Yard Butler Portable Ground/Wall Mount Hose Reel, 75ft - Leakproof Hose Storage Solution - Durable Powder Coated Steel Construction - Rust Resistant Outdoor Watering Accessory - Tangle-Free Operation

Update: 1/12/2015 at bottom. I received my Yard Butler hose real yesterday and was very pleased with the heft of the unit. Very heavy gauge steel throughout, particularly the mounting bracket. The bracket holes are spaced 16 inches apart, which is the standard width of studs. I'm fortunate that my garage is not dry-walled, so the studs are exposed, making it easy for me to ensure I was getting it right from the clapboard side. The screws for the mounting bracket are lag screws, so make sure you have a socket wrench set handy. I suppose you could use pliers, but that would take a long time. The reel itself is well designed with a thick center column, a hose receptor and a wooden attachable handle. If I would change anything, I would make the attachable wood handle about an inch longer. The mounting bracket has a male peg onto which a female counterpart on the hose reel sets. No screws needed, just the weight of the reel is sufficient. It comes with about a four foot green hose which connects to your hose faucet and then to a stationary receptor on the reel, which then feeds to your main hose that is screwed into the receptor within the spinning part of the reel. One note - I kept getting leaks from the stationary hose receptor despite the connection being perfect. I checked the box and found a rubber washer that had come loose during shipping. I installed it, and had a water tight seal. I love the ability to articulate the reel, which gave me the flexibility to install it on a wall facing a direction that wouldn't have worked with a standard reel. My 75 foot 5/8" hose fits on with no problem. I'm very happy with the purchase and, if necessary, will update this review after more use of it. ------------------- 1/12/2015. So, I've used the hose reel a full Spring/Summer/Fall/Early Winter and I'm continuing to be impressed with its quality and ease of use. It's still securely fastened to my wall, despite lots of tugging and swinging, and it's rust-free. Truly, I would have spent triple the money if I knew I'd like the reel as much as I do.

There are some really nice features I like a lot. First, it's metal and I mean heavy duty metal, not flimsy at all. Whether or not you will be happy with this reel will be directly related to your ability to mount it to the wall. Forget about trying to mount this reel to a brick wall using any type of anchor insert. The reel plus hose will be much to heavy and as soon as you start trying to crank in the hose the anchors will pull straight out of the wall. It's just to heavy and there is to much force applied. You must be able to use something like 1/4" diameter 6inch long bolts and drill all the way through the wall and secure using nuts and washers on the back side. If you have a wood sided house, you must find the studs behind the exterior wall and use larger wood threaded bolts than those supplied with the yard butler. I would recommend at least 4" long bolts. Once mounted correctly, you'll love this reel. Extremely nice being able to lift the reel and hose off to carry inside for the winter. Nice fittings that do not promote leaking. It would be nice if Yard Butler gave you the choice of a right hand mounting or a left hand mounting. Winding in the hose can be a little awkward depending on which side of the yard the hose is coming from. Update: I originally purchased this reel in Oct. of 2013. Here it is Oct. 2020 and the reel has finally succumbed to leaks. Seven years of service is more than I had hoped for. Apparently the seals inside the reel are not replaceable. I was hoping a simple O ring replacement would stop the leaking but I think the part of the reel containing the leaking seal was pressed in at the factory and permanently sealed. Unfortunate because the reel is still in very good condition with minimal rusting. Granted, I always took the reel inside for the winter after draining the water. Still say this is the best hose reel I've ever owned .

I'm very pleased with this metal reel so far; it's very sturdy and the hinge allows the reel to align with the hose as I roll it in, stopping me from having to provide (much) guidance to keep the hose evenly rolled. I can also use a towel to clean the hose as I crank it in, which I couldn't do with just a hanger. The finish appears powder-coated and looks really great; it's really good quality and I expect it to last many years. The hinge is on the left. There is no way to make it hinge from the right unless you were OK with the feeder hose connecting to the reel on the front, not back. The unit I received had no catch or lock to keep it from swiveling out if a kid pulled on it. I mounted the bar at a slight incline to try to keep the reel against the wall when rolled in to avoid it being left out and car doors hitting it. I would have given the mounting bar more incline if I could get to the studs through the bolt holes. The holes in the mount are a little over 16" apart. The hose on the reel is a 75' premium 5/8" rubber black Craftsman hose. Cranking the full length 75' rubber hose in can be a little awkward but it beats the alternative of looping it over a static hose holder.

Assembly: If you're foolish enough to do step one, you will find you are screwed and will have to undo it. The problem is a short hard black plastic tube with a flange on one end. Its function is to reduce play between the hollow metal shaft on the reel and the leg bracket that helps hold this shaft in place. (In the Amazon photo, this spacer is white and is apparently made of nylon rather than black plastic). Unfortunately, this part is not listed in the parts list nor in the assembly instructions. Step one must be something like, "Slide spacer onto the round horizontal shaft on the reel, flange toward the outside, until it contacts the bracket." The instructions should be corrected and the spacer shown in the "assembly parts." Mounting: Only two holes are provided. Why would only two holes be available to attach a 12 pound 75-foot hose PLUS the reel to a brick or wooden wall, especially when they will be subjected to the constant tugging of pulling out of the hose? Four holes should be provided, not two. Also, in my case, I am not going to mount the reel. However, when the reel is placed on the ground, it is unstable when the hose is pulled out. Again, the legs should have four holes, not two. I went to Lowe's and bought two 14 inch long rods with the last two inches bent at a 45 degree angle to place in the holes for stability. Again, it would be better to place four rods in the legs for stability. After assembly, I found the hose easily and smoothly rewinds back into the reel, and by using two metal rods, the reel is stable when pulling out the hose. This reel can be significantly improved by correcting the assembly directions and adding a couple of holes to the base. I gave this product a rating of "1" because that's he only rating usually read. If I gave it a rating of 3, no one would read it.

I have an 10 year old model which has been used daily, is substantially better. The components are cheap. It arrived in a nearly destroyed box and had started to rust. One of the lag screws broke off when being tightened (into cedar siding). I had to drill a new hole and purchase a new bolt to attach it to the house. The female hose end did not have a rubber washer and was so poorly made it destroyed my plastic male hose end. I was finally able to screw a metal hose end but wanted to use the other hose. I love the design of this hose reel but it appears to be no longer made with the quality parts it once was.

Excellent product with a wide range of motion. All metal and exceptionally sturdy, and if mounted on solid wood surface, like wall, shed or workbench, will stay stable when winding, unwinding and watering. Will hold at least 100 feet of quality hose and winds and unwinds easily. Better than plastic hose cart in every way. It could be improved by adding stops when rewinding so that there is less tendency to swing while cranking. I'll probably buy another one for the front yard.

I have just purchased and installed this reel. My initial impression is that it is a well-made product, constructed of sturdy metal component materials throughout. For me, this reel replaces several different plastic products that have only lasted a few years before they leaked or broke completely. This is a fairly heavy product (particularly if heavy duty garden hose is attached), so it requires a firm connection to the mounting location. Long heavy duty lag screws are provided with the product, although I used specialty fasteners (purchased separately) to attach to my stucco/masonry home exterior. The only minor flaw I see is that because there is no friction mechanism built into the drum, it is free-wheeling, so that the end of the hose might have a tendency to unravel until it hits the ground. This was easily resolved by simply placing the hose end on the mounting arm, rather than allowing it to hang down -- not a big deal to me. Overall, I think this is a great value compared to the (much higher) price of similarly constructed reels, particularly in view of the quality metal construction throughout.

Had it for a year now. In general it works fine, but it leaks badly somewhere inside, and has for quite awhile. And you can't take off or replace the trigger nozzle as it appears to be permanently attached. Put gouges in my handle using a pipe wrench to try to remove it. So forget about attachments or attaching other hoses to extent your reach. Wouldn't buy it again for that reason - let alone the bad leak. Hose is tough to rewind if under water pressure. I blead mine first.