Friday

Eley Rapid Reel Hose Reel

It was time.  After many years of marriage, several new homes, and a million plastic hose winding reels, I knew I had to find "the one".  The One hose reel that I wouldn't have to replace every couple years that could reel my hose in effortlessly. 

I needed the Eley Rapid Reel

The Mother of All Hose Reels


Requirements:  
It had to be sturdy, which means not move when I pull the hose out, or need to be held in place when I reeled it in.
Made to face the elements of Minnesota, where part of the year it's a God forsaken land of frozen tundra.
Tough as nails -  because I roll up hoses like a lumberjack lumbers wood.  (Ha!  Not really, but that sounds funny).  

Brawn installed our new Eley Rapid Reel with me taking photos of the process from the window in the comfort of the nice air conditioned house.  He never even knew I was there, all nice and sweat free.

We have four outdoor faucet areas, just about every year at least one cheap plastic hanger or winder would break and need to be replaced.  If I just would of invested in Rapid Reel years ago I would of been money ahead. 

 This is the next spot to get updated with a Rapid Reel 
and it will be installed at the right angle so I can actually reel it in.

We have spent more than our fair share on plastic hose boxes like this in our garage;

I wouldn't mind replacing this space hog with a rapid reel
Surely there was something better out there, so I took to the internet where I spent a good amount of time researching my options.  Eley has hose reels, carts, free standing ones, and accessories like hoses.  Wonder if they have a hose that really IS kink free?

I'll have to research that.

You would be surprised to learn how much time I spend researching the best products for my money.  I'm sort of obsessed and probably need a support group for this addiction.  Heaven forbid the refrigerator ever goes out, it would take me a month to read about every single fridge out there.

The front hose area that I am the boss of.
I quickly zeroed in on the Rapid Reel after reading all the excellent reviews it received.  

Recall we have ducks and chickens, and the thing with ducks is they like to be in water.  

Ducken Water Connection Area
*Caution-long sentence in your future:  So our front yard hose is forever pulled out across the yard and driveway to connect to another long hose that stretches out discretely hid along a fence, into the duck pen where my daughter fills a cast iron bathtub so Clyde, Clementine and Hazel can swim. 

Because they are worth it.  To her.


That's way too much hose pulling for me, that's why they are her ducks not mine.  But when I go out to water my flowers, I sort of go into a rage if I have to disconnect my hose from hers and pull it back up by the house.  (Ok, I don't *sort* of go into a rage, I do go into a rage and I start mumbling things to myself like "bless her little duck loving heart for not rolling up this hose").

And that all happens because no one ever wants to reel up the front yard hose to begin with.

Till now.


Rapid Reel installation was a snap, especially from my vantage point in the air conditioned house, and it reels a hose in with ease, 150 feet of it to be exact.  The reel is made of a tough aluminum alloy and can be mounted a variety of ways to fit your preference.  

Ours is model 1041 and I have yet to go out and find the hose not rolled up, no one whining "why do I have to do it" - this reel is some sort of a magical behavioral tool - Bonus!


Look at that solid, sturdy, contraption of circular motion.  
I could kiss it!  

The sidewalk and porch are slated for new cement, if you look at the top left of the photo above you can see a long crack in the concrete.  So for now the reel is solidly mounted right to the side of the porch where it made the most sense for ease of use.


And check out those stone pavers that yours truly laid down herself to protect my precious tender feet from the sharp rocks every time I had to turn on the faucet.  

I'm such a princess.  Not.  I did walk out in the 100 degree heat to snap that photo. 






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25 comments :

  1. So that's so unfair...you get me all worked up about finding an Eley rapid hose reel and there's not one around here for 50 miles! And Amazon doesn't sell them! What am I to dooooo????

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  2. Holy mother.....that's the one!! Who are u kidding...your the queen not the princess.

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  3. I still have the dang rollie-uppie thingie. I will look into this product. It looks like it could very well be magical. And lawd knows I need something magical right now, as my husband unloads an entire U-Haul full of deconstructed wood furniture.

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  4. I have never liked reels, especially the enclosed boxy thing ... but this one looks really good. Maybe I should try to find one. Winding up hoses are no fun.
    Thanks for sharing this.

    I don't blame you for staying inside ... terrible weather here in Texas too and the mosquitoes are really bad.
    Audrey Z. @ Timeless Treasures

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  5. I'd be happy with a plastic windy up one for my small garden as currently my hose is hanging off a hook, but well......if you live on a farm, with beautiful gardens all around (coz I've taken notes of all your photos and made a jigsaw of them in my head !!), I guess you need the mother of all hose reels.
    Have you told Brawn you want to kiss a piece of metal, fixed to your wall. I know, it's the heat !!!

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  6. I'd like to order 4 of those...please send big Brawn to deliver and install.
    Please. I'll bake you cake. Ok, two cakes.

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  7. I love the fact that you took the pictures from inside! Looks like you found the right hose reel! I don't have a hose reel. Mine just hangs next to the feed lot hydrant.

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  8. I hope keeps working its magic and the keep winding the hose back in.

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  9. LOL yes Princess, God forbid you should go outside and photograph the work!!

    I research things the same way, well maybe not EXACTLY the same way I don't go quite as far but almost!

    Glad you look after those poor ducks and now I've forgotten the name of the one we all helped you to name. My short term memory is shot with all this hot weather, I haven't slept through the night in over a week. Remind me of this when it's 20 below and I'm complaining about snow...

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  10. Too funny! I swear you must have seen me in the hot humid weather wrestling with my hose reel that keeps falling over! It's a daily ritual here, unless it rains and I don't have to pull the stupid hose out. Yes, we have a stupid hose as opposed to a smart one. I get to the end of the reel and turn the water on, only to find that the stupid hose is kinked at the other end of the yard. ugh. Our hose reel is now spraying water from each connection and I do believe it's been fixed with duct tape in the past. I need the free-standing version of your new love!

    I hope your washing machine doesn't die soon. My daughters killed mine two weeks ago, and according to my online research, there isn't a machine out there that hasn't gotten terrible reviews. I finally just closed my eyes and picked one. No new sofa this year. :(

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  11. Go Bliss! Please tell me they sent you a free one for doing such a great post about their hose reels, which, by the way, does look awesome!

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  12. Great solution! I need one of those too... !!
    Susan

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  13. We have the dreaded plastic box, roll-up type... it's topsy-turvy and gets hung up constantly. So glad that you have discovered the Rapid Reel! Maybe if I get one I wouldn't neglect watering my garden... I'd no longer have any excuses. Clean lines, plastic free, I like it!!

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  14. It is beautiful. :) I don't think never-kink hoses exist. Well, they do - we have one - and it kinks like it's its job.

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  15. Very pricey but considering how many of the cheaper ones you go through this ones is a steel! Just keep that water away from your camera ;)

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  16. Does Brawn do installation? I'd like to buy one, hire him to install- and take a few pics from indoors too. ;)

    We're now in St. Paul- near Como.

    Run it by him- if you will.

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  17. Wow! 4 outside faucets? we only have 2. One on the front and one on the side of the house. I hate where they are located too. I feel your pain. We don't have any hose reels. We only have hose brackets that you have to wrap the hose around manually. The nerve! Glad that you found something better for your home. Half the time, ours is strown across the pinestraw and not even hung back up properly. Maybe we should look at the one you like so much!

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  18. Freakin' sweet. I'll have to pass this on to Philly. I HATE the one we have now. This should be perfect for the new pad. Oh, and the duckens are adorable, but I'm sure I'd have the same "bless her" thoughts if I had to go fetch the hose...

    -andi

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  19. Ha! Who knew a post about a hose holder would be so funny...well, I guess I should have, I have been here before. The funniest line was bless her little duck loving heart.

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  20. Wow - fabulous I'm reeling with envy. I am glad, however, that I'm not the only one who has issues with all those other reely thingys - they are all a pain in the grass.

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  21. I need one! The last one we bought was one of those big 4 wheel drive looking ones from Sam's. Thanks for all the research ;)
    Debbie

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  22. I've fought miles of hose and ways of containing it for years and the frustration level can be really high! This year, I replaced all the hose with that stuff that retracts by itself. There is peace in my yard at last!

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  23. I'vebeen though a few. Of those myself......I'll be listening for how it holds up!

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  24. Funny we bought one of those this year too! Mike was totally (entirely too) excited about it. Ours has a brake on it though - keeps it from unrolling with the weight of the hose. I think it is hideous, but like you we have spent a good amount of money over the years on hose reals that broke within 2 months of buying them. The other thing we do is hang them at waist or hip level. That makes the whole rolling up thing ever so much easier.

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  25. Anonymous8/29/2013

    Leading manufacturers and suppliers of hose reel and fire fighting hose reel in bangalore, India. Hose reel can be seen be used in the fire extinguishers hose along with the metal reel

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