Gardena Wall-Mounted Hose Box RollUp XL (turquoise) 35 m: Versatile watering system for large gardens, swivel hose box, including 35 m Gardena hose and mounting kit (18630-20)

Product Information

Harry has real-world tested 46 products for DIY Garden, and is one of our more experienced testers. Again, the screws that come with the product are not something I would personally trust, so do yourself a favour and go spend 20p on some better ones. They’re readily available from any DIY shop. Once the reel is mounted onto the wall, it can pivot through a 180 degree arc. I found this particularly useful as my garden has a less than standard shape and I didn’t feel like I was stressing the hose into unnatural angles. The bottom line is: if you’ve got a garden, you need a garden hose, and that used to mean spending a fair bit of time taking it out of the shed or garage, untying it, reeling it out, and trying to get rid of all the kinks and twists before even starting. Then after you’ve finished, you have to go through it all again in reverse! Certainly not ideal.
With modern innovations, there are some solutions available to the modern consumer, such as expanding hoses that can work pretty well if you pay for a good one and also have good water pressure at home. As for the right size for your garden, generally 20m is a good size for a small to medium garden and 35-40m for a medium to large garden. Measure from your outside water tap to the furthest reaches of your garden. Buy just the length of hose that you need. It’ll save you money and some of the hose wouldn’t just sit curled up in the reel forever. How durable are automatic hose reels, and what materials are they typically made of?

You should also look for a casing that is made from frost-resistant plastic to help protect the hose if it’s left outside during cold weather. You tug on the hose in the automatic system to unroll or roll it up. A manual hose needs to be carried out of your garden shed and unrolled. Kinking and tanglingThis hose box measures 487 x 285 x 402mm and weighs just 8.7kg so is fairly lightweight, remember though this is expected as the hose is only 20 meters and an extra 20 meters of hose would weigh a fair bit. It is suitable for a wide range of applications including watering small to medium-sized gardens, watering ornamental plants and cleaning garden tools and furniture. My recommendation But did you know that using a hose reel will make this job so much simpler? Gone are the days of having the hose trailing behind, getting frustratingly tangled and kinked every five minutes! It comes with both a spray nozzle and spray gun, leaving you with plenty of options. Whether you’re washing the car, watering the plants, or even cleaning your dog, there’s a spray setting for the job. In fact, there are 9 to choose from, including flat, centre, cone, full, fog and jet.

To simplify garden maintenance and improve your daily watering experience, I thoroughly tested several automatic retractable garden hose reels. I rigorously evaluated a range of options and assessed their ease of assembly, overall design, practicality and, of course, value for money. Here’s a breakdown of the tests I conducted: The Umi Auto Rewind Garden Hose Reel comes from a lesser known brand, yet it’s a reliable hose with a surprising number of attachments included for such a budget-friendly item. Not sure what to look for in a good automatic garden hose reel?
Well, we are here to help with this short guide that’ll highlight a few things to keep an eye out for. From housing and casing issues, to broken winding mechanisms, to length, to hose quality, and even the connectors that are included I run through what you need to make this happen from start to finish. I even show you an install and what components are needed in my HAUSHOF review. Housing / casing comparedThe housing itself is nicely designed, with a modern, round aesthetic, coloured grey with the odd yellow part such as the front where the hose reels in and out of. It’s not the most striking thing I’ve ever seen, but personally, I liked the understated look. There is also an anti-drip device that you can insert when transporting the hose reel to stop it leaking and dripping. It’s only a small thing, but it is nice that Gardena thought about this annoying problem and offered up a solution. Generous 35m hose length, accompanied by a handy 2m connector hose. (Also available with 20m and 25m hose length) When it comes to the hose itself, the manufacturing is of noticeably good quality; the 25 m hose pipe consists of 3 wear-resistant layers which help protect it from the elements and high water pressure. With an automatic hose, you pull out just the length of hose that you need. You’re just carrying that length to water your garden. With a manual hose, you need to drag the entire weight of the hose as you take it into your garden. You can stop some models unrolling every 30cm and other models let you stop whenever you want to.

The casing is made of polypropylene which is a strong and hardwearing plastic that is used in a large percentage of modern gardening tools due to its lightweight and durability. One further thing to note: the feeder hose provided, to connect the reel unit to the tap, is a little short – measuring only around 2 m instead of the advertised 3 m. Just something to bear in mind whilst considering where to place your garden reel. Ultimately, an automatic hose reel makes life a lot easier for anyone who uses a hose. It is additionally a practical way to store your hose neatly and away from the sun and frost. If you will be using your garden hose reel regularly, and plan to leave it outside, it is worth spending a bit more money on a good-quality reel to ensure it last for years.

The world innovation: the first motorised Hose Box - for larger gardens

The reel box provides a safe and secure home for your garden hose. Many of the boxes give UV-protection as well as shelter to your hose from rain and wind. These weather elements can degrade your hose, causing splits and tears. Are there any additional features or accessories available with automatic hose reels, such as built-in timers or spray nozzles? Automatic hose reels are durable and are usually made of metal, fibreglass or plastic. The metal is generally powder-coated and rust resistant, while fibreglass and plastic naturally are. The reel boxes also protect the hose from wind, rain and harmful UV rays. What safety features are included with an automatic hose reel, and are there any safety concerns to be aware of? The connectors provided with this automatic garden hose reel are plastic but good quality and I didn’t have any leaks. I would still suggest changing them though, as I would with any plastic hose connectors because in my experience, they simply don’t last and if you use a booster pump to up your pressure then they really won’t last five minutes. Weighing 8.1 kg, installation is relatively straight forward; however, the included pieces of mounting hardware are only just up to the job. To avoid any future disasters, it might be an idea to use stronger bolts.

Mounting is a doddle – just lift the unit into place and then place in the plastic bar as highlighted For use on the go consider the Gardena 15m hose reel set, it has a compact and light design which makes it the go to choice for use on a patio, in a small London garden or perhaps on your balcony. Transporting the hose reel is easy too as it has an ergonomic handle as part of the design.The Gardena Wall-Mounted Hose Box 35 Roll-Up Automatic shown above is currently unavailable but coming to the UK soon. The five auto hose reels we have reviewed above are all worthy of the title ‘best auto rewind hose’ and we feel your choice will always come down to personal preference and perhaps your loyalty to brands.