Liberty Garden 710 Navigator Rotating Garden Hose Reel, Holds 125-Feet of 5/8-Inch Hose - Bronze

UPDATE: 8/12/15I want to post an update about this reel and about the company standing behind their product. My original review and the rating (1 Star) was about only the reel. I would like to make the point that this updated review is about the reel AND the company and I give both of them the 5 Star Rating.First and foremost, I want to let you know that the issue with my first reel and it being "DANGEROUS" has been completely resolved by the company. Megan Miller with Liberty Garden Products contacted me soon after my first review posted (see the comment on my review) and helped solve the problem right away. Megan acknowledged there was an issue with the reel and explained that someone at their factory changed the design, without authorization, and they didn't find out until the complaints started. Liberty Garden immediately stopped production and returned to the approved design. Furthermore, I want to applaud Liberty Garden for stepping up right away to the issue with customers and taking full responsibility for solving it. There are still good companies around and I believe Liberty Garden to be one of those.Speaking of the design, as soon as I received the replacement part, I knew the problem was solved. It's really kind of hard to explain, but if you look at the pictures I posted originally, you can see the bolt was stripped. The reason is that basically the bolt was enduring the entire weight of the hose, reel, handle and reel frame. The bolt was underneath the rotation knob (if you look at the company photo) and the motion of the reel caused friction and action on the bolt itself. NOW, the bolt is on top and there is a solid steel shaft that connects the reel portion to the wall mounted portion and the bolt does not endure any friction. I hope you're not confused, but I've have completely dismantled this reel and the approved design works nicely and I complete faith that it will hold up for its intended purpose.Lastly, I only have one issue with the reel now and to be honest, it really is not an issue with me at all. However, other reviewers have noted that the reel does not hold 125' of hose, as claimed in the product description. The truth is that it will hold the 125' but it really depends on the hose you use. And in all fairness to Liberty Garden Products, an average hose fits just fine. In fact, the hose I have is a heavy duty, very thick, 100' hose and it fits, but barely. In my original review I was thinking my hose was only 75', but since I had to change the reel I decided to measure my hose and it is actually 100' hose. The point is that marketing is marketing and we have to be fair on both sides and I think Liberty Garden Products is being fair in their claim of 125' hose fitting on the reel. If you're going to try to put 125' of some indestructible, super-thick never-kink hose on this reel, it isn't going to fit; and I believe it isn't fair to complain about that. My hose is 100', but it is also a heavy duty, thick hose and I have no complaints about it barely fitting.In conclusion, I give this reel the 5 Stars because I do love it. It really is awesome to just point the reel where I need the hose and almost effortlessly unroll 100' of hose. The action is smooth both ways, rolling and unrolling the hose. And while I am more concerned about functionality, this reel looks really nice on the side of the house. The reel is now sturdy and I can fully recommend it.INITIAL REVIEW BELOW AND MY ISSUE DETAILED HAS BEEN COMPLETELY RESOLVED BY LIBERTY GARDEN PRODUCTS:I would still advise anyone who has this reel to be sure and tighten up the bolts on your reel and pay close attention when you roll up the reel. If it is excessively wobbly when you reel it in, you probably have one of the defective units. It should NOT wobble much at all when reeling it in.This hose reel was nice for the two months that it lasted; but, this thing is junk. First, it does NOT hold 100' ft of ANY sort of "garden" hose. Secondly, if you put 75' of 5/8 hose, it will fill the reel to capacity. That might be ok if the substructure of the reel could hold up, but it won't. Those of you who have heavy hoses on this reel need to be very careful. At some point, this unit WILL FAIL because of a serious design flaw. For those of you who have mentioned this reel is "wobbly", you should be especially careful, because this thing might take off your toes or break your foot when it falls.See my attached pictures: What you see is the SINGLE and ONLY support for the entire weight of your hose, reel and handle that attaches to the other piece of this unit. Depending on this size of hose you have, that could be 40 pounds or more.Look at the manufacturer pictures... See the black knob on top, which is directly above the section that holds your hose? Directly under that knob, hidden underneath (I believe intentionally), is the piece you see in my photos. If you own this unit, you will have a hard time seeing this thing without taking the whole unit apart. You have to completely dismantle this thing to see how it's designed, but, this bolt you see in my pictures is the ONLY weight-bearing support you have for the reel and hose!The bolt you see is an 8mm bolt and is LESS THAN 1cm long; it is made from a VERY cheap, soft alloy. If you look close at the picture you can see that the bolt is completely stripped and is basically smooth. This is from only two months use. The reel came detached from the support and nearly hit my foot; and I was in flip flops... It's not IF this thing will fail on you, it's only a matter of time, when this thing will fail.And this is where Amazon sucks. This unit was bought from Amazon LLC...and they do not stand behind the products they sell. 30 days is a joke. I've been a Prime Member for several years and I believe Amazon should have a better return policy, and especially if they discover they are selling a dangerous and flawed product that is certain to injure someone at some point. I am pretty quick on my feet, but if an older person or a youngster gets themselves under this thing when it falls, they could be seriously injured!

I bought two of these. I love them.Re: Functionality: I was tired of having to hand-wrap my 75 ft hoses onto wall-mounted hose racks. I also tried one of those plastic containers, with a reel in side, that sit on the ground. It was unstable and wobbly and difficult to get enough torque to pull in a long, heave hose. These options were such a pain that I often just left my hoses sitting in the yard. The Liberty Garden Hose Reel changed all that. It is sturdy and functional. The reel swivels, allowing me to angle it in the direction that I'm going. I can quickly and easily crank the handle and reel in my 75 ft hose.Re: Defective Item and Customer Service: One of my reels was defective. The pin that slips into one of four holes, allowing you to angle the hose, would slip out of the hole I placed it in, with any movement. (Other reviewers indicate they've had the same issue.) In other words, as I was trying to crank in the hose, the pin would slip out, and the reel would swing back and forth. Cranking the handle was not an option. I basically had to turn the reel, using both hands--one on each side--to get the reel in. You can imagine I had no patience for that. The hose sat in the yard, unwound.Now, the defective reel was over a year old. It had sat, boxed in the basement. It went to the back of the house, and it took a year until I got around to installing it. So when I discovered it was defective, I thought I would have a problem getting it replaced. My Amazon return window had, obviously, ended. So I contacted Liberty Garden directly. I sent them a short video that showed the dysfunctional reel. Their response was immediate. They never mentioned anything about the warranty expiring, or not having a receipt. They said they had a fix, and sent me a replacement part. When I received it, I was disappointed. The part, I knew, was not going to fix anything. It was not a pin, and it was not a new piece containing the holes, into which the pin went. They sent me a replacement sleeve, into which a bolt went that held the reel hanger to the wall mount. (If you don't have the reel, you probably don't know what I'm talking about.)Anyway, I changed out the sleeves. It, obviously, did not work. I took another short video, and emailed it to Liberty Garden with a message that their "fix" was ineffective. They--without any question--said they would sent me a new wall mount (which contains both a pin and new holes--everything being one unit). They shipped it right away, I changed out the mounts, and now it works like a charm.In sum, customer service was great. The only issue was that they could have sent me a replacement mount in the first place.Re: Rust and finish: Some reviewers complain (excessively) about rust. The reel is powder coated, which is a very durable paint. However, where the pieces of the unit are welded or pieced together, you will get a bit of rust. It just happens. I assume the powder coating cannot fully cover all of the crevices and nooks and crannies, especially in these welded areas. Just spray some oil or WD-40 in these areas before setting outside so that the oil gets in their, covers any exposed steel, and prevents oxidation. Also put oil on the sides of the reel before you slip it into the sleeve of the reel mount. The connection is tight, and you (like me) might scratch some of the paint off. A little gear or mineral oil smooths the insertion.I think Liberty Garden actually recommends spraying the entire unit with a clear sealant. I thought about that, but was afraid that this sealant would, over the years, begin to peel or crack, making the unit look worse than a bit of rust at the welded points. The paint does dull, especially in direct sun. Everything eventually succumbs to UV rays. Perhaps a sealant with UV protection would help. I rubbed a bit of mineral oil on the item, and it shined right back up. It eventually gets dull again, however. Just the nature of something outside, in the elements.Re: Wobbling: Some reviewers complain about the reel wobbling when reeling hose in. There is a slight wobble, but nothing to worth whining about. Just make sure the allen screws and their lock nuts (that attach reel to hose mount) are really tight. This eliminates most of the wobbling.Re: Hose length the reel can hold: Liberty Garden claims the reel can accommodate 125 ft of 5/8" hose. No way in hell. I have 75 ft of a 5/8" polyurethane (poly) hose, from Eley, on the reel. I have hardly any room to spare. Poly hoses are as thin as, or thinner than the cheap vinyl hoses, and they're much thinner than the heavy-duty rubber hoses. Maybe I could fit a 100 ft of vinyl or poly hose on there. Maybe. No way could you fit more than 75 ft of 5/8" rubber hose. I think Liberty Garden made a typo. MAYBE you could fit 125 ft of 1/2" vinyl or poly hose onto the real. Maybe. But no way can you fit 125 ft of 5/8" hose on it.

Works great but we needed to get a smaller hose to really use it correctly. We’ve tried a lot of different things to store our hose better and this has been the best thing we’ve found.