Honestly, I meant to post this earlier today, before seeing Michael's hose recommendation request...
I want a reel solidly made, built to last, works beautifully, preferably metal (trying to avoid plastic) and not ugly.
Who's got a hose reel they get excited about?
Old car wheel. That's what I'm doing with the cracked wheel from my Boxster.
In reply to Javelin :
A classic!
But I really want something with a hand-cranked reel mounted in a frame so I can wind the hose in instead of having to loop it on.
Oh, I should note that it needs to hold at *least* 50 feet of hose, and more might be good...
Add on a hub assembly and build a crank and A-frame?
After going through this last fall, I couldn't bring myself to spend what is nice for the "metal" ones. And ended up with Lowe's heavy duty plastic one.
Easily holds the 100' length of hose and seems sturdy enough. Just have to see how it lasts.
I've been tempted to build one. I scored an old book from the 1950's with detailed plans. But you know, projects.
I like the auto retracting reels but haven't had one for water before. I wonder if the Harbor Freight air hose reel would work for water? I think I've seen it go on sale for $50 before. This one:
Comes with 50' of hose. There are spring retraction 50' water hose reels for similar prices available online.
Again Coxreels . Available in hand crank and auto retracting.
Don't get this one from Liberty
Or any from Liberty as far as I can tell. They have a great quality look and feel to them with heavy brass fittings, but there is a design flaw that makes it impossible to seal to the reel itself. The swivel doesn't leak, but where the brass fitting screws into the reel is not engineered properly and it gushes.
I second the Eley. It's pricey but badass.
I should note another reason I went with the big plastic box that sits on the ground, I wasn't about to drill into the brick facade of the house to mount something like many of you have linked.
Once we get some landscaping done in the front yard, we are going to paint the box so it blends in with the plants.
In reply to Ransom :
I’m sorry in my 70 years fighting with watering hoses the best hose reel is none!
A decade ago I buried my sprinkler system. I’m so happy I did. Once in a while I have to fix a fitting or sprinkler head but it’s at worst 1/2 hours work. Fittings cost a couple bucks sprinkler heads are between 6-9 bucks.
It didn’t cost me that much to put three zones in and at first I did everything manually. Now I’m thinking of hooking up the automated system I bought but haven’t connected it yet. I don’t mind flipping a switch to turn on and when it’s done flipping it off.
The most expensive part was the pump to draw water out of the lake. Without that I think I spent a couple of hundred dollars. It took me a weekend. Do rent a trencher unless you like breaking your back. Best $50 I spent.
I use my shop compressor to blow the water out in the fall. That’s all I do, in the spring a few heads might need cleaning to get the proper spray pattern. A few minutes work each. I probably wouldn’t need to do even that if the lake water didn’t suck up weeds all the time.
In reply to frenchyd :
All well and good unless your intention is to use your hose for something besides watering your lawn. 
z31maniac said:I should note another reason I went with the big plastic box that sits on the ground, I wasn't about to drill into the brick facade of the house to mount something like many of you have linked.
Once we get some landscaping done in the front yard, we are going to paint the box so it blends in with the plants.
For what it's worth, the Eley doesn't have to be mounted to a wall:
^Good to know!
In reply to frenchyd :
We'll probably do a fair amount of automated watering later, but we've just moved in, and it's going to take quite a while to get the yard and garden into a configuration we like and where it'll stay long enough to make sense to do that. Our nearer-term selves are going to be using the hoses quite a bit. We also already have a fair number of pots on the patio.
Finally, a broad selection of herbs right outside the kitchen door! Okay, I digress, but it's exciting...
In reply to Ransom :
I don’t use automated watering. It’s just underground about 8-10 inches. And as We’ve changed the landscape I’ll change either the hose route or the sparkler head.
One area I was determined to grow grass just never would, just not enough sunlite. Now it’s covered with paving stones and two sprinklers are removed with the others I replaced them with tall pop-ups to spray over the sidewalk onto the planters where we have ferns, Lilly of the valley’s, Hosta’s and other shade tolerant plants.
There are so many choices of sprinklers, soaker hoses, etc. that perfection is nearly impossible the first go around. Then when things change so does your watering patterns and needs. Some of the sprinkler heads I bought at first are in my spares box some I’ve stolen parts from and some are still in the original location
Your first layout will be changed. It’s easy enough to do and the whole system can be changed around mixed and matched however you want.
Its still massively easier than wrestling with the hoses.
Now the only thing I use a hose for is washing the cars. Except I’ve been giving some serious thought to putting a sprinkler system in the garage. I already have drains,
Turn it on, to rinse off the worst, fill a bucket with warm soapy water, wash, and then turn the sprinklers back on to rinse.
Dry, wax. Hmmmmmm
You'll need to log in to post.
