You know you’re a homeowner if you get excited about hose reels. My garden got an upgrade this summer in the form of a new heavy duty hose reel. And it’s seriously awesome.
If you’ve ever spent money on a plastic hose reel that broke within a season, I feel like we need to talk. With a plastic reel, either the sun will crack and break it, or the heavy weight of the hose will break it. The plastic reels are not really worth the investment. But…
Do You Even Need a Hose Reel?
I’ve lived without one these past five years, and the world didn’t stop. But watering plants was a bigger chore than it needed to be, and I hated the look of sloppy hoses strewn about the yard.
Yes, I could have coiled up the hose and placed it neatly next to the faucet, but most of the time that didn’t happen. After spending long afternoons working in the yard (dragging the hose around without the help of a reel), I would just toss the hose in a big pile and head inside.
With a hose reel, it’s easy to extend the hose out to any part of the yard. When I’m finished watering, I reel the hose back into a neat coil EVERY TIME. It never sits in an ugly pile getting tangled or kinked.
Today I’m sharing which hose reel I recommend, plus a brief interview with my husband Eric about how to mount this hose reel. Eric participated in this interview with very little grumbling. I asked him to give me 1,000 words on hose reels, and hey we got pretty close!
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The Winner: Eley Wall Mount Garden Hose Reel
Picking a hose reel was actually a huge project for Eric. He spent weeks reading reviews and watching videos. We’re really serious about vetting the items we invest in for our house, even with hose reels. 😀
The Eley hose reel ended up being perfect for us. It is made of metal, with stainless steel hardware, so it can handle daily use and tough weather.
I like that it’s wall mounted, so you can install it at a comfortable height for reeling, and it doesn’t tip over like freestanding reels. You can choose to mount it parallel or perpendicular to your house, whichever works best for your garden layout.
It has made it so much easier to water my garden. (BTW, if you’re wondering what happened to my rain barrels, I usually reserve that water for my veggie beds and use the wall-mounted hose for the growing number of new plants in my too-big-of-a-yard.)
Interview With Eric: How to Mount the Eley Hose Reel
As you’ll see below, Eric really hates the plastic reels, so he was excited to mount our new sturdy hose reel. Here’s what he had to say about the installation process.
What tools do you need?
- Eley hose reel with mounting hardware, available here
- Drill
- Tape measure
- Stud finder
- Socket wrench
- Box wrench
How long does it take to mount?
About one hour per reel to find the right spot, measure, drill pilot holes and then tighten in lag bolts, and put the reel on the mount and attach the hose and leader hose.
How do you mount it?
We mounted into wood “stud walls.” Used the lag bolts that came with it.
Here’s a good video about how to do it:
There are a bunch more on YouTube if you search for Eley hose reel. Also a link to the official ones here.
What important tips do people need to know?
It’s heavy so you want to make sure you hit studs on a wall install, if it’s masonry it comes with special bolts for that. If you need to mount it on a post there is an optional kit for that.
It can be mounted perpendicular or horizontal. There is also a kit to expand the spool to hold more hose if you want more than 150 feet.
Have you had a plastic hose reel break on you before?
Yes they are all pieces of shit.
Is this hose reel easier to use than the plastic ones?
Yes it reels out better and the metal fittings won’t strip like the plastic ones (where the hose attaches to it) plus they come with a 10-year warranty which is pretty amazing since it will be outside in the weather and they guarantee it won’t break.
Conclusion
If you spend a lot of time gardening or landscaping, a sturdy hose reel is worth the investment. Even if you just want to have a super tidy yard with a neatly coiled hose, you’d benefit from a reel, too.
This one has made it easier for me to water my plants and keep my hose looking neat.
Great info on the hose reels..we have went thru several before we are finally happy. I laughed at Eric’s comment about if a plastic one has ever broke ..(I could hear him saying that!lol) We just went thru finding the easier way to water all our outdoor plants this summer..our drippers just dont give them a big enough drink twice a day in this 110 degree desert heat so Prenty researched the coil hoses and found a nice “orange” one that works perfect from a garden store in the midwest. He then built a cover to keep the sun off it and we also got a long bendable hose sprayer..it’s funny how these simple things like hose reels and hoses become so important and have to be researched and figured out..right?! Yours looks great and glad it works for you!!
Haha, yes, that comment was classic Eric! 😀 These kinds of things definitely take a lot of time to research. I’m glad you found a good option. Eric spent so much time researching this and was super excited when it showed up!! We figured it would be a good blog post and maybe save people some time, since Eric already put in all the hours. 🙂
Yes! Eley is the best, after buying many plastic and fiberglass reels, I bought my first Eley hose reel maybe 25 years ago. Back then they were called RapidReel, but it was made by Eley. I recently puchase 2 more Eley hose reels and their quick disconnect hose couplings. All working great! I even showed my neighbor the Eley hose reel and he puchased one!
Wow 25 years, that’s awesome! Mine has been great so far and definitely seems like it will last a long time. So much better than constantly replacing the plastic ones!