HOZELOCK - Auto Reel Wall-mounted 40m: Easy to Install, Child-lock, Auto-rewind, Ready-to-use with Nozzle, Fittings, Hozelock Hose and Accessories Included 5 Year Guarantee* [2595R8000]

Product Information

If you’re not extending from the tap then it comes with everything you need, the sprinkler and the connector – just plug it onto your garden tap: You want a hose that will reach the end of your garden without stretching. However, you also don’t want to spend extra money on a hose which is much longer than you need. Measure your garden to find out what length of hose will best suit your needs. Best automatic garden hose reel overall: HAUSHOF Hose Reel, Wall Mounted Retractable Garden Hose Reel [tested and proven see my review] Swivels, nicely, the break works great, the hose is decent quality, and comes with most fittings you need. Stunning bargain and so pleased I tested it. While it’s called fast-reel, how speedily you can rewind the hose after use all depends on how energetic you’re feeling,’ says Tamsin. ‘I really enjoyed using this hose and it only kinked once while covering a large expanse of garden. The nozzle attachment included in the box works well, adjusting the spray with a twist, but I’d have like to have seen extras included in the box, such as a sprinkler or spray gun, as opposed to having to pay for them separately.

The Umi Auto Rewind Garden Hose Reel comes from a lesser known brand, yet it’s a reliable hose with a surprising number of attachments included for such a budget-friendly item. Automatically reeling in 40 m of hose, and winding it on to the wall unit without tangling or kinking, this popular auto-reel saves time and effort. The result: a neatly stored hose in minutes. Practicality: In terms of practicality, I looked out for reels that were resistant to kinks and those that had additional features that made them easier to use, such as auto-rewind technology. Models that were heavier – such as those above 15 kg – were rated lower in terms of initial practicality, as these were difficult to hold and assemble, so could pose difficulties to the average gardener immediately. In addition, the better quality the hose, the easier it will be to use and less likely to kink or fail to rewind. Superior garden hoses also come with better tap fittings meaning they are less likely to leak. A powerful jet for garden cleaning, a wide cone for general garden watering, a flat spray for washing and light cleaning, a high-flow fast fill function, and metal rose for gentle rain like watering.

This hose pipe set comes ready made, so it was a simple matter of getting it out of the box and connecting it to the tap to start watering. With its aqua, orange and grey finish, it has Gardena’s signature styling and the parts feel well built and premium. I love the compact design of this hose that comes with a nozzle and 20m hose in the set,’ says Tamsin. ‘With a firm pull, it’s easy to unravel the hose pipe as much as you need to make your way around the lawn. The secondary roller that’s raised a little higher than the main roll makes winding and unwinding the hose easier, since it feeds in and out of its roll with less kinks. The housing itself is nicely designed, with a modern, round aesthetic, coloured grey with the odd yellow part such as the front where the hose reels in and out of. It’s not the most striking thing I’ve ever seen, but personally, I liked the understated look.

These are two features that can make your automatic garden hose reel function better so they are something to keep an eye out for. Harry has real-world tested 46 products for DIY Garden, and is one of our more experienced testers. You might be torn between hose reels or expandable hoses – both options are space-saving ways to get a longer hose in the garden. Now I made a blunder when installing into my shed. Because it’s wood I didn’t bother piloting (obviously I didn’t need the wall plugs either) but the result was I split my wood. Four word descriptions were in full flow: The latest generation of hose reels make the watering process even easier by using auto-rewind technology.The bottom line is: if you’ve got a garden, you need a garden hose, and that used to mean spending a fair bit of time taking it out of the shed or garage, untying it, reeling it out, and trying to get rid of all the kinks and twists before even starting. Then after you’ve finished, you have to go through it all again in reverse! Certainly not ideal.
With modern innovations, there are some solutions available to the modern consumer, such as expanding hoses that can work pretty well if you pay for a good one and also have good water pressure at home.

The included Gardena hose features a spray nozzle and an on/off valve. This makes it infinitely easier to connect the hose to a sprinkler system, as well as adjust the water pressure from the hose itself rather than just the garden tap. We’ve covered the best expandable garden hoses extensively on DIY Garden, and there are some great options on the market. One of the main advantages of expandable hoses is that they can be longer than hoses in reels, whilst taking up less storage space. There is also an anti-drip device that you can insert when transporting the hose reel to stop it leaking and dripping. It’s only a small thing, but it is nice that Gardena thought about this annoying problem and offered up a solution. So you can move around comfortably when watering, measure the length from the tap to the furthest point and then add a little bit on,’ says Love Your Garden’s Camilla Basset-Smith. ‘Don’t be tempted to go for a much longer hose than needed as this will add weight and can reduce pressure.’ What is the best hose pipe to choose? But did you know that using a hose reel will make this job so much simpler? Gone are the days of having the hose trailing behind, getting frustratingly tangled and kinked every five minutes!

It’s a question I get asked often,’ says Camilla Basset-Smith, television horticulturalist on ITV’S Love Your Garden and RHS Plant Committee Member. ‘A 13mm or 15mm diameter bare hose is fine for filling a pond or watering large pots or trees in the ground, and a thumb over the end can vary the pressure/spray. I would also change the standard plastic connectors for metal ones for the same reasons. Brass hose connectors are relatively inexpensive and are much more durable than plastic hose connectors, not matter how high quality the plastic is. This is one of the cheapest reels on the list, and as a result it may not be quite as smooth in operation as some of the more expensive models. However, arguably the generous length of hose makes for an acceptable compromise. The hose can sometimes require a bit of persuasion to unravel, and to avoid damaging the unit or surrounding objects the hose should be walked in carefully. One further thing to note: the feeder hose provided, to connect the reel unit to the tap, is a little short – measuring only around 2 m instead of the advertised 3 m. Just something to bear in mind whilst considering where to place your garden reel. It took me a while to assemble this design as there are quite a few pieces to contend with and you’ll need a patch of grass or earth that is soft enough to spike into. There’s a rod included in the kit that helps you leverage the spike into the ground, but it did require a bit of effort, so bear this in mind when setting it up. I particularly like the way the hose automatically retracted smoothly with the help of the guide, so there were no kinks to contend with.