What are the Choices of Garden Hose Reels and where will you get the best Hose Reels Advice?

There are many choices of garden reels available today and it can be quite confusing as to deciding which type, style, brand etc is going to best suit your needs. In this article I will offer my over 20 years experience in the hose reels business to hopefully offer you the best hose reels advice so that you can be armed with the best information when you make your purchase.

Where Will You Position your Garden Reel?

So you are considering buying a hose reel for your garden. Maybe you have walked through a few large DYI or Hardware stores or even checked out a few sites on the internet and are maybe a little bit confused about what type you should purchase and importantly where are you going to position it?

There are a number of aspects to consider when selecting a garden reel for your particular needs. Some of these are listed below in brief form and will be covered in future articles in more DETAIL. Some of these are pretty obvious however there are some things that many people fail to take into account when finding the right reel. Hose length, hose diameter (internal and external), water pressure, length of hose required (versus what hose capacity different reels have, the construction material (steel or plastic), method of winding up the hose (hand crank or spring rewind) and the major aspect that many people fall down on is the positioning of the reel.

Let's first look at the that wonderful real estate adage, position, position, position as a starting point. Where you are going to install / mount your garden reel needs careful consideration. What practical length of hose will you need relative to where you install it? What area of garden or lawn do you want to effectively cover with your reel?

So if the length of hose on a type of reel you are considering is not quite going to give you the coverage you need - what is the solution?

Is your current inlet water supply (tap / faucet) limiting you on where you can install / mount your garden hose reel? The chances are the position of your water supply (tap / faucet) outdoors for use with a garden hose was arbitrarily determined by the builder of your home or the previous owner, or if by you then likely from a set of plans - let's face it, the garden / lawn area was either not predetermined or has changed.

If installing / mounting your garden hose reel near / next to your water supply to the reel (tap / faucet) will not give you the most desired coverage then there are solutions.

Example - you may have 2, 3 or more water supply points around your house - typically most homes have at least 2 - one at the front and one at the back of the house. These outlets may not be in the best position for watering your garden - I know mine aren't and I designed my house!!!

Example 2 - I have a water supply (tap / faucet) on the south facing side at the front of my house, about a metre (3ft) from the corner of the house. There is no garden(s) on that section of the south side of the house - the gardens are on the west side!!!

So mounting a hose reel right next to that outlet means I am pulling the hose around a corner - not very practical or sensible right?

So the solution for me was to run some poly water pipe from the outlet, along the ground (eventually I pulled up my pavers and buried it) to a point on the west side of the house where the garden is. Sounds logical however even I didn't think of it in the first place!!

Last but not least in this section of positioning your garden hose reel is how you install / mount your garden hose reel after you have decided where you want / need it. A garden reel should be offering you efficiencies right? - if not then you could use an old car wheel rim.

I fitted a riser and an on / off valve and then mounted my garden reel in the best possible position for me to get the best efficiency and least hassles. It is easy and cheap to do - you don't need to pay a plumber to do this for you - some poly pipe, some fittings and the job is done!!

Tip - make sure you mount the reel at a suitable "ergonomic" height - a height which will not have you bending over or reaching up to operate it. Take some time to measure the installation / mounting position carefully before installing the reel to a wall or post or other fixing. The ideal position is for the hose as it rewinds onto the reel to be at about your hip height (this assumes in hand crank reels that the crank is centre line with the reel which should be the case - for spring rewind reels this will be a given).