Hose reel location

[Iroc-Z]

I have a 50 ft hose reel that I am installing in my garage. I just can't decide where to put it. I like Jack Olson's idea of installing it in a work bench. Or putting it on ceiling. I am building a work bench from scratch so that wont be a big deal.

Jack's spot

 

[nehog]

Ceiling would be my vote... Assuming you have the headroom/space there. Under workbench is better as storage (which is hard to do on the ceiling unless you are spiderman!)

 

[Iroc-Z]

Ceiling would be my vote... Assuming you have the headroom/space there. Under workbench is better as storage (which is hard to do on the ceiling unless you are spiderman!)

That is a good point. If it goes on the ceiling I will be putting in air connections just under the work bench top.

 

[y2knole]

mine is up, about 8' off the floor. the hose hangs down low enough I can grab it from over head, you can roll a jack around in the area cause the hose isnt on the floor always, and its very much out of the way.

 

[pattenp]

It really depends on your garage setup. In one garage I have a reel low on the wall near the garage door. In my other garage the reel is mounted up high at the ceiling towards the center of the garage.

 

[38Chevy454]

Have mine mounted about 7 ft high on side of garage door. Close enough for my work area and also allows to run it outside to air up car tires or whatever.

 

[snorky18]

Depends on your ceiling height.

I have roughly 20' wide by 25' deep garage with 12' ceilings, and I mounted mine to the ceiling between the two garage doors, near the front of the garage. That single 50' hose reel will reach anywhere in the garage and most anything outside the garage that I need to reach.

 

[akdiesel]

I vote for the wall mount.
I have all mine about 7' high. Jack has done some great work with his garage but for me too much bench space would be taken up for a reel and the pig tail would get in the way of drawers, so I have quick connects at the bench for the small yellow coils.
Putting it on the ceiling could make it difficult to get to with vehicles or other items in the middle. I have a retractable cord reel on the 12' 6" ceiling and I set the bumper so it hangs down so that it is about 6" above my tallest truck and I can still reach it from standing.

 

[Iroc-Z]

My garage is 25x25. I am thinking ceiling more and more. Use space that I can't use for anything else.

 

[Iroc-Z]

I will try and post some pics tonight of the area it would go in. That may help.

 

[Outlawmws]

I will try and post some pics tonight of the area it would go in. That may help.

It depends on where you need to use the air. the best plan is to plumb the garage so there are outlets near any workstations where you need it, and place the reel where you need to use it's length the most. For me that would be near the garage door, as I'm most likely to need it there or in the driveway. YMMV

 

[Iroc-Z]

It depends on where you need to use the air. the best plan is to plumb the garage so there are outlets near any workstations where you need it, and place the reel where you need to use it's length the most. For me that would be near the garage door, as I'm most likely to need it there or in the driveway. YMMV

Oh I am adding outlets everywhere. I tend to over due stuff.

 

[Jack Olsen]

In my case, the ceiling is too low. I'd be hitting all the light fixtures every time I stretched it out. At waist height, it's been working pretty well.

 

[wuntunearlybko]

It depends on where you need to use the air. the best plan is to plumb the garage so there are outlets near any workstations where you need it, and place the reel where you need to use it's length the most. For me that would be near the garage door, as I'm most likely to need it there or in the driveway. YMMV

BINGO! of course i placed all of my outlets in easy reach but its WAY easier to stretch out the air hose than it is to unravel the extra hose to use the close outlet. i am about to move into a brand new garage and plan on just having two air reels... one by the garage door and one over my work bench area! course i have 12' ceilings so height is no issue for me

-cutts-

 

[rockchucker]

I have mine under the Bench right next to the Pump. Reaches everywhere in the Shop. To go outside I have to get another Hose which is fine with me and better than having to have a huge Reel.

 

[zmotorsports]

I really like Jack's idea but like others have mentioned it really is dependant on your application and how you are going to use it. In my shop I have one mounted towards the front of the shop on a wall where I can stretch it out to work on anything in the front half of my shop, whether it is near the two post lift or at one of the two motorcycle hoists.

I also have another reel mounted near the overhead door so if I am working on the rear of a vehicle I don't have to stretch the hose from the front of the shop past everything inside the shop. It also works great if I need air outside my shop door, it is right there handy on a reel.

On a side note I would also like to echo those who mentioned putting air hose connections under the front of the work top of the benches. When I first started wrenching at my place of employment each workstation had an air connection at the back of the workbench about 6"-8" above the working surface. I thought it was neat for each mechanic to have his own air outlet but after using them for a while I realized that every time I was working on a gearbox or a motor or something on top of the workbench and using my air, the coiled air hose seemed to knock each and every aerosol can, parts bin, wrench, screwdriver and ratchet off the bench and onto the floor.

I quickly decided to move the air under the workbench and low and behold, I was able to keep items on top of the workbench. When I built my home shop all of the air fittings for the benches are routed underneathe the front. I have four under a 16' long workbench and three outlets under my 8' workbench. I highly recommend it.

Mike.

 

[Steevo]

I have two reels, and am looking for a third. I like to have air where I need it, without hoses crossing a lot of floor to be tripped over or get in the way of jacks, wheel dollies, etc.
I like mine up high, but maybe that is because I have never had a low spot to put one.

 

[BD1]

you could always fabricate a swinging arm that you fasten to the wall. Then you could swing the arm to desired area of use.

 

[Josh Kinzey]

I had a 25 foot manual reel on the wall, and it worked great. Height was about 6 feet.

I replaced it with a 50 foot retractable on the ceiling, in the center of my 28 x 30 garage. The retractable is nice, but when I pull the hose down and try to move around a car, the hose is always banging into the car. With the reel at one end/side of the building, that wasn't as much of an issue.

Having air at the car is nice, but having air almost directly above the car doesn't work well for me. I think on the wall, right near the car is the ticket.

 

[Jason Lister]

I have 9 ft ceilings, but I put mine right behind the garage door opener. Pretty much the center of my 24x24. It works nicely with a 50ft hose on the reel and additional 50 lengths if I need them....

 

[sxk122]

mine is mounted about 5' up on the wall. The compressor gets stored on the other side of the garage (don't have power on that side) so i just wheel it over and plug it in....
http://sphotos.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/576440_789482858305_44401445_34942716_90125416_n.jpg

Not the best picture in the world, but you get the idea.

 

[NUTTSGT]

If I had one, I'd probably mount it up high.

 

[Marty256]

Ceiling gets my vote!

 

[ersatzs2]

Heres my air hose reel located under countertop, water reel mounted from ceiling. I think the key is keep them out of regular workspace

 

[John in OH]

I have numerous air outlets throughout my new shop; however, I mounted a permanent air hose reel and air outlet about 7' up on the 18" wide wall between the two overhead doors. It easily reaches anything in either bay and anything parked immediately outside of the doors.