Which garden hose to buy

In order for you to enjoy using your garden hose every day for many years, the hose must meet several requirements: To withstand the high pressure inside it, it must be sufficiently stable. You will find a great selection here*.

A high degree of flexibility is required to avoid damage if you pull it around obstacles such as house corners or over sharp edges. UV radiation also attacks your hose when used outdoors. It makes your hose sticky or brittle, causing it to rupture after some time. Therefore, a usable garden hose must be made of UV-resistant material.

Wrinkles and knots shorten the life of your garden hose. Any kinks that occur even after the hose has been unrolled will obstruct the flow of water. As a general rule, the larger the hose diameter, the less susceptible the hose to buckling. A smooth material surface on the inside ensures that water can flow through unhindered. An outer layer of stable material offers protection against damage caused by your wheelbarrow being driven over and by sharp edges. The desired dimensional stability is ensured by a suitable fabric layer.

Garden hose types

You must also take other aspects into account when making a purchase. You have the choice between a ready-made hose in standard sizes and yard goods. You will also be offered various designs. 

Flexible hoses are space-saving, they expand to three times the length when water flows through them. Flat hoses and Flexi telescopic hoses also save space. They are also suitable for your balcony and terrace.

PVC hoses may contain plasticizers. Garden hoses made from recycled PVC may also contain heavy metal residues. These will be rinsed out the first time you use them. Before you hold your garden hose on your plants, you should allow plenty of water to flow through it. If you have a heavy hose, it makes sense to purchase a hose trolley.

Rubber hoses are heavier and more environmentally friendly because the material does not contain any plasticizers. A 20 metre long rubber hose can weigh up to 10 kilos and is difficult to transport.

Furthermore, pay attention to the flexibility of your hose. Especially rigid hoses require a lot of physical strength for handling.

When selecting your new garden hose, you should continue to pay attention to labeling. As a minimum, the specific model name and the manufacturer’s name must be indicated on the hose. Additional information about freedom from harmful substances and dimensions are advantageous.

A garden hose must withstand high water pressure of at least 20 bar. Also hoses are offered, which do not bring a clearly higher water pressure to burst.

The equipment with layers lends stability to a hose. When buying, you should prefer a model in a dark color. Dark colored material prevents the formation of algae in the hose.

Hose with spray gun

The spray nozzle/gun or hose attachment decides how you can dose the water jet. The range extends from the simple spray nozzle to a watering rod, lawn sprinkler and spray gun. A watering rod is practical because it allows you to water plants in very difficult to reach places on your property in a targeted and sufficient manner. Replaceable spray nozzles are advantageous.

Which garden hose ist the best for you

The range of garden hoses from various manufacturers is now unmanageable for laymen. Externally the offered products hardly differed. Therefore many garden friends decide to acquire a cheap model. In most cases, the joy over a good deal does not last long. Leaky connections, not loadable material and/or bends provide for annoyance. Relevant factors, which you must consider with the selection of a new garden hose, are:

• hose length
• weight
• material
• diameter
• connection

Hose length
The hose must be long enough so that you can water all areas of your garden. However, it must not be long enough to fit on your hose storage. Measure your garden before you buy a new garden hose.

Weight
Each additional layer of the material increases the weight of the hose. A high product weight is a quality feature. A quality hose with a length of 20 metres often weighs 3 kilos. Cheap hoses often weigh less than 2 kilos. Your new 20-meter hose should weigh at least 2.5 kilos.

Material
Garden hoses are available in various materials. Most of the products are made of PVC. Hoses differ in the details. Brand garden hoses are resistant to a water pressure of 20 bar, some models can even withstand a higher water pressure. A high quality garden hose consists of at least an inner liner, a fabric liner and an outer skin.

The inner layer and the outer layer of many models are made of PVC. Some manufacturers offer garden hoses made of synthetic rubber. They are very flexible, but unfortunately much more expensive. Garden hoses can also be made from a mix of materials.

The fabric is the most important layer in a garden hose. It determines that the hose is kink-free, torsion-proof, dimensionally stable, pressure-resistant, supple and flexible. It is important that you unwind and rewind your hose countless times over the course of time and pull it behind you. Products with embroidered fabric offer high buckling resistance. Cheap products usually buckle in several places when rolled up.

Hose thread
An important selection criterion is the type of hose connection. The connection must be compatible with your water connection. If the connection does not fit, you will incur follow-up costs for the purchase of an adapter.

What is garden hose thread?

Hose threads easily connect two different ends of hoses. They thus ensure that a certain fluid can flow continuously. A major repair doesn’t have to be like this, no patching, because hose threads can make this “connection” uncomplicated. 

Hose connectors are available in a wide variety of material variants and designs.

As different as the variants are, so is the material. They can be made of plastic, brass, stainless steel or nickel-plated stainless steel. Which one you need personally for your project depends on the “place of use”.

 

What are hose threads specially used for?

If you are a proud garden owner, you will certainly need hose threads again and again. Your irrigation hoses are always defective and have to be reconnected. That’s what plastic hose connectors are for. Then they can be different again in the construction method. The connectors can be straight, cross-shaped, L-shaped, V-shaped or Y-shaped.

Furthermore, hose threads are used in fuel supply systems for motor vehicles, in laboratories, in pneumatics and medicine. Their versatility is inexhaustible.

Hose connectors are used by private individuals as well as commercially. Depending on what the connectors are needed for, there are different diameters depending on the material. Which material you have to buy depends on what it is used for. But very often the plastic hose connectors are needed.

How to fix garden hose leak?

An unpleasant event in gardening: The garden hose has a hole. In addition to the hasty purchase of a new hose, however, there are a number of ways to repair the hose that are not expensive and require little effort.

 

Find the hole in the hose

Usually you can see immediately when you turn on the tap where the garden hose is broken. Nevertheless, all critical points should be inspected carefully in order to find every leak. Classical weak points are usually the connections between hose and tap, the connections of two hoses or the place between garden hose and spray head attachment.

Sealing leaky seals

Leaks in the seals can be eliminated by carefully greasing all threads with petroleum gel and screwing them back together again. After screwing together, further leaks in the hose may become visible.

 

Repairing holes in the garden hose

 

Drying

The first step is to dry the hose thoroughly with a dry cloth.

If the crack or hole is approx. 30 cm from the end of the hose, the garden hose can also be dried from the inside with a wrapped dowel or stick.

 

Tyre patch set or fabric sealing tape

With the commercially available patch sets for bicycle tyres, a defective garden hose can also be sealed. It makes sense to have such a patch set (available in bicycle shops, workshops or spare parts shops) already in stock in the tool shed in case of an emergency. Since events like these occur when nobody is prepared for them, it is also possible to use fabric sealing tape, which is wrapped around the garden hose two or three times at the leaking point. Make sure that the tape is pressed on well and that no wrinkles appear.

A hose clip can also be attached to the repaired area to provide additional security.

This repair method is suitable for hoses that are only used to transport water without pressure. However, if the garden hose is connected to a sprinkler system, shower or syringe and is under pressure, a more professional method is required for sustainable repair: Hose connectors.

 

Attaching the connector

In the case of larger cracks and garden hoses that are under pressure and must be stable throughout, it is advisable to cut out the broken piece of garden hose with scissors or a knife. A connecting piece is placed between the remaining ends. Such hose connectors are available in various versions from specialist retailers and are an inexpensive alternative to buying a new garden hose.