gardening plumbings

I discovered Gardena products long ago when I was still in collage. It is this car washing brush which I still have today.
car washing brush - by twisting the black handle WRT the orange part you adjust the flow rate; i often use it for a light car wash without using any detergent; the brush removes all the loose dirt and the slow flow of water carry them away; very little water is used

In addition to the snap on quick connect function, it has a built-in valve so you can adjust the flow rate from fully off to fully open. It has gone though hundreds of car washing and yet it lost very few strands of the synthetic hair. Of course I have taken very good care of it and never leave it in the sun. Even the o-ring is original. Very very impressive German product.


Over 20 years ago I came across this Gardena hose wheelcart at Costco and I bought it. Back then very few folks would pay the premium in Costco for a product like this. Year after year it sat outdoors and often in direct summer sun and yet till today it still work. The plastic shows signs of UV deterioration but it is still holding together well. I have a spool of 75 ft commercial quality rubber hose on it. This is the only hose wheelcart I'd ever bought. Again very impressive.
hose wheel

also the broken-looking quick connect fitting on this hose is the first one I bought. After decades of use and abuse (before I realize not to drag or drop it on concrete) and it still function flawlessly despite the appearance

I have been wanting to get their self-retracting hose wheel for a long time but the price had been prohibitive in the US. When they first became available on Amazon the prices were still astronomical. When travel to Hong Kong recently I considered bring them back for the lower prices there. I believe there were sold by the distributor/importer is in Canada. Recently I notice Amazon has begun selling them (sold and shipped by Amazon) and the prices are well discounted. Now it is on par or lower than Hong Kong. BTW, I also unsure if the faucets screw thread in Hong Kong is compatible with that of the US.

A few weeks ago I bought this with a 1/2" ID 10 meter hose for my front yard. I found that the common garden hose is too clumsy and troublesome to manage and I often just cannot bother to coil them back up so it becomes an eyesore in front of the house. No more.
it came with 4 male faucet fittings but only one fits common US household; the other three in the bag are for other countries or unusual commercial sizes; it comes with a simple spray nozzle good enough for most jobs

mounted - even the colors scheme is very German

it swivels 180 degrees

you can take it off the mounting bracket and carry it away if you are worry to leave something this nice in your front yard; note the stop-leak fitting on the side so you don't get water dripping as you carry the wheel away

I notice there is a high return rate on this item. I think a lot of folks was surprised with the small diameter hose when it arrives. Accustom to common 3/4-inch garden hose they are disappointed with the lower flow and reduce pressure. I knew from the outset what to expect so their loss is my gain. I bought mine "used" but it is really just opened box return.
I won't use this for car wash. I pull out my old hose wheelcart with the 3/4-in hose for that. The advantage of the small diameter for watering your plants is it is very light to maneuver around plants. In fact you never need that much flow or pressure especially small plants.

while my neighborhood is very good - still I put a steel cable around the carry handle and leash it to the mounting bolt least someone walk away with it; lock is to keep honest folks honest

I planned all along to get one also for my backyard, but wanting to wait and see how well the first one function. A week later my second "used" one arrived. This time without the original box and cheaper than the first.

 i chose a spot and height to mount it so it is neat and tidy and not interfere with other obstructions

here you see the built-in provision to hold extra nozzles - there is one on each side

one of my many Gardena accessories

these are copycat products that don't work as well - one way valve in the one on the left unscrewed itself when i removed the quick connect fitting from the garden hose

 

For me the design of Gardena products have no equal. All their products are well designed and ergonomic long before ergonomic became the most hyped marketing term. Many so-called ergonomic design has overtly exaggerated contours shaped to the hand while in fact limits how you grip it. The much hyped and overpriced kitchenware with the bovine name is the best example.

In recent years there are more and more copycat brands but they mostly fall short and most are hardly cheaper. Gardena's product are very well engineered and made with very economic materials and many of their products are made in Germany instead of Asia because of design-for-manufacturing. You can see why Germany is the economic power house country of the EU.

if you never use Gardena and want to give it a try this starter kit is a very good deal; it work with all your existing North American garden hoses and faucets

UV is the most damaging of any plastic. I now dress them with a t-shirt to protect from the sun when not in use.

Update 2015.07.03:
I have notice of late that a lot of products are no longer as discounted as they once were at Amazon. The Gardena products are now very expensive there. Take the starter connector kit in the photo above, it has gone up about $7. I recently bought the same at my local supermarket for $9.99!

I snapped up two of the retractable hose dispensers above as I knew Amazon would not have it for long, and I was right. You can now only get the ones with longer hose, for over 2x what i paid for. My only regret is I should have bought three instead of just 2. I bought both as "used", but they are just open-box items. Now the secret with the open-box saving has long gotten out, and you don't save as much as they used to be. Good things never last, and early birds get the worms.