Yard ButlerFree Standing Swivel Hose Reel - Water Hose Caddy For Yard or Garden - Outdoor Garden Hose Accessories, Water Hose Reel Rotate 360 Degree, Freestanding Metal Outdoor Water Pipe Stand

I have been hunting for the right hose reel for a long time. I don't have the right spot to mount it to the house and the ones that sit on the ground in a semi-decorative plastic box are junk (tip over and difficult to reel in). This reel is PERFECT. Easy install and looks pretty decent in the garden. Functionally, it is great the way it swivels and locks in place.

This hose reel is a real example of "Frank Loyd Wright's "simple form and outstanding function is the hallmark of good design". Heavy duty, very good yet unobtrusive finish. Perfect for my needed location which requires use from different directions. I would have liked and adjustable brake for spin roll and for a larger full flow intake, but certainly not a deal killer for me. Very pleased with this item. Commercial quality ensures years of service. I put a battery powered two port digital timer upon the intake connection. This allows additional "automatic" above ground drip or sprinkler settings for an additional section, without inhibiting hose-reel operations.

I've had this hose reel for a couple of months now. It works well, is sturdy, and was easy to install. The assembled unit is taller than I expected, but that's OK. The post comes in a couple of pieces that slide together. The post needs to be set in concrete. The reel slides onto the top of the assembled post. The handle then needs to be attached. The assembly process took a couple of minutes. The reel swivels and has a locking tab to keep it in the desired position. The reel itself isn't as heavy duty as I thought it would be, but is much sturdier than plastic reels. My only gripe is that the description states the reel will hold 200 feet of 5/8 inch hose. I could only fit 150 feet of standard - not thick, heavy duty - 5/8 inch hose on the reel, and that is just barely. I was hoping to fit 200 feet on the reel. So far, I like it much better than hose carts that I used to use. I got tired of the space the carts took up during winter storage. The reel will come off the post easily and won't take up much space in the shed or garage.

There is definitely a little leg work involved but you will be pleased with the results. Don't forget to get a leader hose (to attach the water spickett to the bottom of the hose reel post). But it is very sturdy (once you cement it in the ground, which really isn't as big of a deal as it sounds... just go grab a small bag of quickcrete and dig a small hole...). It swivels on top and it easy to real back. The only down side is that it sits pretty tall above the ground, I wish there was a way to bury it a little deeper, but where the leader hose attaches limits you to the depth you can bury it. We will be buying another one for the other side of the yard!

Aside from some surface corrosion inside the post and a little scuffing externally due to less than perfect packaging and shipping, the product came to me looking pretty decent. Seems to work pretty well, though the install does show one flaw. It says to use quick-crete to secure the post in the ground according to the directions on the quick-crete bag. And the product recommends burying at least 8 inches of the post in the ground for proper installation. If you follow the directions of the quick-crete, which says to allow 3 to 4 inches of room at the top of the post, you really only have about 8 inches of post to bury due to the short length of the post. After installing and letting the quick-crete cure, the post actually moved around in the ground, cement and all, when I first used it. After a few days, the ground around the concrete hardened up a bit more as it dried out and the post became more secure. But I would like to see a post with a longer length so that I could bury more than the minimum 8 inches in concrete. We'll have to see about durability, as I've only had it in the ground for about a month or so, but it seems to hold up ok. In case you worry like I did before ordering that the product will swivel around as you try to reel in your hose, there is a metal tab with multiple stops that you can use to lock the reel in place before you begin to crank on it. It's not mentioned, but it's there, and it's handy.

This hose reel is well built and holds the hose well. It is pretty easy to assemble. Setting it up requires that you did a hole,fill it with concrete mix and place the base in the concrete before it sets. I used a level to make sure it was straight so that when the stand and reel was attached it would not lean in any any direction. I let the concrete set over night before installing the long post and the reel. It works very well and easily held the 75 feet of hose I had with plenty of room to spare for additional hose capacity if I need it in the future.UPDATE 12/2015Completely rusted out at the base of the post where it meets the stand, rendering it useless after about 2 years of use. I therefore changed my rating from 4 starts to one.

The height of it makes it easy to reel in and the locking swivel is perfect for accessing the front yard or driveway. I used a 50 lb bag of quikcrete to secure it. It replaced to old plastic hose reel that never stayed in place while reeling out or in.

I have installed a few of these over the years and have yet to see a competitor match the design convenience. They hold 100 ft. of medium diameter hose nicely and, if I lubricate the mechanism once a season, they work flawlessly. Before loading the unit with a hose, I spray everything on the unit with some Rustoleum Rust Inhibitor and let it dry overnight. We have very hard corrosive water in our area of So. Calif. and that hardness has been the source of any problems I've had. Yes, they are costly, but I have received full value for my purchases. I dig a proper hole and anchor mine with a couple of 45 lb. bags of Ready-Crete shovel-mixed in a mud pan.

I'm giving it 4/5 stars due to the fact it says it can hold 200ft of hose. I put 130ft on it and it can barley hold that. 200 would be overloading it and usable to operate correctly.That's the hose I used ,and it fits it perfectly.https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00INTIKFW/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_2