I use Water Right 400 hoses around my yard (7/16" ID). They are light, strong, and tough to kink. Absolutely amazing hoses.
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I bought a ‘water right’ brand one a year or two ago and it’s great - very flexible, doesn’t kink, most importantly made in the us & polyurethane. Has decent quality fittings. Might be more than $70, not sure. Every time I use the horrible chinese disaster of a ‘hose’ I bought the year before (on the other side of the house, before I knew I could get a quality hose) it’s like battling a piece of PVC pipe (and leaking from all over also), or maybe a giant python trying to strangle me (or at least get me all wet). Then I always tell myself, after a bit of swearing, I need to get another one of the good ones for this side too … and keep forgetting/putting it off because buying that sort of thing on the web is so unpleasant. But the other side – luxury!
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Water Right makes various quality of hoses. I need a good 75 foot hose and the 600 series has one. Not cheap so expect to pay. This hose is 128 on Amazon. I thought also of adding a cheaper model the 400 series has a 100 footer for 86 bucks on Amazon.
Weighs
They also make quick connect brass fittings. Eleven bucks a pair.
Joe rates stuff mostly on durability, ease of use, and practical use. So many hoses have cheap or poorly mounted fittings. These are supposed to be durable. Have UV protection.
These hoses have to be prepared for use.
This is interesting. Instructions for use
- Instructions for use with our 400, 500, or 600 Series Hoses (Do not do this with our Coil hose): 1. - Unroll the hose and attach a nozzle or any accessory with a shut-off valve into the male end of the hose. 2 - Attach the female swivel end of the hose to the hose bib. 3 - Stretch the hose out fully and as flat and straight as you can. 4 - Turn on the water to charge the hose fully and make sure all connections are secure. 5 - Now let the hose bake in the sun for several hours (or more) and this will help the hose begin to relax. 6 - Now your hose is ready to use. And remember that the more you use your hose the more flexible it becomes.
- **Not recommended for oscillating sprinklers or spray wands desinged for 5/8" diameter hose.
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Growing a Greener World
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Once fitting has welded to the spigot due to galvanic corrosion, what do you do to separate them without harm to spigot or hose? Great description of the problem btw.
The good news is that since aluminum is more reactive than brass, it will be the hose fitting that takes most or all of the damage. It will probably have some visible white or greenish powdery corrosion byproducts on it. The goal is to preserve the spigot by avoiding mechanical damage to it from twisting off the corroded hose adapter.
First, I’d spray WD-40 or some other penetrating oil/solvent on the junction and let it soak for a few hours, or even overnight with multiple recoats if it looks really bad. Then I’d heat only the hose connector to get the metal to expand, using a hair dryer or a heat gun, then use a wrench or pliers and try to gently twist it off, with maybe a few light taps from a hammer to help break the corrosion bond if it is still being stubborn.
If that doesn’t work, there are some stronger chemical corrosion removers that will eat up the corrosion byproducts, but you’d want to make sure they won’t react with the brass.
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Thank you so much, great advice!
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YES to this! I was wary as I saw them in Walmart but decided to take a chance and I’m happy I did. I got a couple of lengths. They are durable, lightweight, and most importantly don’t kink! I have spent much more money on supposedly high end hoses that don’t kink (Lowe’s) but they twisted, were hard, and you had to do the unwinding thing to get them to coil or lie straight. So annoying!
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I agree! This is the one I wrote about in another reply. Those hoses (I bought two long lengths) are the worst - they are heavy and take an enormous amount of handling to get them to coil or lie straight. I got Flexilla from a Walmart and love them.
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I tried flexilla and the second year it bubbled and busted at one of the brass ends. Maybe I just got unlucky? Still I won’t go there again.
Interesting. I have 3 of them that are all 3 years old and doing great, although a little faded from the sun. I leave them out all winter (drained) and don’t protect them and haven’t had any issues yet. Maybe you did get a bad one or perhaps I don’t use mine as hard or something.
They are certainly lighter weight than some of the thick rubber commercial hoses, so I doubt they’ll last as long ultimately, but the lighter weight and ease of handling is worth it for me.
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I must say it did not twist much it would a touch but a simple whip or tug of the hose would clear it. I did like the hose. I think the fitting was put on incorrectly. It could have been three years too not two. I also left it on, as it was hooked up to a timer. When I used it I would turn off water disconnect from timer put sprayer on and use it. It always got put back and turned on. Most of the summer I’m not home. Timer does not cover all plants just the drought intolerant ones. So I hand water those when home. I often just came home to water. My cottage is only 40 miles away.
I prefer to stay there from late spring to mid fall.
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Yes. These are my favorite hoses now. They also make my favorite spray heads and reels. All of their stuff that I’ve tried is top-notch, and worth the extra cost for their quality and durability.
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I’ve pretty much always had the same two problems with conventional rubber hoses – (1) they don’t last more than a year or two regardless of whether I buy a nice one and (2) they flop onto my seedlings every now and then no matter how careful I try to be.
For a vegetable or flower garden where I’m working in tight spaces and/or long rows, I’m really tempted to buy a retractable like the one shown here. But at the end of the day, I’d rather replace a cheap hose when it breaks than a nice one.
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Their tap splitters are great, too! Yes, pricey, but they’ll outlive me and my descendants. I love the loop handle shutoff - MUCH easier on old hands than those horrid tiny plastic levers.