It's beginning to warm up and I need to use the hose for some projects. I have several crappy hose nozzles laying around and I am not looking forward to another summer with them.
The Griot's nozzle is out of my price range but there has to be a decent one that won't break the bank. Does anyone have one that they particularly like? I prefer a pistol grip myself, but I'm open to anything that won't leak and will last more than a summer or two.
I bought this one after having numerous trigger models fail in some way. Liked it so much I bought another for garage where it gets used mostly for car washing. Somehow I broke the bail on/off thing and was trying to figure out how to fix. Out of curiosity, I was nosing around for parts on Melnor site and noticed they had a lifetime warranty, so I gave them a call and explained the situation. Was transferred from whoever answered the phone to their warranty dept., they asked for photo and sent me a new one. Nobody does that anymore! I'd buy another in a heartbeat.
Melnor Heavy-Duty Thumb Control 8-Pattern Nozzle 00452-HD - The Home Depot
If you don't want it to break, get the old school brass one. I see you can get two of them on Amazon for $8. It's the ONLY sprayer that hasn't broken for us.
We've had the original version of this one for about 10 years and it's outlasted many hoses. We bought it at the Big E, but you can get it online. The main issue is corrosion between the nozzle and hose if it's left on for a year or more, no leaks, but not easy to remove
we also just purchased this one by the same company, but haven't tried it out yet.
I second the old-school brass nozzle. It's all metal, what's not to love?
I purchased these last year, and so far, so good. I prefer the trigger style but felt the all-brass design would age better.
They're all crap, especially if you have water with lots of iron. Spend $15-25 for a decent brass one that you like (twist, trigger, whatever), buy two and treat it as a wear item.
This is what I use in the brewery: https://www.amazon.com/Spray-Nozzle-Aluminum-Brass-Black/dp/B00DSSLX84
Another vote for solid brass old school.
One thing is certain, if it's on the shelf at the home center store, it's crap.
1988RedT2 said:Another vote for solid brass old school.
One thing is certain, if it's on the shelf at the home center store, it's crap.
Totally agree with that. I've tried most everything at the box stores and they're all crap
Any USA Made ones?
Lowes has a great one. I have two of them, the body is all metal and is designed so that you can run over it with a car and it is fine. The lever allows you to dial in just the right amount of water pressure, and there are 7 different spray settings. At $17 - $22 they are not cheap, but they will last forever.
Over time, the little bar that turns on the water will stiffen, which is no big deal unless you have weak fingers. And they even have a solution for that.
Like JG said, I treat hose nozzles as a wear item. I might get 6 months out of one if I'm lucky. I've never had one that makes it multiple seasons. It doesn't matter if they are plastic, brass, or metal, or what kind of nozzle they are; they all start leaking and/or break apart. We have high iron content, and another problem....
I did find out during renovations that we may have too much pressure coming into the house. Our plumbers will be installing a pressure reducer to compensate. Maybe I'll have better luck in the future.
In reply to Tony Sestito :
I added a pressure regulator because the line pressure coming in to the house was >90psi. The regulator seems to be helping eliminate some of the pressure effects on appliances (washer would occasionally seep past seals on valves).
I left the hose bib closest to the driveway unregulated to have a bit more pressure when washing cars, etc. I need to make sure it gets shut off and pressure released when done otherwise the hose eventually will swell.
I bought this one from the hammer store because it was cheap and I needed a nozzle in the moment, the next year I bought another one for the hose at the back of the house. going on year 3 for the original and still works like day 1.
I have two, but usually use one. It's an aluminum version of the old-school squeeze nozzle like the first picture below. I also have one like Pinchvalve shows in the second photo. It's not that exact one. I like it for specific tasks, like watering and misting plants, but I find that when they pack so many spray patterns in, there must not be room for much flow. Trying to wash a car gets tedious with my multi-pattern.
Something I strongly suggest... get the same material as your hose end. My hose has aluminum fittings, so I got an aluminum nozzle. If it has brass, get brass. If it's plastic, I don't think it matters. If you don't, you'll realize a year later that your brass nozzle has welded itself to the aluminum hose fitting. Also, a little lube can't hurt, like maybe some silicone spark plug grease.
Also, David S Wallens has a picture that shows a must for me... the little shut-off valves. It lets you change nozzles without going back, turning off the water, letting pressure out....
^ we broke one of those old school style right where the lever hinges on the handle. I thought simple would be stronger. It could be that my kids use it and drop it, drag it across the ground, etc.
Will be replacing with one of the suggested types above.
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:Also, David S Wallens has a picture that shows a must for me... the little shut-off valves. It lets you change nozzles without going back, turning off the water, letting pressure out....
Yes, I'm a big fan of those. Also a set of quick connects like these:
Makes it a lot easier when switching between a regular nozzle and a pressure washer, for instance.
Curtis touches on something that bears repeating- you need some lube on the hose threads. We typically put one hose nozzle on and leave it on all season. I put Teflon tape on the threads so it doesn't seize on there. Same where the hose attached to the faucet. I've had to replace the whole faucet when a hose got seized to one. Use lube, or tape.
In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :
Agreed. I've started to keep a stock of these on hand for any water devices I get.
I have a pistol grip nozzle I bought (from probably Home Depot) some years ago. Still works fine, although I don't use it a lot - maybe a few times per year. I don't wash my cars as often as I'd like to. It's on a quick connector so I don't leave it on the hose. Both the nozzle and the hose live in the garage when not in use.
You'll need to log in to post.
