Liberty Garden 707 Decorative Wall Mount Garden Guide Hose Reel, Bronze

The media could not be loaded. I have had multiple hose reels throughout the years and almost all had some sort of flaw or was missing a "nice to have." This reel does it all. I don't typically leave reviews but honestly this seems to need some extra love because, although it comes with a higher price tag, its well worth it. First off this is VERY well made and sturdy. The only assembly needed is putting a single allen screw into the handle which takes all of 10 seconds. The reel comes with all necessary hardware to install on anything from Concrete to hardy plank. Which is where I installed mine. The shinning feature of this reel though is the hose directional feed mechanism that perfectly rolls your hose up evenly and is incredibly smooth to do so. My 2 year old even loves to help me roll up the hose when done watering the garden. For reference, I equipped my reel with a 100ft Continental heady duty rubber hose that used to be such a pain to get to lay right and is very heavy for a hose. This reel handles is so well. The other nice to have is the paint on the reel. Its some sort of powder coating (from the looks of it). I do not see any chipping or degrading in the future (Seriously). Overall the only negative I could even give this is that the handle if not tightened completely could be wobbly but that is more of a user error.

Do yourself a favor and stop wasting money on those cheap plastic hose reels that last a couple years before the plastic breaks and/or the water inlet tube snaps and water sprays everywhere.In the 10 years I've been in this house, I have gone through 4 of these wall-mounted plastic hose reels. The first one lasted about 7 years...when I went to replace it with the same one, it was no longer available. The closest I could find is what is pictured...and this one lasted less than two years.I finally decided I'm done with the cheapos and spent the extra money for a metal hose reel that is made right. I firmly believe this will last me a LONG time! It's chain driven, all metal, no plastic junk ANYWHERE, and it's solid. Not to mention, it looks really nice.I like it so much, I bought a second one to replace the plastic one at the back of my house.Pros:All metal constructionChain driveAuto-drive hose guideGreat looksCons:Cost more than the plastic ones, but will definitely outlast those, so in the end, it's a cheaper solution.

The media could not be loaded. Update 20230928Rcv'd and unboxed the third (2nd replacement) unit and found it to be already broken where the crank handle attaches to the axle shaft. So, it is apparent that a lack of quality control accompanies the design deficiencies noted previously. Unacceptable. Waiting to hear back about how they plan to address this new failure given that I was to return the failed unit in the new unit's box. I now have possession of TWO failed units. This is almost unbelievable but sadly all too common. Still, unacceptable.Update 20230907Second unit failed after 3 months. The reversing wormdrive is too soft for this application. Garbage fabricated elsewhere and thrown away here.One of the selling features of this particular model is the hose alignment guide. The guide aligns the hose to the reel automatically as the hose is wound onto the reel thus keeping the hose neatly wound to the reel.Issues:1) This feature is not described in the accompanying manual.2) The way this hose guide feature is implemented in the design is disappointing. Typically, this feature consists of a 1/4-turn spring pin that engages or disengages the guide. While the guide on this hose reel is indeed a spring pin it does not have the pull-turn 1/4-release to engage/disengage the guide. You must pull and hold the pin while trying to move the guide. Also, the guide itself has a locking screw that must first be removed to even allow the pin to be pulled up.3) A hex wrench accompanies the kit of parts and is used to secure the crank handle to the reel shaft with a locking screw. All well and good except that the majority of fasteners on the unit are larger than the supplied hex wrench and were either very loose or had fallen out of their positions upon unboxing. So, you may need your own set of hex wrenches to perform final assembly.

If you do not or are not capable of maintaining your equipment, then you may be better off buying something that you just replace every year or so.I have had my hose reel installed for 4 years with no problems. It does require tightening of fasteners from time to time, once a year maybe. The seals should be inspected and replaced at about the same frequency. And, lubrication is absolutely essential. I inspect mine in the spring and full and make sure the bearings are well greased/oiled, the drive chain and gears are lubricated and the hose guide bar and follower have a good coat of lithium grease on them. This last item may need to be addressed more often.Factory defects and shipping damage not withstanding, if properly maintained this reel can be a beautiful and well functioning addition to a landscape. It is mine.4/5 because I have never seen a perfect piece of equipiment and until I do there are no "10's."

This is a quality product, including design, sturdiness, function, materials. I've seen videos a out how the axle is sloppy on one side (side with hose connection). Mine was, too. There's a black plastic nut around the brass pipe going into the reel. You need to hold the reel sideways, wiggle if necessary, so the black male part lines up with the hole and the threads come through. Then you can thread the big black plastic nut onto that, tighten, and it stabilizes the entire axle. Then it's solid as a rock and spins nicely as designed.Perhaps quality control needs to address this. If a user doesn't screw those two pieces together, that side is flopping in the hole loosely.Hope that helps!