Hozelock - product quality poll

Thank you Phil, I duly got replacement nozzles from Hozelock which appear to have sorted the problem, thank you very much. I would however mention that the sprayer wasn't bought until about April of this year and had never had any liquid in it until about the end of May, so no likelihood of frost/freezing liquid doing any damage. I am not completely convinced about the handle/trigger on the wand either. It doesn't seem to respond instantly when I release it. I will have a test with it over the next couple of days and see if it's still sticking.As you will appreciate when using weedkiller around plants it is vital that a sprayer works accurately. As I mentioned in my email to Hozelock, I had a green 1 of your sprayers for years and years. It had a different handle/trigger than my new 1 which worked extremely well and I never had any issues with the sprayer. The only reason I got a new 1 was the old 1 just got passed it....bit like me then!

 

Not sure if it is the same one I have, but I bought the metal-connector spray gun after having a couple of the plastic ones and them only lasting a season or so before starting to leak. The metal one started to leak after a couple of season (so I have to turn it off at the tap after use now). Its not a running leak, just a drip ... but ...

I have metal connectors. I couldn't swear that they are Hoselock brand though. Unlike the push-fit plastic ones I have to retract the collar when pushing them together (bit hard to explain) so they actually lock-on much better than the plastic ones (I can't just push them together without "assistance" though). Don't get me wrong, its no hassle, and I think it is a good thing because I think it makes them together more tightly as a consequence. They aren't going to crack if you run over them with a loaded barrow, for example

But the part that has the teeth that grip the hose is plastic, so it still suffers from the same failure after heat & cold cycling of being left outside.

As I think I said before I've moved to the Geka connectors that the professions use. I've left them outside (continuously) for 3 or 4 years now and they still work just as well as the day I got them, they are all metal,a s is the all metal connectors for taps, nothing is plastic (there is an washer-seal component, but they are readily available - and Hoselock has an O-ring equivalent of course)

 

As mentioned in the opening post about "tat that is overpriced", there is that saying, "you're only paying for the name". Other branded and unbranded products do the job for a lot less. Yes, Hozelock is well marketed and it works too - we have probably all bought Hozelock at some point and there will be equally happy and unhappy customers.

The trigger will certainly start leaking if left to the mercy of even the slightest frost. I only have the smallest multi-spray head myself which i stored in the shed last year and even that wasn't enough protection for it. That was the third or fourth one i'd had in as many years but i just made the annual trip to the retailer and quoted trading standards etc and got it replaced on the basis that it hadn't lasted a reasonable amount of time for the purpose for which it was designed.

About being well marketed though, do we really need all those fancy spray patterns and has anyone actually ever used them? The only patterns i use are the shower and jet. I remember years ago when Hozelock only did the basic shower pattern which was quite adequate for most applications, accept when i needed to blast bird lime off the car, in which it was just a case of unscrewing the head, leaving just the trigger, and when the lever was gently squeezed, you had a soft wide start which progressively tapered to a powerful concentrated jet the more you squeezed the trigger. I had one of those for years and eventually it succumbed to fair wear and tear - something the current models on the market from Hozelock wouldn't know anything about.

Unfortunately, we live in a throw away society today and this is a bandwaggon that Hozelock are on along with many other manufacturers. The less their products last, the more we buy and the more profit they make.

 

Scorpio......you're right about whether we need the multi head sprayers. My son bought one three years ago, which I removed two years ago after he moved out as I wanted to use the hose for a sprinkler. It hasn't been back on since, I find a thumb does just as well.

 

I recently bought a Hozelock Fast reel which hangs on the wall. Not over impressed, the winder is very noisy and the cheap quality hose kinks too readily which will probably end up with splits.

 

I do!

I have the Multi Spray Gun Pro:



Locking trigger - when watering lots of plants

variable flow from the rear flow control - when watering seedlings in a tray so they aren't washed away. Also if filling a can unattended (whilst using the other can to water something else) so that it doesn't fill before I return with the empty one! (The previous one I had [non metal connectors] had a half-click locking handle that delivered a lower flow rate which I used for filling cans unattended as I could just grab the handle when I returned to get the gun to provide full power until the can was full; that was more convenient that the twiddly knob, for that purpose, but the knob is good for keeping the setting consistent.)

Seven spray patterns :

powerful Jet for cleaning - I use that to reach the plants at the back of he conservatory when it is stuffed in Winter and I can't get close to them

fast fill for filling up buckets and watering cans - I do use that when filling cans in the, perhaps mistaken?!, believe that it is the least-friction and therefore the fastest-flow to fill the container as quickly as possible

fine mist for seedlings - use that for misting cuttings

rose for gentle watering - use that for most of the watering of areas where the pots are touching each other. Use Rose on low-power for watering seedlings.

fan spray for rinsing soap off cars - I use this for misting larger plants, such as Tomatoes to assist
fertilisation, and for damping down the greenhouse - the Mist setting is too fine for that job.

cone spray for delicate watering - OK not sure what this one is and how it differs from Fan

aerated - use for watering plants in large pots. It stops the compost splashing and I think has faster flow then the "rose", plus I can direct the flow where I want onto the compost whereas the Rose is often too "wide". "Aerated" also has a bit of "carry" so I can use it to get water to reach things that are slightly out of range.

 

Missed all this but what a great thread.

I have a garden sprinkler (Lawn Queen) which I have had early 90's and I treat it with care gets a wipe down after use and back in its original box and kept in the garage frost free, it was expensive to buy and still has the price tag on.

Personally I think if we looked after them more ie don't leave out to all elements and especially the sun and frost and letting them fall onto paving etc they would all last alot longer.

I am sure all of us would like to trial out your products in the future if you need a honest gardeners opinion.

Spruce

 

I've got that one too Kristen and it hasn't been used since my son left home two years ago!