Is a Hose reel needed ?

greenrw71

New member
Ive been reading several threads concerning hose reels and also the artical in cleaner times. Ive been with out one since I started Pressure washing which isnt that long ago. Rolling out/up the hoses is a royal pain I will admit but I am wondering after reading the threads what advantages they have...why get one or two. they ant cheep. so where is the pay back? Ok like I said I am new at this. Rick
 
Rick you answered your own question when you said "rolling out/up the hoses is a royal pain". Not only will a hose reel save you time, it'll save your back. Get a hose reel or two when the budget permits and you'll be a happier man.
 
Rick,
Get a hose reel. Don't be like me and wait 4 yrs before I bought one. I can roll out and back 200' of hose in less then TWO MINUTES!! Probably can do it less then a minute if I ran.
Never have to deal with Untangling hoses and suffering back pain in the process of rolling them up.

I have 2 hose reels that are stacklable(One on top of the other). They hold 200' each of PW hoses.

I just purchased another hose reel that can hold 500' of PW hose. Try rolling that Up by hand!!

For time lost and suffering Back pain, buying a hose reel is money well spent. I just wish I did it sooner.:(
 
Hose reels make life easier and save you wear and tear on YOU.
Rod had all sorts of problems with his back....until we mounted the washer in the truck bed, added two hose reels, and a ladder rack. It sure did cut back on trips to the chiropractor.

Beth:D
 
I purchased a reel last year and now rarely use it. I mainly clean in construction sites, so I am handling hoses around mud and debris all day long. Refusing to put up hoses until they are PW'd off, I find it easier to use hoses hanging from racks build on the side of my truck.

Do use my reel when doing residential jobs with sod and concrete in place. Even then, don't believe I get the benefits described above because of the "handiness" of my racks.
 
IF you are hand coiling hoses to wind them up, you will find that it saves you a lot of time just in setting up and tearing down a job. There are people that believe in reacks to wind up their hoses, I believe that Michael Hinderliter has used them in the past, and I can see where they would be beneficial, but, for my purposes, working off of a trailer, and doing fleet washing, with a lot of small fleets thrown in, time is of the essence. That being the case, it takes about 1/6 the time to wind up hoses with a reel vs. without a reel. Then of course there is the thing where the hoses are properly stored in a position where they are the least likely to get damaged. The hose reels take care of that automatically.
If it was me, I would go with the hose reels, and mount them as high as reasonable. It is a lot easier when you do not have to bend and stoop to wind up your hoses.

Scott Stone
 
Is a Hose Reel Needed

Hi Rick,

The short answer is Yes!

This past weekend doing truck fleets we set up at 10 different locations.
tps-wheatley.jpg
This means that we had 500 feet of hose get pulled off and put back on 10 times!

The picture shows our Wheatley pump and our reels are mounted on top of our pump. With this arrangement we can set up and pick up in just a matter of minutes and didn't need to give up any floor space for the reels!

Yes we coiled our hoses for years thinking that we didn't want the additional expense, maintenance, etc. I have never regretted getting hose reels. We have 3 on each truck.

Dave Olson
 
Rick,

What Scott said about mounting them high is more true then you can believe, if I can I will take picture and send later however mine are mounted at the top level of my open trailer, all I have to do is stand and wind hoses, no bending at all.

A hose reel also allows you to examine your hoses as you wind them for wear and tear rather then just waiting till one blows.

Before you buy any hose reel check all of them out, there are many brands and within each brand different quality reels.

Bill also had a good idea with hooks on side of trailer if cost is a concern for you, just be sure you secure them so that when hitting bumps they don't fall off.

Jon

Bill, how do you secure them, bungie cords, rope, clamps?
 
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Jon, I have three sets of U-shaped brackets on each side of my truck, welded to my ladder rack. The brackets appear to be 1/2-3/8 inch round stock, 2 feet long. Each are bent into a U (almost V) shape. I can store up to 150 feet of 3/8 HP hose on a bracket. I also store 70 feet of 3/4 inch supply hose on a couple of the brakets. Never had a hose jump off.

I purchased the truck from a person who had added the brackets, so I can not claim originality on this. Just know they work for me.

A helper and I did a job today that was so muddy that we couln't see the hoses, as they were BURIED in mud. Rolled up the hoses, washed them using a ball valve and threw 'em on the racks. To get them clean enough to put on a reel would have added too much time for me.
 
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