Tips on buying a garden hose

[Xiensky]

Can anyone share some tips on buying a proper garden hose like length, valve compatibility, pressure, etc.? Any inputs would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Ian]

I ended up buying a cheap hose, so the only advice I can offer is not to follow what I did . With hindsight, I'd have paid more and gone for a auto-retractable, non-kink hose. The one I've got will get kinks at the slightest movement and I've got to go and find where the tangle is. I'd pay that little bit extra and go for something quality.

 

[Tmann]

Length will depend on how far you need it to reach in your yard, I have a 100ft one that is also connected to a 50ft one to get where I need it. I spend a bit of money on mine, they are craftsman and guaranteed for life, I have had them for 14 years and not a single problem, except for when I ran over the end with my truck. I even left them outside one year in the winter and no problems. If you do have a problem you just take it back to sears and they give you a new one no questions asked. These hoses I have are rubber and no vinyl. If I were to purchase a new one I might look at buying one of those that expand when there is water pressure and then when you turn the water off they retract themselves automatically. I have seen a commercial on the tv advertising them a lot but can't remember the name of it, this type might be good for doing watering around your patio or something like that not sure it would work if you had a large yard.

 

[Jed]

There are various types of hoses to choose from. If I were to buy a new hose I would look at the hoses suitable for drinking water and a 3/4 inch one at that.
Here's the type http://caravansplus.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=7723

 

[DrCase]

My wife got one of the stretch out and come back hoses sitting on the kitchen table wanting me to try it .
I got my hoses I don't want to get hers dirty

 

[Xiensky]

Thank you everyone for your responses. I just had this mistake of buying a hose without measuring the opening of the faucet and the hose ended up not being able to fit the opening, so it was quite a waste of money. I think the retractable one sounds interesting to me.

 

[Valerian]

I've just bought an X hose. It is one that coils up to a very light weight when empty and when water under pressure flows through it expands by itself and does not 'kink'. I always find that if you buy cheap then you buy twice. Treat yourself to the best that you can afford.

 

[sissy]

kink free nothing more frustrating then to get halfway to the plant and no water because of a kink in it

 

[warmweatherwoman]

I want a x hose...can anyone give me round about prices on what they spent on theirs? Also is there a best place to purchase them at a decent prices. For instance- is a gardening store more expensive or less expensive then say shopping for my gardening supplies at walmart?

 

[limcid]

Thank you everyone for your responses. I just had this mistake of buying a hose without measuring the opening of the faucet and the hose ended up not being able to fit the opening, so it was quite a waste of money. I think the retractable one sounds interesting to me.

You should be able to find some adapters to get the correct fitting. I would suggest one of the larger home stores (Home Depot or Lowe's). Check their website before making a trip, though.

 

[LindaKay]

Thanks for these tips! I always just buy the cheap ones, but they do end up getting all kinky and such. I think it would be a better investment to spend a couple more dollars in order to get a good one.

 

[Daisy]

I agree about not buying the cheap hoses. I have done that several times and each time I wish I had spent a little more money on a good one. The cheap ones not only have a bad habit of kinking, but it seems like they only last me about a year and then I have to buy a new one. In the end, the heavy duty hoses are the best bargain and they are less frustrating to use.

 

[Ian]

To update the post I made above, I ended up getting a new hose just last week. It's a Hozelock wall mounted auto-rewind.... what a breath of fresh air compared to the old one. It's mounted to the wall just round the corner of the house (so it can't be seen too easily from the garden) and it works a treat. However, I do need to get a corner guide for it!

Big thumbs up on quality too, it feels pretty solid. I was initially concerned that the included screws/plugs for mounting may not have been up to the job, but as I had no wall anchors left I gave them a go and all seems fine .

 

[veg11]

We just have a regular hose but I really like the nozzle It has a lot of different settings, like mist, cone, full, jet, flat, and shower.

 

[skywatcher]

I think aside from the regular technical stuff, my grandfather always told me to always assess whether the hose I'm going to buy is capable of not only reaching far distances, of not only being able to water all the plants in the backyard, but also if I could find ways to regulate the water flowing out (like, not just weakening and strengthening the turn of the knob). We usually press the end of the hose to strengthen the water flowing out, and only weakening the turn of the knob when we need to hose to weaken the water flowing out. But generally, my grandfather's advice to me on hoses is to search for a hose that can allow me to do alternating watering methods depending on the kind of plant I'm going to water.

I'm not sure if this is effective, though.