The Best Garden Hoses You Can Buy

Garden hoses are the pipes that attach the sprinkler to the water source. These are one of the most important things to consider. This is because the water flows through the hose before it reaches the sprinkler. In order to get the required sprinkling, you must also get the specific garden hose that suits all your needs.

However, although there are a couple of types of garden hoses that are available, they all often seem the same. Here at Turf Mechanic we bring to you the exact details about each. We hope that you can learn and decide on the product that would serve you the best.

Hose Basics First

Before we get to discussing the several kinds of garden hoses available, it is important to look at some basics. There are several things that must be kept in mind when it comes to selecting the right hose. However, some of these things are so indispensable that they can never be put aside.

These important things that must be kept in mind when shopping for hoses are as follows:

The Top Three Most Important Factors in Buying a Garden Hose

1. Hose Material
The first think that you might want to look at is the material. There are several kinds of hoses available, ranging from vinyl up to rubber. Several hoses have several advantages and drawbacks and this must be kept in mind when you shop. For example, several hoses leak chemicals that might make the water unsuitable for drinking. You must keep the material specially in mind if you are looking to have drinking water on the other side.

2. Hose Length
Another important thing to look at is the length. A longer hose not always a better hose. A longer hose also presents you with its very own fair share of problems which can not be overcome. An ideal hose is one which does the trick with the minimum problems. (And thus the ideal hose depends on your specific use.)

3. Hose Diameter
The width of the hose’s cross sectional area, or the diameter of the hose is also important. It denotes the amount of water that is going to flow through it. This also has effect on the water pressure of the sprinkler, if you are attaching it to one.

The Next Two Most Important Factors

Hose Strength and Flexibility
The strength and flexibility of the hose is dependent on the material and design. It is important to ensure both the quality (durability) of the hose as well as the amount of water pressure that it would be able to sustain.

The Hose Ends
The Ends of the hoses, also known as the couplings are also important. These must always be kept in mind when you are looking at a hose. These decide how much the hose can adapt and these must always be in line with the type of sprinkler.

The Main Types of Hoses

Now that we have taken a look at the basics, we might move on to look at the types of hoses that are available in the market today. These might be listed and briefly described one by one as follows:

1. The Light-Duty Hose

The first kind of hose that we are going to discuss is the Light-Duty Hose. This hose is the typical hose that you see for regular watering jobs. The average garden owner prefers this hose because of the following facts:

• These hoses are the simplest to use and carry, because they have a fixed shape and only carry water from one end to the other like a pipe.
• The Light-Duty hoses are also among the cheapest.
• These hoses do not get damaged easily since they are made of vinyl and are fine if you are looking for regular hose that is not going to carry drinking water.

2. The Heavy-Duty Hose

These hoses are for intense watering purposes. Unlike the Light-Duty hoses, these do not have thin cross-sections or low pressure limits. These are of a better quality and all the parts are used using refined metals in order to ensure that it can put to proper use without any problem or risk.

However, even these are not always safe for drinking water. In such a case, drinking-water hoses must be used. In general, it might be said that the Heavy-Duty hose is on the upper end from an economic perspective.

3. The “Tangled” Hoses

The coiled or “tangled” hoses are famous because of their look. These are tangled to fit them in a small place. However, these can often be extended to a full straight length.

These are useful when the area of watering is not entirely fixed. It is often seen that long hoses get damaged on too much bending. These are specially designed to solve that problem and as such can easily water all the rangers covered within it.

4. Expandable Hoses

These hoses are the ones that literally expand. These work on an elastic principle and may take some time (or might not at all) come back to their original shape if mishandled.

However, these are really great for limited areas as well as uncertain distances within its tolerable limit. The Tangled Hose and the Expandable Hose do put up a friendly competition!

5. Sprinkler & Soaker Hoses

The Sprinkler Hose, also commonly known as the Soaker Hose, is the hose with has a lot of minute holes on its body. Most soaker hoses may not exactly have holes on the body but are constructed of materials that can weep. This one is laid out and it sprinkles water along its length from the holes.

This hose is a great choice for watering almost all the area around the hose. Some are used to sprinkler small lineral areas or for seeping water out into very specific places.

6. Flat Hoses

Did you ever see the hoses that firemen use?

Well, those are called the flat hoses. Those collapse when they are empty and bulge up when they are filled with water. They are usually made up of a material with elastic property such as rubber. However, once again, these are also not safe for drinking water all the time, for that a drinking-water hose must be used.

7. Drinking-Water Hoses

The final and the most important of all hoses is the drinking water hose. If your children are going to play with it either by themselves or with their pets, it is essential that you take care of the fact that you buy one of these.

Several regular hoses leak chemicals that might be toxic, for gardening purposes, that is tolerable because the plants don’t absorb that. But, people or animals might drink it accidentally and that is where these Drinking-Water Hoses become indispensable.

Need More Help With Garden Hoses?

I’ve got a bunch of articles published on this site covering a lot of stuff on hoses.

If you are looking to care for a hose, use a hose, or buy a hose for a specific purpose?

Then check out the articles below. I’m sure at least a couple of them will be of interest to you.

Looking to Buy a Hose?

► Best Hoses for Winter
► Best Soaker Hoses for Vegetable Gardens
► The 3 Best Rated 250 ft Garden Hoses
► Drip Irrigation vs Soaker Hose: Which is Best?

Here Are a Few Articles on Hose Nozzles

► The Best Hose Nozzles
► The Best Hose Timers for the Money
► The Most Powerful Garden Hose Nozzles

Also, We Cover Hose Hangers & Reels on This Site Too!!

► The Best Hose Reels
► The Best Hose Reels With Metal Fittings
► Best Rated 300 ft Hose Reels (Heavy Duty)

As more related articles are added to the site I will link to them from this page.