A great garden hose reel and how to install it

I think a lot about the tools and gear I buy for home improvement, DIY, and the landscaping that we love and usually end up getting the best ones for our work, however, for reasons I’m not certain I can identify I bought—and have used for far too long—the biggest POS garden hose reel in the universe. So badly designed, it worked for a total of zero seconds before I had to add blocks of wood to it so I wouldn’t grind the skin off my knuckles turning the crank.

I installed it a long time ago, so I’m confident (maybe) that the manufacturer ironed out that little issue. Even still, however, this reel was a one way street. If the hose wasn’t coiled up in front if it, the reel didn’t work. And, since 237% of my lawn is not inline with the hose reel, this caused me great frustration. My wife too, because I’d simply run out of gas for wrestling the hose back onto the reel for 5-minutes every time I needed to water something 80-feet away—every day. So I just left it in the yard. I even torqued myself off.

Anyway, the point is that I installed a Liberty Garden Products Navigator garden hose reel in its place and within seconds of it being hooked up, I knew it would save me hours of aggravation gathering, coiling, wrestling, and being tangled up in hose. Oh, talk to me in dulcet tones of calm joy garden product… Then I had the genius ideas to use two and for the first time since I’ve lived in this house I now have enough hose to reach all my lawn and planting beds. Share my joy with me, won’t you.

Here’s how I installed it, with a few quick comments to get started:

Liberty Garden Products Navigator garden hose reel is solidly built with nice parts. The shelf on top is rounded, which I like. And the hose reel’s pivoting feature is just sensational for supplying and gathering hose to/from whatever direction you need it. You can even unbolt the entire reel and store it with the coiled hose inside for winter (I don’t, I just drain it, but it’s a nice feature).

Mark

A licensed contractor, tool expert, wood and outdoor enthusiast, and elite Spartan Race competitor, he writes about home improvement and tools for national magazines and websites, and teaches hands-on clinics for other remodeling professionals. Check out his book, The Carpenter's Notebook.

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