Water hose set up

**thebamboo23** · 12-05-2013, 03:22 PM

1) Should I go with a 50ft or 75ft hose? Im thinking a 50ft hose will suffice as I will advice the customer before hand to make a little wiggle room so my unit can get within a few yards of the customers car.

2) The hose im eyeing is the RapidReel 3/4" x 50 FT. Polyurethane Garden Hose. The Gilmour look nice, but there are so many options lol. Any input on those? I dont mind spending some hundreds on a water hose&reel because i hate fussing with kinks, leaks, etc.. so any other good hoses just let me know. I kinda wanna keep it at 3/4 if possible, but if not, its cool

3) I havent found many reels that fit my needs. The smallest RapidReel carries is 150ft.
Ive read outstanding things about their reels, but considering I want a 50ft hose it isnt as effective. Unless i would get a 75ft hose?

I also need the reel to be somewhat compact. I cant have the legs taking up a lot of space.
Ive also seen the Griot Garage Retractable Water Hose and Reel. Any experiences?

lol, so much for a water hose and reel, ha.

For those that say go rinseless/waterless.. I am. this will be reserved for wheels/tires and whenever the car is too dirty and needs a foam/rinse.

And i also wanna be able to carry water/electricity because i am going to aim at business parks/shopping strips where access to water/electricity is a hassle or not possible

**VP Mark** · 12-05-2013, 03:50 PM

Why not forgo the longer water hose and just invest in a longer pressure washer hose?

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**Dr_Pain** · 12-05-2013, 03:54 PM

I personally have a RapidReel with a 100 foot hose and....... I would tend to lean with Mark that cost for cost a longer pressure washer hose would serve you better.

**thebamboo23** · 12-05-2013, 03:58 PM

I thought about that too but i kinda wanna step away from the PW.

Maybe out of 5 cars i work on maybe 1 would need it

but it does make sense to get a longer pressure washer. guess ill look into those now

any suggestions?

**Dr_Pain** · 12-05-2013, 04:03 PM

I use a Karcher 2000psi electric PW and have the 25ft hose that came with it PLUS a 25ft extension. I use it on EVERY car to knock off the dirt etc.. and spray the wheel wells.....even when I do a rinseless wash after

Love the bugger!

**David at LC Pads** · 12-05-2013, 04:17 PM

Originally Posted by Dr_Pain

I use a Karcher 2000psi electric PW and have the 25ft hose that came with it PLUS a 25ft extension. I use it on EVERY car to knock off the dirt etc.. and spray the wheel wells.....even when I do a rinseless wash after

Love the bugger!

Agreed! Yeah I love using a PW!

**hamlyn** · 12-05-2013, 04:19 PM

Originally Posted by thebamboo23

1) Should I go with a 50ft or 75ft hose? Im thinking a 50ft hose will suffice as I will advice the customer before hand to make a little wiggle room so my unit can get within a few yards of the customers car.

2) The hose im eyeing is the RapidReel 3/4" x 50 FT. Polyurethane Garden Hose. The Gilmour look nice, but there are so many options lol. Any input on those? I dont mind spending some hundreds on a water hose&reel because i hate fussing with kinks, leaks, etc.. so any other good hoses just let me know. I kinda wanna keep it at 3/4 if possible, but if not, its cool

3) I havent found many reels that fit my needs. The smallest RapidReel carries is 150ft.
Ive read outstanding things about their reels, but considering I want a 50ft hose it isnt as effective. Unless i would get a 75ft hose?

I also need the reel to be somewhat compact. I cant have the legs taking up a lot of space.
Ive also seen the Griot Garage Retractable Water Hose and Reel. Any experiences?

lol, so much for a water hose and reel, ha.

For those that say go rinseless/waterless.. I am. this will be reserved for wheels/tires and whenever the car is too dirty and needs a foam/rinse.

And i also wanna be able to carry water/electricity because i am going to aim at business parks/shopping strips where access to water/electricity is a hassle or not possible

I recently went through a number of hoses and reels and ended up buying a Rapid Reel garden hose (100 ft) and the wall mount reel. My plan was to spend $30 on a hose and $20 to $30 on a reel or some type of storage system. In the end, I ended up over $400 and thrilled with the products.

Many hoses that are supposed to be kink free weren't. In the end I picked up the Eley (Rapid Reel) 100 ft hose and couldn't be happier.

I would recommend you get the 100 ft, as it is better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. The cost difference between the 75 ft and 100 ft hose is $10. If you are going to get a Rapid Reel reel, then a 100 ft hose will fit easily.
I also recommend picking up the hose reel cover. I believe you can bundle it with a reel for $5.

I also picked up their couplers (quick connect), which work amazingly well, although they cost twice what the Chinese made ones from Home Depot cost.

Their nozzle is also very good, but on the pricy side.

Their products are US made and carry 10-year guaranties... I couldn't recommend them any higher.

Hope this helps...

**thebamboo23** · 12-05-2013, 04:55 PM

@dr pain.. Do you know the exact model? Any problems?

Here are some problems:
1) If its a lower-end pressure washer then it'll be prone to leaking. Considering I will be carrying a 55 gallon water tank (and not always full) I dont wanna lose any water lol and the current one i own leaks a lot

2) The PW would need to be very compact. A hand held PW would be awesome but its either a cheapo plastic PW or a expensive PW

any recommendations to a midsized PW? The Karcher PWs im looking at on PWD look kinda big

**thebamboo23** · 12-05-2013, 04:55 PM

Originally Posted by hamlyn

I recently went through a number of hoses and reels and ended up buying a Rapid Reel garden hose (100 ft) and the wall mount reel. My plan was to spend $30 on a hose and $20 to $30 on a reel or some type of storage system. In the end, I ended up over $400 and thrilled with the products.

Many hoses that are supposed to be kink free weren't. In the end I picked up the Eley (Rapid Reel) 100 ft hose and couldn't be happier.

I would recommend you get the 100 ft, as it is better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. The cost difference between the 75 ft and 100 ft hose is $10. If you are going to get a Rapid Reel reel, then a 100 ft hose will fit easily.
I also recommend picking up the hose reel cover. I believe you can bundle it with a reel for $5.

I also picked up their couplers (quick connect), which work amazingly well, although they cost twice what the Chinese made ones from Home Depot cost.

Their nozzle is also very good, but on the pricy side.

Their products are US made and carry 10-year guaranties... I couldn't recommend them any higher.

Hope this helps...

it does! thanks

**Dr_Pain** · 12-05-2013, 05:53 PM

This is the one I have: Model: K5.740

The hose reel is integrated in the top handle. It is slim and not so tall. It delivers on PSI and has quick connects for the water hose. I did junk the plastic ones that came with it and bought the brass universal kit = NO LEAK!

I did encounter a problem with it about 8 months after purchasing it where one of the gasket blew so I called Karcher and they send me a brand new one.