RSH125 Crate 125-Foot Water Powered Retractable Garden Hose Reel

I can only add to the other good compliments posted here that this unit seems to work very well. Far better than expected. You cannot expect it to pull a typical hose-end spray nozzle through the grass if its handle digs into the turf, but, other than that, it seems to rewind my 5/8" garden hose very effectively. I purchased two more after the initial one and have them positioned at three locations surrounding the house. I did not find it necessary to use pegs to secure the boxes to the ground. Everyone who has seen mine in action is impressed. Each unit holds 100-ft of this larger hose easily. The short hose section that is used to control the run off water as it is rewinding is no big problem -- I just direct it to the plants nearby, or use it to clean my hands or wash down the hose, itself, to remove grime or mud. This has solved a big irritating problem for me -- rewinding 100-ft of hose manually can be a pain! Update as of January 3, 2009... Used 3 of these throughout the Summer and Fall of 2008. Now into the Winter. Never had a problem with any unit. Two are now in storage until the Spring. One is still connected but probably frozen solid. We'll see if that extreme affects it in any way. I'm amazed these work so well on such a simple principle.

I really like this thing! My only concern with buying it was that it might not be happy while winding up a hose that had picked up debris - such as bark mulch and grass clippings - while dragging itself back to the storage reel. No need for concern. It very nicely does the job, bark chips and all. My yard is small, but I use 75 feet of high-quality hose, which reels up with no problem. I set the white exhaust hose near a rose bush that just loves water, so the "exhaust" water does not go to waste. I have two reasons for the four star rating: the hose leading into the unit is of VERY poor quality and will need to be replaced soon or the kinks will drive me nutty; the unit does not come with ground stakes to hold it firmly in place. For the price of $85, both of those items should be covered.

INCREDIBLE!!!!! I rarely write a review on products unless there is a problem I feel consumers need to be aware of. This however is an exception because I believe it deserves praise. If there was an option of ten stars, this would have it. In the instant gratification society we live in today with so much of our various products being viewed as disposable, it's refreshing to see that there is a company out there doing it RIGHT all the time. There are numerous hydraulic operated hose reels available on the market & unfortunately most are fraught with problems and negative reviews. I purchased this model hose reel nearly eight (8) years ago and used it without a single hiccup for the entire time. It sat in direct sunlight for the entire time and was 'used' & 'abused' continuously without fail. When it finally did start to break I looked for a replacement & saw several similar products online with mixed but mostly unfavorable reviews. In fact most people I talked with regarding a "hydraulic operated" hose reel told me that it was a waste of money because they rarely worked properly. Not sure what company produced their reels, but the SunCast Company has GOT IT RIGHT. After receiving my replacement, I just had to take the old one apart for curiosity and to determine what ultimately broke after sooooo many years. What I found was that a gear inside the winding mechanism had finally broken. What was more INCREDIBLE was how this product was built. The engineering alone could stand next to NASA and the individual parts (over approx. 100) were produced with high end plastics, polymers,O-rings, etc. What was mind blowing to me was how they are able to sell this unit at the price point it's at and still make a profit, because the individual injection molds that had to be designed and created had to cost SEVERAL thousands of dollars, not to mention the assembly process. I could go on, but just wanted to take a moment to recommend and commend SunCast for their commitment to true quality that is engineered and built to JUST WORK and for a Longgg time, particularly in todays age of garbage products with no value.

I generally am not the type of person to write a review on-line, however, I do tend to read any reviews prior to making a purchase. This is the first item that I have ever purchased that I feel compelled to write a review for. It is fabulous!! I used to hate the idea of watering my flower beds, because I dreaded the idea of having to reel the garden hose back into it's containter. Now all I have to do is switch the lever and watch the hose reel itself. I timed it the other day and it took less than 1 minute! I HIGHLY recommend this item. It will save you time and frustration. It was the best $80+ dollars I have spent in a long time.

Everyone needs to know this product is completely plastic. If I had known I would never have ordered it. For the price I assumed it had metal fittings. No such luck. The reel mechanism worked, but I couldnt get the supply connections to stop leaking

I have a bad back and have a lot of trouble bending over and to crank a hose reel is all but impossible and not worth the risk of worsening my back problems. I already have one reel, so this is my second-One in the front and one in the back. I have tried other reels because I could not find another "reel smart". after two other reels, I am back to the reel smart reel which has a proven track record with me. Slide a lever and the reel does all the work. It works best if you secure it somehow so it can't move while it retracts. Great reel!

I must confess I was prepared to be disappointed with this purchase, so I find it a very pleasant surprise. My great concern was living in Maine, where the soil tends toward sandy, I expected the plastic gears would not stand up well to the use. I figured with wet hose and wet reel, the sand would grind those gears up in short order. So, I decided to let the item get two good years of service before reviewing it so I had some real history on durability. It has surpassed my expectations after two years of steady use. The gears are very large and show no signs of wear after two years of use. Oh, I was right, the hose pulls sandy soil into the enclosure, and the sand gets all over the internal mechanism, but no wear is evident and I have had abolutely no trouble with either of the two "no cranks" I own. The only caution I have is that the hose does much better on rewinding if it pulls into the front of the case reasonably directly. If it is all out to the right or left, there will be occasions where you will have to "help" the winder by pulling the hose out straight in front of the case. But, believe me, even that is a much easier job than a cranker type reel. I recommend this item with no reservations at all.

I normally do not write reviews, but in this case I think that it is necessary. My wife & I are avid gardeners and there is probably not a day during the gardening season that we do not use our garden hose. I purchased a Robo winder around 5 years ago (could be 7 or 8) and we were extremely pleased with it. We left it outside all year round and only disconnected the inlet hose during our Illinois winters. We also purchased a 75 ft unit that we have also performed the same maintenance on, which is none and also found this unit GREAT. Finally had to replace my Robo Winder with new version RW-12581 and found this new version faster and much, much smaller and more compact then my trusty Robo Winder. I was even able to install a small sprinkler to the discharge hose to water those neglected areas instead of dumping the discharge water down a drain. I had looked at all of the alterative units (electric, hand windups) and this unit is simply the BEST. I wish that everything I purchased worked as well. Merv Hagen