Best Garden Hoses: A Buyer’s Guide

Keen gardeners will always reap the benefits of a reliable garden hose. Frequent users want to know that when they turn on the faucet, their hose is going to deliver a consistent flow of water to provide much-needed nutrition to their prize plants. The value of a good hose, though, can go far beyond a garden. Many new garden hoses are constructed to such a high standard that they often get labeled “pro” or “jobsite tough,” meaning that many professional people can benefit from a great hose.

Farmers need reliable equipment when tending to their livestock, and a food-grade hose, free from lead, is crucial to the health of their animals. Construction workers need hoses that are abrasive-free, with anti-crush couplings and a guarantee not to leak. All weather capabilities are also vital, because having a hose that doesn’t freeze and crack means that work can continue even if the temperature has plummeted.

Not all hoses are the same. Some are expandable varieties, designed to be simple to store, lightweight, and easier to maneuver. Lugging a heavy hose around the garden can be back-breaking work, especially if it is inflexible and suffers from a strong memory, so having something nimble and lightweight could be the answer.

On the other hand, expandable hoses take time to reach their full length, which means that it there will be a delay getting to the maximum water flow. Also, expandable hoses are less durable than rigid PVC varieties, and so you tend to have to replace them more often. And then there’s the question of cost: expandable hoses can be expensive when compared to other types of hoses.

Let’s look at some pros and cons:

• What is a food-grade garden hose?

• Food-grade hoses are often tasteless, odorless, and are typically constructed from vinyl or PVC. Crucially, they are also lead-free. It’s important to consider what the hose is going to be used for before you choose one; for example, purchasing a hose for your RV water supply as opposed to a hose intended for watering the garden means that you need to read the small print carefully and be sure you are getting a lead-free, food-grade variety. If you have a vegetable patch, the last thing you want is for the produce to become contaminated with residue from your hose, which could render it inedible.

• Is the diameter of the garden hose measured from the inside or the outside?

• The diameter is always measured from the inside of the garden hose, because some hoses have a different thickness of casing depending on how many layers they have. The diameter measurement is only concerned with the width of the tubing where the water flows.

• Which is better: brass or aluminum couplings on your garden hose?

• It seems that brass and aluminum are the two favorite materials to use for couplings, mainly because neither corrode or rust. Both are also pretty hardwearing and can stand up to the rigors of day to day use. The better quality couplings, however, are the brass variety because they are more robust and scratch less. Plus, the manufacturing process for aluminum couplings can sometimes leave rough and sharp edges, which rarely happens with brass ones.

  Moreover, it is a little known fact that when you attach aluminum couplings to brass connectors and faucets and turn on the water, a galvanic process takes place that fuses the two materials. This can be problematic and may require you to force them apart with a wrench. This isn’t good for either the coupling or your faucet and will reduce the lifespan of the hose. There are products that you can buy to reduce the risk of this happening, but that is an extra expense and highly inconvenient.