If you have worked in Fire and Emergency services or as an ardent gardener you probably know what a hose reel is and how it makes your job efficient. If you have never used a hose reel before, this is the cylindrical spindle that stores a hose especially for gardening or the ones used by the fire brigade.
Let us look at some of the best hose reels you can use for gardening and which offer great value for your money. We came up with this list considering the requirements of an average garden size.
#automatic storage system
Top features that make this hose reel great include;- A 225-foot hose capacity with an automatic storage system that eliminates the hassle of spooling a large hose manually.
- A swiveling base which makes it easy to unwind the hose without expending so much energy.
- An automatic hose guide that ensures the hose is neatly tracked onto the reel.
- Stakes that hold the base securely ensuring the hose reel remains in place.
The benefits of using this hose reel include;- Its large holding capacity and automatic reeling makes it ideal to use with large areas without getting tired.
- The automatic reeling with a guided tracking is also a great feature in ensuring your hose is well protected.
The hidden design makes it quite attractive and also offers great protection for your hose against damage and extreme weather elements.
Featuring a hidden hose design, this is one of the best offering for hose reels especially if you have a large hose. This hose reel is ideally designed for use with large gardens or backyards and can hold plenty of hose to go around comfortably.
If you have a more than average size garden or yard, then this is the best choice for you when it comes to hose reels. The automatic reel and guide not only offer protection to your garden hose but also ensure that you don’t get tired pulling the hose around the yard. Instead, it gives you ample time to organize and tender for your plants, flowers and grass in your garden.
Features that make this hose reel the best seller
*Flexzilla premium air hose with bend restrictors;3:1 safety factor
*Extreme all-weather flexibility, even in sub-zero temperatures (-40 degree to 150 degrees Fahrenheit)
*Comes with bend restrictor that reduces wear and tear thus prolonging the life of the hose
*Maximum working pressure: 150 PSI
*Anodized Aircraft Aluminum Fittings
*Wall or Ceiling Mount
*Swivel Mounting Bracket
*Adjustable Hose Stopper
*Durable Construction
This hose reel is economical and retractable making it very ideal for your home. The Flexzilla Retractable Enclosed Plastic Air Hose Reel features an auto retract/latch hose mechanism which keeps the excess hose out of the workspace.
It has a positive latching mechanism which locks the hose automatically in 18-inch intervals.
The reel housing is made of UV stabilized polypropylene and is tough enough for any kind of work.
This Air Hose was tested and stayed flexible down to -40 degrees below zero. Its Extreme all-weather flexibility makes Flexzilla one of the industry leaders.
With the introduction of Garden and Water Hoses, it revolutionized gardens, yards, and worksites. Due to its lightweight feature, it redefined flexibility for both homeowners and professionals.
Flexible Hybrid Polymer Air Hose
Flexzilla Air Hose Reel features hose with zero memory so it lies flat where you drop it. This hose reel won't work against you while in use or rewinding back inside the reel ,even in subzero conditions. Its extreme all-weather flexibility is due to a flexible hybrid polymer material that redefines flexibility. This hose is strong even under pressure.
Anodized Aircraft Aluminum Fittings
To increase durability, the fittings are made of high-grade aluminum.This anodized aircraft aluminum extends the life making the fitting outlast the competition.
Adjustable Hose Stopper
The hose stopper is adjustable which gives you the freedom to increase and decrease the length of the hose that remains when the hose is fully retracted.
Swivel Mounting Bracket
Its swivel bracket allows the reel to swivel freely up to 180°. This will allow the reel to move in the direction of your work thus enhancing your work efficiency.
Wall Mounted
The air hose reel is also mountable to the wall thus creating convenient storage and to free up the workspace.
Ceiling Mounted
The air hose reel is mountable overhead giving it a more centralized placement. This frees workspace and delivers convenient storage.
The Best Garden Hose Reels Buying Guide
There are different types of hose reels with the most common ones being the self-retracting, motor driven and hand crank.
In this article, we are going to look at why it is important to use a hose reel for your gardening needs, how to use it and what benefits you get from using the hose reel.
Why should you use a hose reel for your gardening needs?
If you have an average garden, you may not have considered using a hose reel before because you see no value in it. However, that’s not the case.
Using a hose reel helps protect your hose than if you were to store it haphazardly. Some of the benefits of using a hose reel include;
Longevity
You probably use your hose daily to wash your car and during the spring and summer to do gardening. This constant use puts the hose under stress requiring that it be protected for it to serve you longer.
Using a hose reel therefore ensures that you avoid sun damage, tangles, cracking and other factors that may damage your hose. This in turn guarantees that your hose lasts longer and saves you money of buying a new one more often.
Safety
Using a hose at home comes with some safety challenges such as kids and the elderly tripping over it and sustaining injuries from the fall. However, when you use a hose reel with your hose, you can be sure that it is tucked away safely when not in use thereby avoiding ugly tripping incidents.
Protecting your garden
More often than not, if you use a hose without a hose reel, you forget to roll it back up immediately. As such, you leave it lying on the garden or grass. If left for a couple of hours, it can kill grass and plants underneath harming your plants and even the look of your yard or garden. However, since most hose reels are self-retracting, this is not something you need to worry about.
Organization
Just like for any hobby or occupation, gardening also requires some kind or organization if you need to achieve the best results. Using a hose reel in your garden helps reduce the clutter in the garden allowing you to concentrate more on the things that matter the most.
Convenience
This is a no brainer! A hose reel ensures you get the job done a quickly as possible without having to plan the logistics beforehand.
This kind of convenience gives you more time on hand to do things that are more productive for your garden than having to unroll and roll your hose whenever you need to water the garden.
Choosing the best hose reel
As much as hose reels seem straightforward, there are surprisingly a considerable number of factors that you need to look to get the best hose reel for your gardening needs. Some of the factors you need to at include;
Hose length
This is one of the most important factors you need to consider when choosing a hose reel for your garden. As a matter of fact, it is advisable to buy a hose reel that supports a hose 50 feet longer than your hose.
This provides some extra room for expand and contracting as the weather changes and also is large enough to hold your hose without looking overwhelmed and clumsy.
Portability
Depending on the size of your garden or how you want to use your hose, you may need to use a hose reel that is portable. Portable hose reels typically have wheels which allow them to be dragged around the garden giving you maximum coverage when you are watering your plants. On the other hand, you may choose to have your hose reel mounted to a wall especially if you have a small garden and if the hose is long enough to cover the entire garden without having to move the hose reel.
Retraction
If you de-spool your hose all the way when you are watering your garden, then you need to consider going for a hose reel which is self-retracting. These automatically pull back the hose and roll it up when you are done.
Moreover, they are easy and quick to use although you will put in some energy to pull it when you begin to water your plants.
You should also consider a hose reel with a powerful retractable mechanism if your hose is long as some hose reels have trouble pulling back long hoses onto the spool if the retraction mechanism is not strong enough.
Additional accessories to consider
There are a number of fittings that attach the hose reel to the water source that come with most hose reels.
Apart from the standard fittings, you should also consider getting a nozzle that attaches to the end of the reel to easily control the flow of water.
Such nozzle helps you turn off the hose and prevent wasting of water especially if you use a long hose and it’s a long way to the water outlet.