The Pros and Cons of Using an Expandable Hose and How to Fix Them

Spring comes around and we are out in our gardens once more, happily plugging away with our little, or quite large, dirt patch. The plants are planted, the veggies are growing and has the days grow hotter it becomes a routine to stand out almost every morning or night to keep them staying perky and well-watered. The hose gets unwound and dragged out once more, the water is sprayed, the plants are happy. With the amount of time that this part of your routine takes, shouldn’t it be important that it is kept as convenient and easy as possible?

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There are so many options nowadays to make a gardener’s life easy. All the different types of hoses, nozzles, automated systems and timers that are out there, though, start to become a muddled mess while doing online research. This is especially so because often a hose is more useful than just watering a garden, but washing a car, cleaning the outside of your house, rinsing down a sidewalk after work is done. So, how do you know what is going to be the best for your routine and lifestyle?

In this article, we are going to shed some light on a growing trend for many people, the expandable garden hose. In the end, you will know what it is, benefits of using them, common problems, and most importantly, how to fix them when these problems arise. Then, if it seems like this option is a great fit for you, we take a quick look at what is important to consider when going out and buying one of these hoses.

What is an Expandable Garden Hose?

We are probably all well acquainted with what a garden hose is. What makes an expandable one different is really held in its name, it is able to expand and contract depending on the amount of pull pressure and water pressure that is being put on it. Many garden hoses need to be carefully wrapped and taken care of, and although an expandable one still needs some care, it has a lot of safeguards and conveniences build right into it.

When looking in the store for the visible differences between a regular garden hose and an expandable one, look at the outside “skin” of the hose. It may look slightly different from brand to brand, however instead of the smooth exterior that a normal hose will have, an expandable will have an outside of a durable fabric, like polyester, that has the potential to be stretched out and moved back into place. As they have been developed, they have made this fabric material more concise in closer packed rings around the core, and therefore less prone to being ripped or torn. The core of these hoses is generally made from latex or TPC, thermoplastic copolyester, that is known for its expandability, durability and heavy duty uses in manufacturing. All of these qualities have made these materials great for this type of hose and for the gardeners that use them.

How and Why They are Used

There are many qualities that make the expandable garden hose one that many gardeners are moving towards using. They tend to solve the problems that many people will commonly encounter with their traditional hoses while creating few of its own in return. A couple of the qualities that they are known and used for includes:

1.      The weight is around 5 times less than that of a traditional garden hose

This is comparing to hoses that are the same length as when the expandable one has stretched to its full potential. When it has been coiled back up and isn’t under pressure, it is shorter and has less material included in its design, allowing for it to be much more transportable and arm-friendly when watering.

2.      Capable of expanding 3 times its original length with water pressure

These hoses are known for their expandability obviously; however, it can be really amazing to walk it out, and out, and out. This is one of the main reason people use these, for extra yardage.

3.      Contracts to its original length without the pressure

What would this hose be without being able to contract back after use? Because of the type of material that is used, it won’t stretch out over time but will continue to go back to its original length time after time.

4.      Doesn’t get tangles, twist on itself, or kink up

This is so important for many gardeners as the most time-consuming part of watering their yard may very well not be the time spent watering, but the time spent prepping the hose, untangling, straightening and twisting opposite directions. These hoses are known for the capability to avoid all of these problems with grace and ease.

5.      Self-drains after use

This one is pretty self-explanatory but is still worth noting. Since it contracts back, this allows most of the hose to expel the extra water that didn’t run through it after the water source was turned off. Say goodbye to wet pants and legs after watering your yard.

The Problems with Them

After talking about all of reasons that people use them, it is easy to see why they have been such a world-wide hit. However, keeping in mind that there are two sides to every coin, we must also prepare you for why some people of tried them and moved on.

The biggest problems with these hoses are generally not the fault of the hose and the original designer’s idea behind it, but in fact, more to do with what brand and manufacturer it is being bought from. As with any valuable new product, it is a good idea to do your own research and not just pick the first one off the shelf you see. The scare stories that you might here with these have to do with the hose snapping, bursting or leaking within the first uses, poor expandability when that is what it was bought for, or easily being ripped and torn up. All of these will generally have to do with one or both of two problems: either the manufacturer of the hoses decided to use poor, cheap material that was not durable as it should be, or the user instructions were not followed and the hose was put under too much pressure. Even though expanding is what they are known for, everything has its limits of length and these hoses are the same. The instruction will inform you how far they should be stretched out and moving beyond that length is moving into the territory of risk. There are many times though, that the manufacturer simply isn’t known for the quality of their product and this is where doing your own research will come into play before trying one of these out for yourself.

How To Fix an Expandable Hose

The rest of this article will be mostly about how to fix an expandable hose so when problems do arise, they can easily be taken care of. Many times, people may opt for simply buying a new hose, but if you have found one that works well for you and want to keep it, it is very possible to do the repairs yourself and keep using it for much longer.

Cares and Cautions

First, a couple of things to keep in mind before and while you begin to fix the hose. You do not want to end up making more holes or gouges in the hose while fixing it as this will only lead to more problems and weak spots. Also, unlike traditional hoses with just an outer rubbery layer that funnels the water through it, an expandable hose has two layers that make it up. The outside layer is the fabric covering that acts to try and protect the inner layer. The fabric generally isn’t made to stretch just to far but will bunch up around the inner latex tube when it contracts back. When you are fixing this inner tube, be sure to have a good handle on it because if you don’t then it will snap back into the covering and you will need to slide the fabric back into a tight bunch to try and get it out, inconvenient all around. Keep this in mind of the area that needs to be fixed is the connector as you will need to unscrew these parts and keep hold of the tubing while you cut it.

Repairing the Middle of the Hose

There are only two types of areas that a hose can be damaged, the middle, or the ends at the connectors. First, we are going to look at the entire expansion of the hose that makes up the middle of it. These are going to be small cuts, holes or otherwise leaky bits that are taking away from the water pressure that sends the water out the other end.

Leaks or Cuts

This is going to be one of the most common repairs that needs to be done to a hose of any kind, not just the expandable ones. The hoses great ran over rocks, lawn, dog toys and who knows what else. Every time you take it out, it is a rip risk. Even though both the fabric and the inner tube is generally made to be durable (this is again where researching to get a good hose comes into play), sliding over a jagged rock one too many times can still cause it damage.

1.      First you will need to figure out where the leak is in the hose. This will probably be fairly obvious the fist time the hose is turned on and doesn’t work properly as watering may be spewing from the leak.

2.      After finding the leak, take a couple of locking pliers and lock them around the hose a couple of inches from the leaking area on either side. Be careful not to create more holes by locking it too tightly.

3.      Allow the hose to contract back to its resting length when the water is turned off.

4.      After the hose has contracted and the pliers are on tight enough to hold the tubes in place, cut the hose, along with its fabric layer, around the leak inside of the area the pliers are holding.

a.      Since the inner tubing is made of a very stretchy material, there may be other small holes that developed around the weakened, cut area. Because of this it is best to make the cut several inches big to cover any of these other holes that would get bigger with further use.

5.      Using a hose clamp will work for traditional hoses, but unfortunately does not work as well for expandable hoses as the fabric covering will not slide cleanly over and back over it. Instead, use a brass hose fitting with ribbed edges, keeping in mind that the longer it is, at least ½”, the better as the more grip and friction area you have, the more likely it will work for longer.

a.      You can always lubricate the end with some soapy water if the installation process is difficult.

6.      Use a very small wire clamp to fasten the rubber tubing along with the fabric covering to the outside of the brass fitting.

7.      Carry out the same steps for the other side of the hose and join the two together.

Snapped Hoses

You run your hose over something hard and you hear it, a snap and whoosh as the back end of the hose rockets backwards and the front towards you. Now what? This is one of those fixes that depends on your situation, was it a clean snap or has it created other holes and cuts as it went? If it was a clean snap, then follow the instructions below, and if not then you may need to follow those along with fixing the leaks and cuts made otherwise with the directions above.

1.      Locate the ends of your hose within the fabric covering.

2.      Cut the end off from the end of the hose that has less tubing and take the tubing out of the fabric layer.

3.      Using a thin, metal rod or stick, send it into the fabric covering through the end of the hose that had been cut off and send it all the way through until it meets the other rubber tubing of the hose at the other end.

4.      This step may take some time. Next you will need to push the fabric covering all the way back across the opposite end of the tubing that is still covered so that this end will end up sticking out of the fabric covering and becoming accessible.

5.      Having access to both ends now will make it much easier to be able to fix. Using a hose clamp will work for traditional hoses, but unfortunately does not work as well for expandable hoses as the fabric covering will not slide cleanly over and back over it. Instead, use a brass hose fitting with ribbed edges, keeping in mind that the longer it is, the better as the more grip and friction area you have, the more likely it will work for longer.

a.      You can always lubricate the end with some soapy water if the installation process is difficult.

6.      Join the two ends of the hose with the brass hose and test for grip strength. If it doesn’t seem to grip very well, you may need to get a longer one.

7.      After the brass hose fitting has been secured well, take your fabric covering back over the hose until it is back at the end.

8.      Slide the tubing end back over the barbed end of the fitting. Many people suggest using a wire clamp at the end to ensure that both the rubber tubing as well as the fabric will stay in place. This is also a version of what they will do at the end of manufacturing so it will look almost as good as new.

Repairing the End of the Hose

This fix is generally going to be the easiest of them all to do and if repairs are needed, shouldn’t take very long or involve a lot of materials. It is similar to the processes talked about before, with less chances of losing hoses in the fabric covering as this time you are only dealing with one end of the hose.

1.      First you will need to figure out where the leak is in the hose. This will probably be fairly obvious the first time the hose is turned on and doesn’t work properly as watering may be spewing from the leak, especially if it the end of the hose.

2.      After finding the leak, take a locking pliers and lock it around the hose a couple of inches from the leaking area so the hose doesn’t shoot back into the covering from that end. Be careful not to create more holes by locking it too tightly.

3.      Allow the hose to contract back to its resting length when the water is turned off.

4.      After the hose has contracted and the pliers are on tight enough to hold the tube in place, cut the hose, along with its fabric layer, around the leak inside of the area the pliers are holding.

a.      Since the inner tubing is made of a very stretchy material, there may be other small holes that developed around the weakened, cut area. Because of this it is best to make the cut several inches long to cover any of these other holes that would get bigger with further use.

5.      Use a hose end fitting to reattach the fixed hose to the spigot end.

a.      You can always lubricate the end with some soapy water if the installation process is difficult.

6.      Slide the rubber tubing over the hose end fitting and make sure it is on tight enough to not snap off after installation.

7.      Using a wire clamp, fasten the rubber and the fabric into place and it should be good as new!

Traits to Look for When Buying/Use so it lasts longer

Now that we have looked at how simple it can be to fix an expandable hose, let’s quickly touch on how to make the life of an expandable hose a bit longer and decrease the chances of needing to execute any of these repairs.

Tip #1

After you buy your new hose, it might be tempting to get out and use it right away. However, the best thing to do is take a bit of time to get it ready as it has never been expanded or contracted before this. Allow the water to fill it up and contract it out a good distance, then, turn the water off and allow it to drain out and contract back. Do this several more times before trying to add any more pressure by pulling it out to where you need it.

Tip #2

Turn the water off when it isn’t going to be used and then squeeze the nozzle to drain as much water from the hose as possible, allowing it to contract back to its initial length each time after using it.

Tip #3

Don’t leave the hose in the sun for too long, especially if the rubber is exposed at any point. This also includes any sort of extreme weather. Yes, in theory it is meant to last through all of this, however, these are tips for prolonging its life and being able to use it for as long as possible.

Tip #4

Be careful when taking the hose out and pulling it all over your yard to avoid jagged rock and concrete edges to do the best to avoid leaks and rips.

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