Coxreels / Reelcraft Hose Quality

[sparknmike]

I've been looking at a couple of models of Coxreels and Reelcraft air hose reels. I'm tired of everyone stepping on the hoses and always having extra hose piled up in corners to get it out of the way. Everyone talks about how great these reels are but I don't see anyone talking about the hose itself. Since there are options to buy these reels without the hose I want to get a feel for just how good the hose itself is before I buy a reel with the hose installed.

Part of the reason I ask is that about 15 years ago I got tired of the PVC hoses I was buying cracking and being a real pain to work with. I put every PVC hose I could find in the garbage after buying a set of name brand rubber hoses. What I found afterwards was the hoses not only were easier to work with but have also lasted five times as long as the best PVC hoses we had. I've bought quality rubber hoses ever since.

All of the specs I have found on the hoses for Coxreels and Reelcraft say the hoses are PVC, so I'm afraid we will have nice reels with hoses that are so-so compared to the hoses we have now. The reels I've seen in person had decent hoses but they were also old and who knows how the hose they happen to have at the time compares to the hoses being supplied with the reels sold today.

 

[canuckian]

I plan on getting a couple of reelcrafts for my shop and when i do, I'll be getting them without hoses so I can make my own choice for the hose. I'll likely either go with Goodyear rubber hoses or Flexzillas.

 

[sparknmike]

I thought about just buying my own hose and not even thinking about their hose. I would rather not fuss with any problems on an expensive reel, and I find it hard to believe that they are skimping on the hose. For instance, I wouldn't want to go buy my own 50' hose only to find it is a bigger diameter than they designed the reel for so I have to chop off a bit, or, worse yet, the reel doesn't retract properly.

 

[rlitman]

I thought about just buying my own hose and not even thinking about their hose. I would rather not fuss with any problems on an expensive reel, and I find it hard to believe that they are skimping on the hose. For instance, I wouldn't want to go buy my own 50' hose only to find it is a bigger diameter than they designed the reel for so I have to chop off a bit, or, worse yet, the reel doesn't retract properly.

Good point!

I own three 30' Reelcraft reels. All were bought used on CL, and were pretty old, and all came with 3/8" rubber hoses.
On one, the hose failed, and began leaking in multiple places. I got an Amflo 3/8"x50' hose for cheap, hacked one end to shorten it, and worked it into that reel. But the Amflo hose is a little thicker in diameter, and if the hose isn't carefully spoon fed back into the reel, it stands up tall enough to jam up the reel before it is fully back in. It can get a little frustrating at times.

 

[Roberts210]

I own 3 Reelcraft reels--two for air and one for water. The air reels I bought used so they were bare. The water I bought new, but it was bare too. I have rubber tho, and I like it.

 

[Badasssapper67]

I run Tekton 1/2" and 3/8" hose reels with the support arm on both sides and they came with great rubber hose.
I've had them for about 6 months but they're great units.

 

[trackwelder]

We had some reelcraft oxy/fuel reels that did not hold up well on a few welding trucks, mostly return springs and locking pawls. Hannay reels are installed on our trucks and they hold up very well.

 

[Mhyde52]

I agree with the above post. Hannay reels are fantastic. We have reelcrafts at work and while they work fine now, the look like garbage next to hannay reels.