Can we talk hose pipes

Just fitted an outside tape for the front of the house. Its in the garage near the door. I need a hose to fit on.

So, what’s good? Needs to be tidy (on a reel or similar), non drip, about 15m length.

Are these expandable ones any good? We have hozelock out the back but it drips constantly.

1) £17 for 50m of blue hose at screwfix.

2) Big hook on the wall to store it.

3) Learn to coil it in figure of 8’s rather than in circles or onto a drum and it’ll never kink.

3) Learn to coil it in figure of 8’s rather than in circles or onto a drum and it’ll never kink.

Or learn to ‘twist’ it when coiling it so it forms its own loop and does not kink. Works the same for cables. I think its one of those man skills that is dying out 😉

This was asked recently, I went with the advice of:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/fitt-30m-heavy-braided-nts-wintech-hose/8902j

Available in 15, 30 & 50 meter lengths.

Dripping hoselock is often because the plastic connectors are pretty lame. If you’ve high water pressure then upgrading to the metal connectors makes a huge difference (the plastic connectors spray water from the joint for us).

Aye, cheap screwfix hose here for over 10 years.

Brass connectors. Every time.

I got a decent heavy duty 50m hose. Unfortunately too stiff and heavy for the wife too reel back in when fully extended. Mind you, it is a lot easier in these current temperatures.

Snigger.

I was thinking this was going to be about hose pipe bans…..surely a water shortage is the next chapter in the year of hilarity we are currently enjoying.

Dripping Hozelock is perished o-rings for me.

no recommendations for those stretchy things then?

“Learn to coil figure 8s”  – oh do tell, where can we learn this man-skill? I’m fed up with our Hozelock kinking despite being on a reel

Are these expandable ones any good?

I impulse-bought one in ASDA a couple of weeks back. My old one took up far too much space and was made by Typhoo. Used it for the first time at the weekend. No complaints, it worked perfectly and shrivelled back up euphemistically once it was spent to go back in its little box. What else can I say, I’m reviewing a hose, what has my life become.

Or learn to ‘twist’ it when coiling it so it forms its own loop and does not kink. Works the same for cables. I think its one of those man skills that is dying out

Then you pull it straight when you come to use it again and it’s like wrestling a wet anaconda. (-:

“Learn to coil figure 8s” – oh do tell, where can we learn this man-skill? I’m fed up with our Hozelock kinking despite being on a reel

Google how to coil a climbing rope, same principle (assuming that’s what TINAS is describing, it sounds like it). Or there’s a YT video of some American / Canadian bloke demonstrating it with a leaf blower cable / extension, that’s where I made the climbing connection a while ago.

Ah, I googled, it’s kinda similar. Here’s a hilariously mad farmer explaining it.

Gardena Comfort High Flex Hose. Has been the least kinky hose we’ve ever owned. Also METAL gardena fittings, all of them. Bit of vaseline on the o-rings every now and then (or get a bag of 50 o-rings from ebay and replace every now and then).

Here’s a hilariously mad farmer explaining it.

That’s the funniest thing….. im done for the day

oh do tell, where can we learn this man-skill? I’m fed up with our Hozelock kinking despite being on a reel

Something I only learnt a few years ago working in TV and having to “coil” up 100m camera looms that weighed as much as a person.

Basically if you put the hose on the floor and lay it out in a figure of 8 coil rather than trying to wrap it in circles then you’re doing half a clockwise, then half an anti-clockwise coil, so no twists and no chance of kinks. And when it comes to use it again you just grab an end and walk off with it as unlike a circular coil the top loop doesn’t fall off and tangle with the rest.

Works for rope, hose, cable, chain, anything!

[or basically what that mad farmer said]

Makes it easy to carry too as you can get both arms in the loops (remember those hundred meter camera looms that weigh more than a pro cyclist?) and the loop isn’t now hanging round your feet like a heavy skipping rope.

Rehau

The last one lasted about 8 years.

@Cougar – thanks that video made me laugh

The figure 8 is a decent method but we don’t have space to leave it lying around. Ours is on a reel that you wind back in after use. Any to tips to avoid kinks?

It’s like this one:

I’m using hoselock tuffhoze. It’s the expanding hose that’s rated for pressure washers(what I use mine for) so far so good 😊

Neighbours had one of those expandable things.

Best thing since sliced bread for about 3 months. Then it went in the bin.

We left our expandable hose on a hook in the garden.

A fox bit it. It went in the bin…

Ours is on a reel that you wind back in after use. Any to tips to avoid kinks?

Lay the hose out, in twist all the residual twist, wind it in.

On a reel it should stay twist (hence kink) free it us was that way to start

The expandable ones are great – dead easy to use, fit into a really small space by themselves without any hassle. Ours lasted about three months however, and once they get a hole in the hose you cant easily repair them, as the elastic outer and inners are sealed togehter and to the ends.

Went back (slightly reluctantly) to a more traditional one.

If you do the figure 8 (we call it fleeting when using it for lots of cable) you can then fold it over so one stack is on the other. Then stick a bungee onto it or hang it over a big hook. When you want to use it, flip it back into two coils on the floor and off you go.

I got a couple of lengths of the cheap blue b&q stuff. Not sure how durable it will be but if it does kink the water pressure and warm weather are enough to un-kink it.