Help! Air Hose Reel

[MAYOR28]

Help me choose an air hose reel for my garage. The wife was planning on getting me the new one at Lowes, but it was not in the store when she went to buy it......That led to me searching for other reels in about the same price range. I have not seen any other reviews on GJ about the newer Lowes reel, has anyone had any experience with it?

Requirements:
Ceiling Mountable
Metal Construction
Retractable
Rubber Hose
Around $100 (including shipping)

Here is what I have found so far:

Lowes:
LOWES LINK

TSC:
TSC LINK

Northern Tool:
NT LINK

A Few From Amazon:

CYCLONE LINK

CAPRI LINK

LINCOLN LINK

Anyone have any other suggestions or recommendations?

Thanks, Matt

.

 

[Rickster55]

A little more costly but made in USA. It's the one I went with.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/levelwindtrade%3B-retractable-air-hose-reel-3-8-in-id-75-ft-350-psi-ca-prop-65-compliant

 

[Highlux]

I have a craftsman one I bought 10 years ago or so. I would pass on the same model again. Its gotten jacked up over the years and I dont always trust it....pull it out...it clicks into were you think it wont coil back....then outta nowhere...it coils up dragging any small airtool with it across the gargaee at 65 mph killing anything in its path till it winds up.

Was thinking of making a manual crank one out of a cool wheel.

 

[woody 73]

At first I started looking at cox and reelcraft but my guy at the tool store talked me into American, and it is still going strong after all these many years.

The Lincoln above is also a very nice reel.

 

[MAYOR28]

A little more costly but made in USA. It's the one I went with.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/levelwindtrade%3B-retractable-air-hose-reel-3-8-in-id-75-ft-350-psi-ca-prop-65-compliant

How long have you had this reel? I am a little leery of the plastic construction and I do not really like PVC hoses in the wintery months.......

 

[mshell56118]

My suggestion is to do like i did. Buy the Tsc Reel then remove the hose nad buy a flexzilla to put in its place

 

[Rickster55]

Mayor -

just bought it middle of this month but the reviews were good and I gravitate towards USA made stuff when I can. IMHO, the housing seems to be very sturdy!

 

[Tunajoe]

I found a brand new Reel Craft off Ebay for $125
The quality is unbelievable. 3/8 hose, 35 feet long.

 

[MAYOR28]

I am thinking about taking a look at the Kobalt one today after work. I am hoping I can look in the box to see the construction of it. For the price, if it is well constructed it may be worth it. Plus, if it has the Kobalt warranty that is a bonus. We will see.......

 

[Alexbn921]

Reel is just okay, but the hose is great. Whatever you get make sure the hose is rubber!
PVC hose *****. It gets hard when cold and will evently crack.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002LQ7WKM/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[firebox40dash5]

We bought 4 of the Kobalt ones at work. The reels are OK enough for home use, the hoses flat ****. All 4 hoses within 9 months had cracked at the ends, and kept splitting every time I fixed them. I got sick of it and put Flexzilla hoses on them. One reel is all wonky with the stops, it seems to only lock in on like 1/4 of them, the rest work OK enough for being cheap as hell.

I'd consider that Goodyear one posted above if you can swing an extra $45.

 

[rsanter]

I have a couple of the reels from HF
Reels have held up well
The hoses were great for a couple of years and then went to ****
Replaced them with rubber hoses

Bob

 

[dmeadow]

I've had the Northern Tool one for several years. Has worked fine and held up great in a hobbyist environment. The reel itself works well and catches and releases easily. The hose is rubber and has survived for at least five years with no leaks and no apparent deterioration.

 

[woodstockva]

I considered purchasing the Kobalt one from Lowes, until I spoke with the tool dept employees at two separate stores & both said this new style is JUNK. They said almost every one of them gets returned & problems range from leaking hoses, non-working ratcheting rewinders, ends breaking, etc....they told me flat out "do not buy them".

I went with an Astro Pneumatic 50'x3/8" from amazon, but most of them (as you can see from the pics above) are most likely assembled in the same factory in china, then painted different colors. I could see no difference between mine, harbor freight, home depot, tractor supply, or many others online.

 

[Astro_Pneumatic_Tools]

Hey Matt,
We sell a few here at Astro
Check them out on our website if you are still hunting for the right one.
http://www.astrotools.com/default.aspx?keyword=hose reel

 

[bob_the_builder]

I ordered a Cox reel from amazon and could jot be happier with it. It was however a little more then your $100 budget.

 

[GTO]

The #3-5 reels pictured are identical to he HF hose reel,which are fine,just don't buy the HF whip hose.
Good luck

 

[woodstockva]

Hey Matt,
We sell a few here at Astro
Check them out on our website if you are still hunting for the right one.
http://www.astrotools.com/default.aspx?keyword=hose reel

Here is my Astro Pneumatic model # 3688 mounted on the wall.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00061SFPA/?tag=atomicindus08-20

** My unit came in this cream/grey color, not black as shown on amazon **

 

[Astro_Pneumatic_Tools]

Here is my Astro Pneumatic model # 3688 mounted on the wall.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00061SFPA/?tag=atomicindus08-20

** My unit came in this cream/grey color, not black as shown on amazon **

 

[PDXCummins]

I have a 50 foot HF. I like it just fine but realize that sometime in the future i will need to replace the hose with a more high quality one.

 

[kts]

Northern Tool:
NT LINK

I bought this one a bit over a year ago, I wish I had done it years ago. A HUGE improvement over the cheap PVC hose I had been used. Rubber is so much better!

The reel as worked well for me with my off and on home use.

 

[y5e06]

any specific reasons it has to be ceiling mounted or auto retractable?
thats what I originallyl wanted. However I ended up w/ the manual wind version and put it on the wall. I have a ceiling mounted retractable shop light. I much prefer winding the air hose at a chest level manually than the self retracting ceiling shop light. surprisingly so, in fact. I have 2 car garage and the hose mounted up front reach all corners of my shop w/ a 30'. I have a couple spare coiled 50' hoses on the wall i can use to reach the street if I need.

I have this from HF and its been incredibly reliable with minimal leaking.
I replaced the hose long ago w/ a 50' goodyear version though. not to mention the barrel of this is a much smaller diameter than those auto retractors and makes for a compact fit.

 

[cidermill]

I have (2) 25' northern reels no problems for more than 3 Yrs

 

[GreenLBZ]

We always seem to wear out the actual brass swivel part no matter the brand, then we started replacing them with stainless steel swivels. http://www.superswivels.com/

 

[cooljoe57]

Might be a little late to chime in, but i would highly recommend the reel-craft reel. If you can afford one or maybe find a used one a Cox reel would be a great choice as well. I've had my cox reel for the past 5 years with out any problems and my father has had his for at least 10 that i know of and no problems with his either. Plus they are all made in the USA.

 

[1SlowFormula]

MY father-in-law has the HF retractable one, no issues with it's retracting operation, but it leaks a little air at the swivel air inlet fitting so he has to remember to always shut his comprtessor off or it will gradually leak down and cycle the compressor. However then when he needs air he has to remember to also turn it on and let the tank refill first...

 

[MAYOR28]

Update:

I found one of these on woot.com:

I haven't put it up yet, but this thing is HUGE, maybe I misjudged it, but I was expecting something smaller....

.

 

[b-body-bob]

A little more costly but made in USA. It's the one I went with.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/levelwindtrade%3B-retractable-air-hose-reel-3-8-in-id-75-ft-350-psi-ca-prop-65-compliant

That looks like the same Craftsman reel I have had for the past dozen years or so.

 

[boomer12831]

I have the Goodyear one that I have hanging from the ceiling. I am very happy with it. I have a separate valve to shut it off, It does leak from time to time and I have a new swivel to fix it but haven't yet. Ed.

 

[got2boostit2]

Hose management, I need to be schooled. I like those soft green hoses. Bought a couple of HF manual reels but don't have them installed yet. I like to run two hoses,regulated 85~ 90 psi for smaller hand tools and line pressure for IR impact. So I always have two lines everywhere. Lol, thinking about getting an electric 3/8" driver. Screw air. I still want nice reels, so this thread helps.

 

[Jbullfrog]

I have a Zilla Reel and a Cox reel mounted currently. The only issue with the Zilla is the hose guide rollers drag a bit. I love all of my Flexzilla hoses.

 

[BHR4CE1]

I put COX reels in my garage, and they have really impressed me.