good tools- a hose end spray nozzle and fawcet splitters

Has anyone ever bought one that lasted more than a year?

On the first warm day my nozzle refused to function properly.-it sprayed out of the nozzle and the join
and the spot on the nozzle where you adjust the lever down so you need not get soaking wet
while you run back to turn it off at the fawcet end- well I must have looked like a wet cat.
( I felt just as pleased as a wet cat. Meow!)

I was trying to wet down the plants gently on the "mist " setting.
HeatherY

I do not know how long they last, but I see quite a few variations at client's houses. They all gum up or whatever, so you cannot change the setting, they get so stuck on the hose end they cannot be removed, or else they leak like you say, and spray all over except where you want.

Best 'nozzle' for me is to simply stick my thumb over the end of the hose.

Alternate theory: since they are not going to last no matter how much you spend, just spend the least, get the cheapest junk and throw it away.
Not a popular sentiment in the current culture of 'less waste', but it seems to be valid.

I rather liked the old pistol grip sort of nozzle, but even these have been replaced with the 'new and improved' versions where you turn a dial to select how hard you want to blast the plants.

You know, I think it is the complexity that makes them break so fast!

Buy some good ones at the end of the season when they are put on sale. I've been buying the combo Melnor nozzles at Target or Walmart when they mark them down so I have new ones for the coming season(s) if needed.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Melnor-7-Pattern-Rear-Trigger-Nozzle-471-173/100659504

One word of caution about the cheap nozzles - you do NOT want to let the faucet turned on 24/7 with a cheap nozzle. I did this a couple of years ago and the nozzle separated spewing gallons upon gallons of water over a weekend we were gone. Our back door neighbor noticed all this water running under their fence and left a note on our garage door and then the next day it was still running so he climbed his 6 foot privacy fence and turned off the faucet saving us many more hours of water waste. Of course a hose or a splitter (manifold) could do the same thing but typically you should see a bubble in the hose indicating a weak spot so you have ample time to repair that section and a manifold rarely splits but I had a brass one break. Anyhoo I will never buy a cheap nozzle again ($3 versus $7.50 is not worth it).

PS when the nozzle becomes "fused" to the hose, cut the hose off below the union and get a hose repair kit (fairly easy and beats buying a new hose). I typically leave all my timers, nozzles, sprinklers in place over winter instead of all the disassembly and storing for winter. Usually everything works the next year and if it doesn't then it is time to break out the stuff I bought last summer or fall.

[quote="hcmcdole"

"One word of caution about the cheap nozzles - you do NOT want to let the faucet turned on 24/7 with a cheap nozzle. I did this a couple of years ago and the nozzle separated spewing gallons upon gallons of water over a weekend we were gone.

Oh NOOO!

Anyhoo I will never buy a cheap nozzle again ($3 versus $7.50 is not worth it).

Okay HCMC, point taken. wow, what a story!

I typically leave all my timers, nozzles, sprinklers in place over winter instead of all the disassembly and storing for winter.

Well, about that I dunno - I live in the only part of the country( the northern half of the East Coast) that had a colder than normal winter and a cooler year for the last two years running.

Thank you for all the good advice. buying extra on markdown is a very good strategy. I will do it.
Heather Y.



[/quote]

We don't get as cold as you but we've seen two winters in a row with single digit temps (usually only lasts a day or two) but we do get in the low 20's and teens often during winter. As long as the hoses are allowed to bleed off before freezing weather sets in, I've not seen any hose, timer, valves, or manifold burst (well except one brass manifold a year or two ago but that may have been a defect from the factory). A cold winter and hot summer probably do age the equipment quicker than being in a perfect environment but to me it is easier to replace aging equipment than the hassle of taking everything apart and storing for winter.

I guess I am too lazy to take all my hoses and attachments inside for winter and assemble it all back in spring. I have four timer stations (all four zones but I usually only use 3 at most) and probably 20 hoses of various lengths so you can see my dilemma. The last couple of summers I've rarely had to use the timers and often just use the spare hose attached at each station to hand water but if and when I go on vacation then timers are turned on and tested before heading out for a couple of weeks.

Anyway get the better nozzles in the future and keep some new ones on hand.

Heather, there is a (popular) brand that I buy and that lasts for about four years on average, but I haven't been able to remember the name, nor is it on the fixtures. But the other thing I >really< like about them is that I don't have to squeeze or, horrors, thumb-press to keep the water spraying. My hands cannot handle that, but I can hold the hose end up. This fixture has a slide for regulating how much water one wants flowing. This also means that I can leave it running at exactly the rate I want. This is the brand that comes in all kinds of candy colors, if that helps. (I keep all my hoses green to be unnoticeable, yet I can find the end.)

I have had my garden hose for several years now, it still gives me all the water I need without leeking or punctured.
I had tried cheaper ones but after a year or two they gave up the ghost and either had punctures, the protective green - black plastic had perished due to hot sun and freezing cold different climate conditions.
The actual gun type of nozzle I prefer never lasted very long either as they were mainly plastic but I liked the variation on the water flow and strength / power of flow, I use these for seeds, so like the misting part, need it for strong shrub watering so anything in between these 2 powers is great, NOW I have purchased a brass GUN with varying flows of water and love it.
End of season I disconnect the hose from the outdoor tap, roll it up onto a wheel made for hose-pipes, and I remove the gun Nozzle, wash it out in warm soapy water, dry off and coat it with sewing machine oil, ordinary light oil will do but I happen to have sewing machines for my soft furnishings I make.
Store the nozzle in a box / plastic container and come spring, the pipe and nozzles are as good as new.
No frost freezing the water still in the pipe and no hard water salts left on the nozzles, never buy another type from now on as these will last me for years AND the new pipe remains tangle free.

Good luck and kind regards.
WeeNel.

Hey Turtles,
was the company that sold those multicolored hoses this one?

http://www.gardeners.com/buy/colorful-garden-hoses/37-516.html

Heather

No I don't think so, although they'd certainly go together. I'll try to find the name today while I'm at the hardware store.

Dramm, I think it is.

have had good luck with the Viking nozzles - good value, still, better to go ahead and buy 1 or 2 spares;

http://www.amazon.com/Viking-912600-8-Way-Heavy-Nozzle/dp/B001GJ3FIS/ref=sr_1_1?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1432129071&sr=1-1&keywords=viking+nozzle

I have a fire hose style nozzle and it's been working well for me the last several years. I also have a 3' shower style nozzle that has done well for me. Faucet splitters usually have to get replaced every couple years though. Ours cakes up with mineral deposits and they start leaking. Also, those quick connect fittings you can attach to faucet and hose end usually need replaced every year. I have finally decided those are not worth the money. I can screw on the hose just as easy.