OT - Time For News Hoses - What Do You Like?

OK...*new* hoses, not "news" hoses. My bad.

Size matters ... 1/2 5/8 3/4 .. I've never seen a light weight 3/4 ; never used a 1/2. I like the rubbery 5/8 - not the shiny vinyl ones. I hate all crank reels - always a PITA after ~ 2 years. .. long loops on a wall hanger for me ! .. lock-open the nozzle before beginning to hang it - so the water drains. John T.

Lee Valley switched to Flexilla as the main product -

- now it's on sale - discontinued ! Dunno. I've no experience with it. John T.

Nudging it a bit further off-topic. Reels wind up sucking. Trick I grabbed out of Popular Mechanics or something similar probably 45 years ago was to get an old tire. I got one taken off a UPS van, but damn near any size that's appropriate will work.

Dig a hole near your sill c*ck the diameter of the tire and about 3"-4" deeper than the tread width. Put 2½" - 3½" of coarse gravel in the hole and level it. Take your sabre saw and cut out the sidewall of the tire on one side leaving only the outer 2" or so of the sidewall. Flip the tire over and drill with a hole saw, half a dozen holes in the other sidewall.

Set the tire in the hole (with the sidewall holes down(, backfill and re-seed the perimeter.

Done with the hose? As Hubops says, turn off the water, open the far end and stand by the tire. Pull a length of hose and it will easily coil itself as you feed it into the tire. When ready to use it again, just grab the nozzle end and walk it out. Never kinks and it's easy to trim right up to it with the lawnmover without hitting the tire.

There's almost always (unless you used a really small tire and have a lot of hose) more than enough room to dump a nozzle or two and a sprinkler in the center of the thing.

I have no issues with either of my wind up hose reels. The back yard one is plastic. It's probably 5 years old. It replaced the same model that was at least 10 years old. I take full blame for breaking the old one.

The front one is metal, looks nice near the garage door and has a shelf on top for a coffee cup, hose nozzle, tools, whatever. Comes in real (reel?) handy. Probably 10 years, I replaced an O ring about 2 years ago.

There will be no buried tires in either location. I'm not digging a hole in my driveway or moving the AC condenser. ;-)

No issues with either of my hose reels. Both are way older than 2 years. I replaced an O ring on the decorative metal one after at least 8 years and I broke the plastic one (my fault) when it was over 10 years old. The replacement (same model) is at least 5 years old and going strong.

Not only should you open the nozzle before hauling it in, you should also bring the nozzle to the storage location. By "folding" the hose in half, you are never dragging more than half the weight.

Do you have a brand of 5/8" hose you like?

If you mean this one, I'll pass, at least for the front of the house. That is a godawful color.

.. the one that Lee Valley used-to sell .. Back a few years ago - when a lifetime guarantee wasn't the norm. I'll remember the brand name in a few minutes .. :-) John T.

I have a hose cart that holds 100' of 3/4" and 100' of 5/8" "contractors grade" hose. Yes, it's heavier than hell but the cart makes it easy to wind up and move. If it's all, or mostly out, it'll drain, too.

I like your tire idea but I'm sure my HOA wouldn't happy with it. They may not care now but once in a while we get a Michigan governor wannabe on the board who has a constant hair across *her* ass (it's always a "her").

So tell me about your contractor grade hoses.

There's lots of choices out there labeled as "contractor" and/or "commercia l".

How do you know who to trust? What specs should I be looking for?

You don't want one of these. It's heavy as hell. The 100' length probably weights 40 lbs, or more.

I look at the quality of the ends and any strain relief more than anything. These are *really* thick rubber, as well. I think I got them at Lowes a few years back. Brand? Wouldn't know.

DerbyDad03 wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com:

I like the color for air hose, it's sure hard to miss.

For garden hose, not so much...

Puckdropper

What? Are you saying I have to go out and actually *look* at a product? Damn. Why am I paying for Prime?

Oh wait...I'm not. My daughter is.

DerbyDad03 wrote in news:43e41fbc-f855-4ea2-baea- snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com:

I liked the Craftsman ones I got, for whatever reason they were 5-sided in cross section. I have no problem with flexibility in cold weather, but I'm usually pretty quick to start running 55-60F water through it. They're my ice rink hoses.

As far as weight, I'm not sure how to compare it. I have a rapid reel hose reel that does a great job picking the hose up. Sometimes I have to gather it (it's 200' of hose!) by walking about half the length and picking it up, then walking back to the reel.

Puckdropper

Yeah, I like to try on my pants, too.

Good plan. Give her a wad of cash and a shopping list. What could go wrong?

I was thinking the exact same thing. I have a couple of hybrid air hoses that color that are really nice.

Note that the manufacturer warns of knockoffs and wants you to send a request for an authorized distributer in your area.

That's the air hose I have (flexzilla). Good stuff.

That which is not prohibited is permitted! What do the by-laws say. I'll bet there's no mention of something of this sort in the bylaws. Then too, depending on placement, it IS "invisible" (especially in comparison to a hose reel) and if she cannot see it, she cannot. . .

YMMV

P.S. the tire idea isn't for everyone. DerbyDad has a point, he's not going to place it in his driveway. As for the A/C compressor. . .? Mine has set right next to my A/C unit for going on 45 years.