Here’s How To Put A Hose On A Hose Reel – The Easy Way!
If you’ve ever had to deal with trying to coil up your garden hose, then you know that it can be quite difficult and frustrating.
But there is an easier way!
If you have a big enough yard for your hose to run down, consider picking up a garden hose reel instead. A garden hose reel will allow you to easily water your flowers or grass without having to worry about tangles or kinks in the line. Plus, they’re easy on both hands and back when dealing with long lengths of excess hose all day. So if you want something that can help make life easier while also being durable and reliable – invest in one today!
What Are the Benefits of Using a Hose Reel?
A garden hose reel is a very affordable way to keep your gardens looking good and watered without the use of an extra person or expensive gardening equipment. The best part about this type of water system is that you can have your water on demand at all times. With no need to worry about running out of space in your watering cans, or dragging heavy hoses around the yard; these benefits are just some examples as to why investing in a garden hose reel may be worth considering if you don’t already own one!
You will:
- Keep your garden hose neat, organized and out of the way.
- Avoid unnecessary manual labor lugging around a hose
- Protect your hose from accidental damage.
How Does a Hose Reel Work?
A garden hose reel is a device that helps you manage your garden hose. It’s designed to store the hose when not in use, and it can be easily wound up on itself like an old-fashioned clothes line so it takes up less space. There are a few types of hose reel.
Most typical garden hose reels consist of a wheel with two spokes, which are connected by a mounting bar running horizontally across the top. Portable hose reels can be moved on wheels. There are stationary hose reels mounted to your home or building that are more like a hose hanger. You’ll also find varieties of hose reels that hide the hose – either in a box something else that matched your patio décor.
How to Use a Hose Reel
If you’re new to gardening, then you might want to start out small before investing in a large hose reel.
You’ll find that many smaller gardeners don’t even own a hose reel because they prefer to manually coil their hose.
However, there are some benefits to owning a larger hose reel. Read on to learn more about how to put a hose on a hose reel.
1. Prepare The Garden Hose Reel
If you want to replace a hose on an existing reel, extend the hose completely until you see the connection male fitting inside the drum.
Use pliers or twist the hose by hand if you can.
Follow your model’s instructions to attach any parts and prepare it for use.
2. Get The Hose Ready
The new hose should be unpacked. Place the female end nearest the hose reel. It’s a good idea to stretch the rest of the hose away from the reel. This will help prevent annoying hose kinks later on.
It’s also much easier to wind onto the reel later one if take the time to stretch out the hose now.
Uncoil the hose to its full length. A slight incline at the end of the hose can allow draining if you’ve used the hose before.
Since they are heavy and slipperier, hoses filled with water are hard to manipulate into a coil. It’s a good idea to remove any hose attachments before winding the garden hose.
Connect Your Hose
Take the female end connector of the new garden hose and feed it through the guide opening on the reel and screw it onto the water coupling connection on the drum. Attach the garden hose to the hose reel and make sure the connection points at the water source tap, from the tap, at the spray end, and the side of the reel are all secure.
Tighten the hose faucet fitting using pliers to ensure a leak-free connection, but take care not to overtighten, as you can strip out the threads or break any plastic components.
Make sure that there is no slack between the two connections by pulling them apart slightly. If they do come loose, tighten them back together again.
TIP: Insert a rubber washer into the bottom of the hose coupling before connecting. Rubber washers are more watertight than vinyl washers and help avoid leakage inside your reel.
4. Wind Up The Garden Hose
Start winding the hose onto the drum of the reel. Take your time and coil it evenly back and forth across the drum to make sure you don’t snag anything as you wind up.
If you’re using a motorized hose reel, press the button or pedal that spins and let the hose retract. Make sure the hose is coiling up back and forth across the reel drum but otherwise let the electric motor do it’s job.
If you’re using a manual hose reel, make sure to keep the hose snug to the drum of the reel as it rotates. This will avoid any snags or tangles. Those can be a beast to get out once you have 40 feet of standard hose on the reel!
5. Connect the hose reel to your outdoor faucet
If you’ve connected the hose reel to the faucet spigot, make sure that the feeder hose is in good condition. Inspect the leader hose to make sure there are no cracks or kinks.
Sometime manufacturers use a length of cheap hose for the leader hose, so this step is important.
The feeder hose should be long enough for you to put your hose reel where you want.
If the feeder hose has female fittings or couplings, check if there are any rubber or vinyl washers that need to be replaced.
There should also be a tight clamp around the nipple on the drum of your reel – otherwise you risk wasting water and lower water pressure out the end of your hose.
FAQ
Do you need to turn the water off before you roll up the hose on the reel?
For most cases, you don’t need to turn the water off at the building spigot before you roll up the hose. However, if the last spigot/outlet in your house is inside and has some height to it, or if you have a vertical garden downspout with heavy pressure on it, then yes. If this sounds familiar, we recommend turning the water off at each spigot.
Can you use any kind of hose with your reel?
Yes! You can use any garden hose with a reel without any issues. It’ll be a little tougher with a expandable garden hose, but really it doesn’t make sense to use that type of hose on a reel anyway.
What if I have a really long and heavy duty hose?
Yes! You can wrap any garden hose around the reel without any worry. They are made to store the entire hose. They are made to store all types of garden hoses as well.
Are metal hose reels better than plastic ones?
Different people have different opinions about the advantages of a plastic hose reel vs. a metal one. One advantage of plastic reels over metal that people point out is that they are usually less expensive than ones made of brass or aluminum.
Other people prefer a metal hose reel because they say they are easier to keep in good shape and last much longer.
In Summary
A hose reel can come in many different sizes, shapes, materials, colors, and designs. The most important thing is that it should fit in your yard for easy access when you need to use your hose.
