A hose reel can be easily found in any home as it helps in keeping the garden hoses neat and clean. But sometimes it also gets punctured or damaged due to certain reasons. You can either repair it at home or have to replace its essential parts that might lead to costly expenditures.
Some of the issues related to the hose reel are very easy to resolve through repairing and in actual fact; any person can fix with the help of some elementary spare parts along with the tools. The DIY (Do It Yourself) repairs not only saves your precious time but also the expenses that you might have to spend in buying new equipment or getting the assistance of an expert repair service.
Irrespective of the category of a hose reel you buy, a time period always come when it begins to leak through its joining points or it might become punctured. The repairing of a leaking hose reel is not a hard job to do. You can do the repairing of a hose reel cart, wall mounted or retractable hose reel on your own just by following some important steps.
STEPS OF REPAIRING A HOSE REEL
It is always advisable that you do not leave any water in the hose reel during the winter time as the cold water can easily lead to the crack or hole in the hose. Below are the step-by-step instructions that will help you in repairing a leaky or damaged hose reel in a very easy manner:
Step 1: Check all the Connections
The first important step in this is to check the entire connections. A hose reel generally has around 5 diverse connectors that are situated on the beginnings to the faucet, leader hose, out-tube, garden hose and in-tube. If your hose reel is leaking, then you should try to tight every single connection before you opt out for the expensive repairs or replacements. At times, a loose connector might also be the main wrongdoer. While fixing the connectors, you must be sure to line up the threads in order to avoid any kind of damage to it.
Step 2: Change the Defective O-Rings
Changing the defective O-rings is one of the common repair steps that are required generally. Sometimes, a hose reel also becomes leaked as an O-ring gets dry or gets cracked after using for the long duration of time. You can easily buy replacement O-Rings from any hardware shop or through the online shopping websites. But before purchasing an O-ring on your own, you must have a look at the guidebook or website of the manufacturer to confirm that which size of the O-Ring is suggested for your particular hose reel model.
Step 3: Take out the Panel
Next step is to take out the panel after turning off the supply of the water to the hose reel. After this, detach the hose and the reel. Now, you have to use a screwdriver in order to take out the 4 bolts which are situated on the knob side of the case and place them in a secure place. Then, pull the shield away from the case to uncover the whole panel.
Step 4: Fix the New O-Ring
Now, take out the middle pull nut of the knob by utilizing a 7/16-size plug jerk as well as a ratchet. Then, pull the knob away from the equipment and inspect the spindle. After this, again take out the black O-Ring through the shaft and install a new O-Ring made up of plastic. Place the knob on top of the shaft once more and make it tighter before arranging the entire panel and locking it up with the 4 bolts.
Step 5: Oil the Bushings
If the shaft is still not attached, then lubricate the bushings. It can be done by smearing a degreaser to a fabric or paper dish towel and spreading it on the shaft, knob, bushings, and several other parts where the knob device moves the coil of the reel. Then set it away and let it get dry in the air totally before putting on a coat of lubricant over the bushings.
Step 6: Change the other Defective Connectors
There is one more O-Ring washer in the hose reel connector which might be the reason of the hose reel leakages. In order to change this O-Ring, you have to just take out the washer from the hose reel connector with the help of an even head screwdriver and change it with a novel O-Ring. After this, if still the connection gets leaked, then a replacement connector might have to purchase.
Step 7: Buy a connector of accurate size
For replacing a dripping connector, you must buy a connector which is of the correct size for your hose reel and then cut the hose just underneath the defective connector. Now, attach a new hose connector with the help of guidance that is provided in the installation manual. In any case, if the In-tube connector had to be replaced then you must buy a repair tools kit which comprises of all of the basic replacement parts.
Step 8: Fix the Defective Main Hoses
If the main hose of the reel is getting leaked, then buying a hose repair tool kit is advisable as this will benefit in saving your expenditures of acquiring a replacement hose. You have to just cut the length of hose from where it is damaged and utilize the connectors of the kit to re-join the tops of the hose. By using an electrical tape’s piece or a hose repair duct tape can also fill the small cuts or cracks in the hose reel; however these alternatives generally only offer a provisional fix and incline to wear out in very short span of time.
Step 9: Prevention of the leakage
There is one trick to lengthen the short life of hose rings i.e. to apply some silicone grease on them at the time they get installed. But, you should be cautious while fixing a metal hose end to the plastic one.
