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Gary350
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Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

Garden Water Hose

Today I was using the old hose another hole blew out the side then the hose became a water fountain. This hose has been repaired several places already so I drove to Walmart. This hose was $15 new but now same hose is $31.97. I am tired of repairing hose leaks so I checked out other hoses. For $47.97 I can get another 100 foot heavy duty hose with Lifetime Guarantee. Wow the heavy duty hose feel much heaver than the $31 hose. I would much rather have two 50 foot hoses than one 100 ft hose but 25, 50, 75 ft lengths are sold out. I bought the hose an went home. After unpacking the hose it was a 20 foot long coil spring. It took 15 minutes to try and make the hose lay straight so I turned on the water thinking water pressure might force the hose to get straight & stay straight. All that heavy water inside the hose made it harder to work with but I finally got the hose laying where I wanted it. I tried to pull hose closer to corn row but it was like trying to pull a cement block with a rope. Rubber is high friction maybe I should put a good coating of axle grease on this hose to make it easier to pull across the yard. After I watered the 1st corn row when I pulled the hose to 2nd row it kinked. I could give old hose a hard jerk kinks will come out but not this new hose. I jerked & jerked, flipped & twisted hose trying to make the kink roll out but nothing works. I had to drop what I am doing, walk 50 ft over there to manually get the kink out of the hose. Hose kinked 6 more times before I was finished watering. I am already regretting buying this new hose. I had to pull the hose back to the patio to put water in bird bath and water a few plants over there. I am exhausted pulling on this hose. Wife said, maybe you should exchange hose for the lighter weight $31 hose. That is not a bad idea but I need the exercise after spending 6 months in the house watching it rain. LOL. I would like to be in AZ every winter.

If your thinking about buying a new hose:

Plastic cost less, its lighter weight, low friction pulls easy, unkinks easier than heavy duty rubber.

Short hose is easier to manage than a long hose.

You will need to replace plastic hose about every 2 or 3 years.
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imafan26
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Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

I agree rubber hoses are very heavy. I have a 50 ft rubber hose and a couple of 50 ft vinyl hoses. The vinyl hoses are getting stiff and they kink almost every time and they seem to have permanent knots in some places. They are so stiff that coiling them is also hard, so I usually settle for getting them in the neighborhood.

The rubber hose has never gotten stiff and it is quite old. It does kink but it easily un kinks and does not have the memory that the vinyl hoses have. 100% rubber hoses are hard to find. I was looking for a new hose a month or so ago and found that most are synthetic rubber or composites and not real rubber. I also don't like the new hose ends they have. They are bulky but don't look to be made of quality materials. I also found out that not all hoses are food grade. I never thought about that before. The rubber hose I have is rated for hot and cold water. I can use it drain my water heater. I did put a hose saver on the spigot to keep the hose from tearing at the faucet. I do have to pull the hose to the extreme end to get to the other end of my yard. I just had to change the hose saver because it started leaking, but it did save my hose.

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Gary350
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Posts: 7396
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

This morning I moved the new hose due on the grass made it slice easy like sliding on ice 90% less friction. Later this evening I will experiment to see if I water the grass or hose if is slides easier.

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Gary350
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Posts: 7396
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

Harbor Freight Store has the same water hose I bought about 50% lower price than Walmart. The store here only has 50 ft hoses in stock. You can buy hoses online at https://www.harborfreight.com



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