Garden hoses

[R Clark]

Did a forum search but got no hits, so here goes.

I keep two 150' garden hoses outside during the non-freezing half of the year.  Like most, they stay hooked to the spigot.  Also like most, they kink like crazy and have developed "memory" kinks  that remain and reform, even when the hose is under pressure.  The only way I've found to eliminate kinks is to cut out the kink and insert a coupling joint in its place.  All of my hoses have multiple couplings in them.

The last time I bought hoses, I purchased hoses that were marked as durable and "anti-kink".  Not only did they kink, even when new, but I've had to cut out sections that were bulging under pressure as they were about to burst.   

Any recommendations for a hose brand that will serve me better?

I have a Flexzilla air hose in the shop that I really like, and I see that Flexzilla also sells a garden hose.  At $65/100 ft, it's not cheap, but I guess I'm willing to spend that if it doesn't kink, is durable, and is OK for UV exposure (I'm not the kind of guy who will put it in the house after every use.)   

Thanks for any inputs.

[wing nut]

Did a forum search but got no hits, so here goes.

I keep two 150' garden hoses outside during the non-freezing half of the year.  Like most, they stay hooked to the spigot.  Also like most, they kink like crazy and have developed "memory" kinks  that remain and reform, even when the hose is under pressure.  The only way I've found to eliminate kinks is to cut out the kink and insert a coupling joint in its place.  All of my hoses have multiple couplings in them.

The last time I bought hoses, I purchased hoses that were marked as durable and "anti-kink".  Not only did they kink, even when new, but I've had to cut out sections that were bulging under pressure as they were about to burst.   

Any recommendations for a hose brand that will serve me better?

I have a Flexzilla air hose in the shop that I really like, and I see that Flexzilla also sells a garden hose.  At $65/100 ft, it's not cheap, but I guess I'm willing to spend that if it doesn't kink, is durable, and is OK for UV exposure (I'm not the kind of guy who will put it in the house after every use.)   

Thanks for any inputs.

how about laying it out in the sun for a couple of days straighten a little every day, the kinks may go away

[fredhargis]

Just a word of caution about the Flexilla (from one who has the garden hose, air hose, and pressure washer hose...so I really like them). If you leave them out like you plan, they will turn a mil-dewy black that can't be cleaned off. Worse, when you handle it your hands will turn that color. I learned the hard way, and after cleaning it as good as I could (which wasn't all that successful) I now keep it hanging on a hose rack when not in use. Here's my recommendation, as unbelievable as it might seem: Craftsman rubber hose. I have several lengths of the Craftsman hose from the early 70's, and at that age most of them have the male connection replaced and one was even in a grass fire. They all still work with no kinks and all things considered are in excellent shape. Even so, I have been replacing them over the past couple of years.....with the current Craftsman rubber hose. My old ones are green, the new ones black.....but they seem to be every bit as well made. You may have to search for them (for me the local Ace hardware had them in all lengths) but they are well worth it. They do kink when I stretch them out from the coiled pile, but the kinks never affect the hose. At the very least, give them a look. I currently have 2-100' lengths, and a 50' length, that gets left laying on the lawn most of the summer. I pick them up to mow, and then lay them back out. Nary a problem.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Just a word of caution about the Flexilla (from one who has the garden hose, air hose, and pressure washer hose...so I really like them). If you leave them out like you plan, they will turn a mil-dewy black that can't be cleaned off. Worse, when you handle it your hands will turn that color. I learned the hard way, and after cleaning it as good as I could (which wasn't all that successful) I now keep it hanging on a hose rack when not in use. Here's my recommendation, as unbelievable as it might seem: Craftsman rubber hose. I have several lengths of the Craftsman hose from the early 70's, and at that age most of them have the male connection replaced and one was even in a grass fire. They all still work with no kinks and all things considered are in excellent shape. Even so, I have been replacing them over the past couple of years.....with the current Craftsman rubber hose. My old ones are green, the new ones black.....but they seem to be every bit as well made. You may have to search for them (for me the local Ace hardware had them in all lengths) but they are well worth it. They do kink when I stretch them out from the coiled pile, but the kinks never affect the hose. At the very least, give them a look. I currently have 2-100' lengths, and a 50' length, that gets left laying on the lawn most of the summer. I pick them up to mow, and then lay them back out. Nary a problem.

I have these same hoses. Green with a tracer through them. They were the toughest hoses I ever used. They are not made any more and in fact the ones Sears has now is as bad as Home Depot and all others use. I have a section that I need to save but they stay outside all year long through hot and cold. Had these from about 1985 and still good to go. 

The big clammor about hoses are the metal non tangle ones. They are stainless steel and you can coil and they never kink. But they only come 25 feet or 50 feet and expensive.

[rschissler]

[quote pid='7994092' dateline='1624193861']
Fred Hargis wrote:
 I currently have 2-100' lengths, and a 50' length, that gets left laying on the lawn most of the summer. I pick them up to mow, and then lay them back out. Nary a problem.
[/quote]

Don't they kill the grass, where they've been lying?

[fredhargis]

Don't they kill the grass, where they've been lying?

Yes they do, but it seems to come back once they're removed. I'm out in the country and don't worry too much about it.

[cams2705]

I don't think the brand matters as much as the care you give them.  I've had a pair of 100' hoses I bought from Lowes for a number of years without any kinks or issues.  The trick is to disconnect the hose after each use, "walk" the water out of it, and I coil mine into large muck buckets I keep right next to the spigots on the patio.

[KC]

Did a forum search but got no hits, so here goes.

I keep two 150' garden hoses outside during the non-freezing half of the year.  Like most, they stay hooked to the spigot.  Also like most, they kink like crazy and have developed "memory" kinks  that remain and reform, even when the hose is under pressure.  The only way I've found to eliminate kinks is to cut out the kink and insert a coupling joint in its place.  All of my hoses have multiple couplings in them.

The last time I bought hoses, I purchased hoses that were marked as durable and "anti-kink".  Not only did they kink, even when new, but I've had to cut out sections that were bulging under pressure as they were about to burst.   

Any recommendations for a hose brand that will serve me better?

I have a Flexzilla air hose in the shop that I really like, and I see that Flexzilla also sells a garden hose.  At $65/100 ft, it's not cheap, but I guess I'm willing to spend that if it doesn't kink, is durable, and is OK for UV exposure (I'm not the kind of guy who will put it in the house after every use.)   

Thanks for any inputs.

I had one of the very spendy 'never kink' hoses until the other day whe the end thingy came off.  It kinked from day one, altho not as badly as some others.  Replaced that with the cheapest tihng I could find Friday... $9.97 for 100' I think.  That one is 'blowing' up at the end by the connector after a couple hours use.  Pretty sure if I left it under pressure overnight it would burst.

[EightFingers]

Mine are “Kinkmaster 2000”s

I didn’t know that’s how many kinks they were going to get.

Does anyone know of a good hose reel that doesn’t fall apart in two months?
The Suncast brand is horrible!

[Stwood_]

Cheapie hoses are cheap, and expensive hoses are decent. Thats about all I care to know bout hoses.....