What kind of hose do you use?

[Hannah90]

A little frustrated. Seems like no matter what hose I buy, the connection always sucks. I can never get them to stop leaking UNDER the screw connect, beyond the gasket. I don't mind so much in the summer, but in the winter it creates a giant ice rink by the water pump.


Anyone have a favorite brand they swear by? Do quick connects help?

[Mattemma]

I have a black rubber hose from sears.My mom has it as well.Craftsman perhaps? Anyway,she recently took in the connector part(cut it off) and the reciept and got a new hose free. I took the old hose and added some plastic connectors I got from walmart.Then got my own craftman hose.

Her hose was a good 5 or 6 years old,so it was cool they replaced it due to the leak.Plus she did not have to return the entire hose.

[Navgatr]

The main thing you'll want to look for is a hose with solid, machined brass connections. You can find these hoses at most any home or farm store, but they will be more expensive and are sometimes called "contractor grade".
The cheaper hoses usually have connections that are made from thin brass tubing and have the threads formed into them. They wear out very quickly.

[Hannah90]

Navgatr, this sounds about right. I have seen "contractor grade" hoses. I have told myself once spring comes around I AM going to invest in a good hose for the barn.

Thanks for the tip.

[Old Vet]

I have BF Goodrich hoses that have the good metal ends on them. I have them in 50 foot up to 100 feet. they were a little more than the cheaper hoses but they are much better. I got mine at Home Depot.

[JawjaBoy]

Of the 5 or 6 hoses I've got floating around here, only 2 have been bought at the store. They are regular homeowner grade hoses and have worked fine so far. All of the other hoses have come from either friends or the dump. They all had either really leaky connectors or the connectors completely cut off. I bought some of the solid metal fittings from Lowe's and fixed them up and they are still working great.

[farmerDale]

I have several hoses. The good ones are the REAL rubber ones. But I do something else. I cut them, and re-splice them, so as to avoid having to make connections all the time... I keep a couple short hoses handy, but if I need more distance, I pull out the spliced long babies to reach my goals.

I too was fed up wit the connections, and the waste of water etc.. So for specific needs, I have made proper length hoses, so no connections are needed...

[maddy]

I love my Sears black rubber Craftsman hoses. Real rubber requires a little more care, but they're a joy to use.

[Horseyrider]

Swan hoses. Brass ends, very reluctant to kink, they take all kinds of weather, and they warranty them for a lifetime.

Course if you beat them like I do, you'd better save your receipts.

[Danaus29]

Most Swan hoses now have plastic connections. Some are no longer made in the USA either.

Once upon a time I said Swan made the greatest hoses ever. Back in the early 90's they did. New ones are cheap and junky. Still have that lifetime warranty, provided you save your receipt!

[clovis]

Great thread...I've got a decent hose that I bought at Menards, but hit it with the lawn mower this past summer.

Talk about being bummed. This was the first nice hose I had ever owned, and I whacked it!

[Alice In TX/MO]

Of course, make sure you put the washer in. Many new hoses come without the washer in place.

[Hannah90]

*chuckles* Yes Alice, the washers are in. The leaks is UNDER the washer part, if that makes sense? Eh, not good at explaining.

I do remember last year I bought a few new garden hoses. I was annoyed with the "funny white circles" attached to the packaging. I threw them away and went about my way. and hour of FRUSTRATING hose connecting, I finally put it together. Yeah... DOY

[dkhern]

its cheeper to buy new brass end and cut off the leaky ones and replace. i like the quick connects. not all are the same thou. if you have several hoses and nossels initial outlay could be greater. just put them once use 2 pr of pliers and get ends on quick connect tight

[Cabin Fever]

100% rubber hose with brass hexagon fittings like the ones shown below. Tighten the fittings with a couple of adjustable wrenches. Every couple years change the internal rubber washers with new ones.

[farmerDale]

Originally Posted by clovis

Great thread...I've got a decent hose that I bought at Menards, but hit it with the lawn mower this past summer.

Talk about being bummed. This was the first nice hose I had ever owned, and I whacked it!

Hate when that happens. Was it crimp-able, or did you about wreck the whole thing???

[Ozarks Tom]

We've got hoses all over the place, as we don't like hauling them around. Every hose and hydrant has quick connects. Fast connections, and they don't leak. You tighten them to the hydrant/hose with wrenches much tighter than you would by hand, and the connects seal tight under pressure.

[ronbre]

picked up one of my hoses to put away for winter and it was cold outside..the dang thing broke right in half..so on my list of things to buy for spring is a new hose repair package..wah

[DaleK]

Check a hydraulic repair place. Sometimes (not always) they'll make up a really solid hose out of pressure washer style hose for not much more than a regular garden hose.

[frankva]

Originally Posted by Alice In TX/MO

Of course, make sure you put the washer in. Many new hoses come without the washer in place.

I'd try new washers. Not the cheap Walmart version. The cheap red rubber ones in a bag from a hardware store.

Not the round black ones, the red flat ones.