ELEY Hose Reel – Outdoor Garden Hose Reel Stand and Heavy-Duty Hose Reel, Great Addition to Gardening Accessories and Supplies

From all the hose reels I could research, both online and in-store, I found this one the most appealing based on look, ruggedness and workmanship. Not the cheapest though, and I hesitated a little bit over the $159.99 plus $24.64 shipping, but...I wanted quality, not a disposable hose reel which I can get at any home improvement store.I looked through the packaging, the manual and the item itself, and could not find any indication for place of manufacture. It did have a couple of labels with the company address (which is US based), but nowhere it says "Made in USA" which I am sure would be clearly advertised, as this is a selling point nowadays, so is a sure bet this hose reel is made somewhere outside the United States. I only mentioned this because it seems to be important for some people.This hose reel does require assembly, but basic hand skills should be enough (if you can replace a car battery, or a spare tire, assemble a computer desk or chair, you can certainly do this; otherwise get some help). It comes with all you need for assembly: instructions and one allen wrench. From opening the box until final assembly it should not take you more than 1/2 hour. I HIGHLY recommend using this reel with a flexible hose, as some garden hoses out there, though good quality and kink resistant, are quite stiff. I put a 50 feet 5/8" hose. If you are going to use a 100 feet hose beware, that depending on thickness, the hose may actually contact the base of the hose reel, so you will have to reel-in the hose neatly, otherwise it will bundle up and touch the reel base sooner than later.For longer hoses the company's website offers an extra capacity kit (it makes the reel wider, and cost an extra $20), so based on my experience with a 50' 5/8" hose I would get the extra capacity kit for anything north of a 100 feet long garden hose.I ended up buying a Stanley FatMax Garden Hose for this reel and I am glad I did. This hose is very flexible, thus making the reeling-in much easier. I also bought a 25' "NeverKink Series 2000 Ultra Flexible Garden Hose" for my backyard, to be used without a reel and that's when I realized how influential the hose flexibility is on this reel. Had I bought this hose for the reel it would have make it more difficult to use. After trying the Stanley FatMax I found nothing "Ultra Flexible" on the "NeverKink" hose.This reel has no guide; you are the guide, so this translates into a little bit a work while recoiling your hose back, not an issue for me at all; I just lay the hose nicely in front of the reel and guide it with one hand while reeling-in with the other.I just started using this reel, so I don't know how well it will perform long term, and I am using it in South Florida, therefore no wide temperature changes, or snow, etc., rather hot and humid climate. I am not near the coast either, so I don't know how well it will hold up near the ocean. I will update this post if I notice a problem over time.In summary, I am very happy with this reel, it is high quality indeed, and several notches above any hose reel you can find anywhere. I recommend it and although pricey, would certainly buy it again.

Out of all the products I bought this spring and summer, this is my favorite. Previous to buying this reel, I bought four hose reels, returning all of them due to missing or broken parts as they all contained plastic parts. It is solidly built, has been exposed to extreme heat and rain for months, and shows no sign of rusting or failing. It also looks amazing in my driveway, which is very visible from the street.There are predrilled holes that can be used to bolt it to a surface. However, I didn't need them as its feet hold it in place well on my asphalt driveway. Also, I plan to store this reel inside for the winter.It took only about 20 minutes to assemble---this coming from someone who is not an expert.It is not auto retracting but stores and handles my 100-foot metal hose very well. One of its best features is the locking mechanism which prevents the hose from spinning and/or disconnecting from the reel. LOVE IT!The only slight inconvenience was when I first hooked it up and turned on the outside faucet, the ring that threads the hose to the reel popped off due to the pressure. I just hand tightened it once, and it hasn't happened again, even when using the reel multiple times each day. (When I'm done using any hose, I ensure I shut off the faucet and open the sprayer again to release the water pressure. This seems to help all hoses and reels.)Congrats to the ELEY team...very well done and a big thanks. Looking forward to your next invention!

The first thing I'd like to say is that this product is made in China, and is proof that products made in China can be just as good as anything made in the USA if the American company cares and is willing to pay for it. It's still sad that US workers couldn't have been paid to make it, but I'm happy to contribute at least something to a US-based company.The materials are solid and heavy - what you got in products made in the USA in the 1950s. Combined with the precision with which it's made, you have a very nice product. I'm proud to own it.Assembly wasn't difficult, but I could see that a couple of steps might be hard for some people. If you're experienced putting together things like this, it shouldn't be a problem, and you'll know how much to tighten each of the things that need to be tightened.Once assembled, it worked as it's supposed to. I have only one complaint (which some reviewers also mentioned): reeling in a long hose, you need to manually guide the hose back and forth over the reel to get it to wind evenly, or it will pile up on one side, then drop to the middle, pile up on the other side, and so forth. Some of the inexpensive hose boxes have guides that move back and forth to prevent this and they do a good job, but their quality of materials and construction doesn't come close to this reel. If an automatic hose guide could be somehow added to this, it would be pretty much perfect.We've only been using it a few days, so not long enough to hit some of the problems that others have reported: leaks, paint chipping, parts falling off, etc. If/when that happens, if I feel that it shouldn't have, I'll come back and update this review.