Hose connections.

Wondering if anybody can help please. I bought the red double hose connector from Wilkos yesterday...leaks like a sieve. I have an old brass (very expensive at the time) double connector but it doesn't fit my outside brass tap. My tap needs a connection similar to the Wilkos one. I had a look on the net and couldn't see anything like my brass connector. It is about 20 years old but was great in a previous house as it stood up to all weathers and you can easily take a hose of without undoing the jubilee clip thingies. Is there some kind of connector I can buy to fit onto my tap and then it will fit the connector? Failing that I think I might be best to try and get a new tap with different end altho I can see me getting VERY wet trying to change it!
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With the red one you may have to put some PTF tape around the threads for the tap and make sure it is none up tight but not to tight has you can breck the plastic

 

Its all about males and females. Your brass thingy looks like a male connector, whereas on most of the ones I've seen its female to the tap (and yes that is the correct terminology, I didn't make it up).

So what you need is an adapter that converts your male connector to a female one campitable with most garden taps. Something like this, but unfortunately I can't seem to find on on a UK site.

http://www.grainger.com/product/WESTWARD-Hose-to-Hose-Connector-WP54010/_/N-lhl?s_pp=false

 

The red plastic job seems to be fitted with a washer, I'm thinking if it leaks like a sieve, then its not fitting properly.
How old is the tap?
I bought a new one last year as I didn't have a non return on my old one.

I got it a screwfix, it came with a brass hose adapter, you just push the hose on then a jubilee clip, but it was single hose, maybe you could do similar but split it in the hose rather than directly off the tap.

 

Thanks very much all, sorted. Now up to speed with male and female TAP differences and luckily neighbour came to assist. The red connector which was bought 2 days ago is useless, you are correct Pete the washer that came with the connector doesn't fit...marvellous! That is going back to Wilkos the next time I'm going their way. I had another brass (single) connector and by marrying the two together sort of, I now have the right connection for the tapNot surprisingly the washers on the 20 odd year connector aren't perfect so it leaks a little...a lot less than the Wilkos 1 so on the hunt for washers for that. They look quite specialised washers so hope like mad I can find some otherwise this saga is going to go on and on. Probably by the time I'm sorted the weather will have changed to constant rain and won't need a hose at all far less 2!

 

Your brass one is Geka. If my advice is not too late already then STICK TO GEKA!!

The hoselock type, like your red one, are useless IMHO. Geka are gender-neutral - they fit together without any adaptors. Hoselock needs the hose-connection, which is female, on each hose and then a male-to-male adaptor. So that is three bits, which collectively cost quite a lot. They are all made of plastic and only last a few seasons - less if you leave them out for the Winter. Geka are brass, cost about three-quid each, and being brass it makes no difference if you leave them out all the time - and, yes, I would expect that they would lass 20 years You can replace the rubber seal in them (also true of the O-ring on Hoselock connectors)

The Hoselock ones grip the hose using plastic teeth. These get distorted when done up, so that they dig into the hose. The way they do that is very effective, but if you have the need to take them off the hose they are unlikely to go back on again, and even careful "widening" of the teeth to allow the hose to be re-fitted is likely to break the teeth. The expensive, Brass, hoselock connectors have the same plastic teeth in them - which to my mind makes them almost as short-lived as the all-plastic fittings.

And whilst I am on a rant! the "Auto Stop" connectors - which prevent flow of water when uncoupled - significantly imped the flow such that they reduce water pressure (i.e. when connected and in "open" mode). On, say, 25M of hose I don't suppose it makes much difference, but much more than that and it means you stand there for longer each time you do the hand watering. (If you use 50+ Metres of hose get 3/4" rather than 1/2" - you'll get 50% or more water through, and thus reduce your hand watering time significantly. 3/4" is a bit heavy to "lug" though. Geka connectors for 3/4" [or even fatter] hose are interchangeable with 1/2" and readily available; 3/4" Hoselock ones harder to find ... definitely don't get plastic fittings for 3/4" hose as they cannot take the strain of the weight of a 3/4" hose being lugged about)

Best to get a brass [screw] connection to the tap. Plastic ones will never make a good seal, and I don't find that PTFE tape makes much difference (whereas with brass-to-brass threads, and PTFE tape, there will be no leaks). Plastic threads wear badly after just a few on-and-off's - and that's assuming no plonker puts them on in a hurry and cross-threads them, 'coz that's easily done with plastic ones and game-over :(.

Downsides of Geka:

Can't "open" the connection with the pipe under pressure, so have to walk to the tap and turn it off first. (Although: the more the pressure the tighter the connection, which might be seen as a good thing )

Hose is connected to the Geka connector using a jubilee clip - which many people will think is an evil device!

I have bought from both City Irrigation and Access Irrigation and can recommend both

http://www.cityirrigation.co.uk/acatalog/Geka.html

http://www.access-irrigation.co.uk/shop/hand-watering/geka-type-fittings

The accessories that have screw threads can be a bit of a minefield. To fit to the screw thread on a tap you would probably need 1/2" BSP Female fitting, or perhaps a 3/4" BSP Female.

Replacement seals - I note that there is a "pre 2000" one - that might be yours?
http://www.cityirrigation.co.uk/acatalog/Geka_Seal.html

 

you are a fund of knowledge Kristen. I had no idea the washers I have already ordered are the modern type so will have to get onto the supplier PDQ and see if I can cancel the order if not too late. I was working out the Geka (didn't know the make of them either!) connectors are indeed at least 20 years old. All my good quality and hence lasted! garden equipment I bought when living in The Clyde Valley which is/was an area of very high horticulture as was the main tomato growing area in Scotland pre the oil crisis (oil prices through the roof) & Dutch heavily subsidising theirs ruined our market. There was a great wholesale horticultural suppliers who let me buy stuff and gave great advice re week killers, fertilizers, growing tomatoes/cucumbers etc. I am still using hose I got from there which again is over 20 years old and gets run over by my car quite a lot!
Definitely agree about plastic connectors, ok cheaper at the time but don't last. I have metal connectors which join lengths of hose together, bought at the same time as the hose, still going strong and are out all winters. Off to get in touch with people I ordered from and also to order the right ones...gold star Kristen as your info has stopped me having an eppie about the washers I'd ordered not working!

 

It only seems that way because I only answer questions that I know something about!!

Me too. Sadly no longer exists, so I have to use mailorder now. Still waiting for my order from LBS (with whom I have a trade account) placed on 25-March. Emails since have gone unanswered - I will clearly have to phone them up, grand waste of my time and seriously suffering because none of the order has arrived. My order of 25-Feb is still marked as "Processing" rather than "completed" even though I have all of it here. Descriptions of products are absolutely rubbish ... cheapest out there that I have found though.