then the $16 spent (one male & one female) would be a good investment given the $50 hose price.

[Andrew]

Scott Lurndal wrote on Sat, 02 Dec 2023 16:51:17 GMT :

I can agree with you that those stamped brass fittings are probably "sufficient" for a simple cut-and-repair so I thank you for the find.

Unless I'm merely jerry rigging a repair, the hose clamps are the wrong thing for a garden hose because it cuts your hands and gets caught up when dragged - and the two things hoses get a lot of is dragging and handling.

But they did give me an idea which I can use which is to find a small piece of pipe and hose clamp that on - but I don't want to have to cut the hose.

I want to purchase machined brass and not stamped brass - but at least that fitting you found was brass and not aluminum (which tends to get these weird white nodules given the acidity/hardness of my well water).

Thanks for that find.

[Cindy Hamilton]

Yep. I provided a link to Lee Valley's hose repair device. My comment about "you get what you pay for" addresses Andrew's desire to have a quality hose at less than $1/foot.

I'd like to be the Queen of Ruritania and wear a crown, but that's not happening either.

[Cindy Hamilton]

The adage is probably less well worded than it might be. You can spend a lot of money and maybe get crap. If you try to spend as little money as possible you _will_ get crap.

[Cindy Hamilton]

The best price possible for high-quality goods is higher than you want to pay. Go ahead and spend as little as possible and end up with crap.

Fine. I didn't.

[Scott Lurndal]

It's a bloody hose. The forged brass fitting will outlast you.

Here's another, safe for potable usage:

Careful handling usually obviates that as a serious problem.

Forged isn't quite the same as "stamped". It's certainly good enough for a hose repair.

[hubops]

400 psi burst. The one that I suggested was cheaper, lighter, guaranteed for life , and oh yeah 500 psi burst. Good luck with your holy grail hose. It seems like you strive attention and need to pontificate. Good luck with that, also. Regards to Arlen. John T.

[micky]

This thread is 50 posts now. I won't be satisfied until it gets to 150. Then I'll sell.

[micky]

YOu apologize here but in the next sentence you insult the people who say it. By saying they don't understand something and they use faulty logic.

YOu could have written this without a word about the people who say it. For example, "It's important to note that price doesn't always fully reflect quality"

[Andrew]

Scott Lurndal wrote on Fri, 01 Dec 2023 20:59:07 GMT :

I don't think I've ever found the perfect hose that doesn't fail. So what I'm looking for is a good quality hose that isn't too bad.

What do you think about those "layered" hoses with outside layers?

This black ribbed non-layered hose leaks a black oily dye so maybe an outside layer would have been helpful to prevent that oily black dye.

also notice the spiral crack on the outside layer of that yellow-striped green hose next to it - which means the layer is peeling.

Maybe all those outside layers always will crack over time, so that's kind of why I think a better quality hose is made of fewer layers maybe?

Look at these two red hoses where the darker red 3/4" hose cracked everywhere in that the outside coating is falling apart in all spots.

the lighter red 5/8ths inch hose next to it with the nickel-plated machined brass fittings is in much better shape.

Some of my hoses are nickel plated but others just machined brass. What do you think the advantage of the nickel plating is?

In this picture, you see I have all the crappy hose fitting repair kits.

you also notice both the red and gree 5/8ths inch rubber hoses have machined brass ends (the red is nickel plated machined brass).

The red hose sprung a leak and you can see I repaired it with the crummy plastic fittings and you can also see another chafe mark a foot away.

The black rubber hose is showing that it's likely an impregnated cloth (I don't know if you can see the crosshatched threads or not).

Also notice the brass nozzles are the three O-ring type, not the two O-rings like some have, and not the 1 o-ring of the crappy HF nozzles.

It's getting harder and harder to find the on/off ball valve with stainless steel balls adn all brass construction though, as you can see the black hose has the crappy rubber encrusted brass instead of being 100% brass.

Given no hose fails at the start, the key question is what to look for in a hose that won't fail over time, where nobody is going to keep the original receipt and guarantee of "lifetime replacement" for any hose, realistically.

Better not to need that guarantee by buying a good quality hose from the start, but what's good quality?

Basics: [1] Is 50 feet to 100 feet a good length? (Both are ok for me.) [2] Is 5/8ths & 3/4-inch a good diameter? (Both are ok for me.) [3] Are machined brass male:female ends a good quality hose? [4] Should the hose itself be made out of rubber? (Some are layered.)

Details: [5] Does the brass need to be nickel plated? (What does Nickel do?) [6] What about ribs? (Some have ribs to prevent kinks I think.) [7] Should it have an internal spline? (I've seen than in some hoses.) [8] Does the color matter? (Black hoses sometimes ooze black die.)

The main question to answer is what's a good quality hose anyway?

[Andrew]

Bob F wrote on Fri, 1 Dec 2023 21:58:56 -0800 :

I think a hose wrap can work if we can find the right hose wrap to purchase since this red hose has had a black 6"-long wrap on it for many years.

I don't remember adding that wrap but it's been there for fifteen years.

There is another place a hose takes a beating, which is the first foot or so after the female end because of the bend that happens at the spigot.

I tried using these cheap vinyl with plastic ends short length 5/8ths inch you see in that picture for that, but they don't hold up well over time.

You bring up a point that by "allowing" a slow trickle, the pressure isn't as great on a tape fix, such that it might work better than doing nothing.

[invalid unparseable]

Plastics and rubber eventually decay when exposed to air and sunlight and are beyond simple repair. I have a couple of new hoses just in case and had to buy about 5 years ago to connect to neighbors house for water while we got a new well. Just repaired one of the old hoses and if that fails I will discard and use one in reserve.

[rocco portelli]

Do you know anything about hoses or can you only make childish jokes?

Do you think these stainless steel garden hoses are any good?

I was going to suggest it to the OP but the description has a lot of buzz words. Do you know what any of them mean? Or do you only make silly jokes?

The HydroSteel 3 layer hose is constructed from rubber inner tube, wrapped in a commercial-grade 304 stainless steel serpent tube. Then encased in a polyester weave to ensure it doesn't rust, is resistant to leaks, punctures and extended drags over tough surfaces and is cool to the touch in hot temperatures.

FLEXIBLE & LIGHTWEIGHT - the unique interlocking flex design of the steel is extremely flexible & easy to maneuver around tight corners, trees and other obstacles while remaining significantly lighter than commercial hoses

3 LAYER DESIGN - the 3 layer design is engineered to form the perfect hose. The RUBBER inner tube - ensures the water flows smoothly, the STEEL middle layer - protects the hose against kinks, punctures and the leaks, the WEAVE

- ensures the hose withstands the elements for years

BRASS FITTINGS - the solid brass crush resistant fittings & stabilizer collar are engineered to withstand extreme force while the on/off valve makes the output easy to control

MONSTER 500 PSI - the best in class 500PSI burst strength guarantees trusted performance and long life.

KINK FREE - the body of the hose is encased in a sturdy stainless-steel outer layer allows for a consistent, steady and high-pressure water output yet is memoryless, meaning it will lay flat, resist kinks, can coil easily and store effortlessly

NON-EXPANDABLE - this hose does not expand or retract guaranteeing a steady and uninterrupted flow of water

WEATHERPROOF - the HydroSteel Hose has been built to withstand extreme conditions - from sub-zero temperatures, the hose can be frozen in a block of ice -to- being left in the sun for days - and everything in between ensuring many years of reliable use

[Andrew]

Frank wrote on Sat, 2 Dec 2023 14:28:43 -0500 :

A garden hose, by its very nature, has to withstand the elements over time. Just like the plastic recycling bins the town gives me that stay outside.

They hold up forever, don't they? Yet the typical consumer grade garbage can falls apart in a few years.

It's all due to the recycling company selecting good design and materials. That's all I'm trying to do here.

Everybody needs a good sturdy reliable garden hose (and repair kit). So it's not just me. Everyone needs it. You need it too.

What they don't make, as far as I can tell, is a good kit. If they do make it, I can't find it.

And neither can you. That's really the problem here is that it probably doesn't even exist.

But that's why I asked the question of you in the first place. I couldn't find it. I was hoping someone here knew of a good repair kit.

The best idea seems to be some kind of shrink-wrap thick tape. Like this.

I don't remember doing that so I don't know how it was done. But if I can find that shrink-wrap tape, that might be the best solution.