In reply to johngood_____ ) who wrote this in
, I, Marvo, say :

Our very small front garden was created by dumping about18 inches of
soil over the paving stones. (it was all too solid and cemented in to
dig up). Consequently we have to water very frequently.

We have decide to buy a hose reel. The other day we saw some in B&Q.
The store make was £20 and the hozelock one was £25. We already
have a Gardena one in the back garden, but as its freestanding, it
keeps tipping over when you pull with any viguour, which is annoying.

What one would people here recommend to buy, the b&q, the hozelock or
perhaps some other make? Thanks for any advice.

I have a Hozelock one, screwed to a wall but DON'T use the girly screws they
give you with it! Obey the instructions when winding it up, you would thing
you turn it the *other* way to wind it in, but for some reason it's made
sort of left-handed (anyone who has one will know what I mean).

I bet the Hozelock is made in the far east, everything is, but it hasn't
broken yet, and it gets used a lot, although hardly ever for watering the
garden.

And get a watering system, the bits are so cheap now if you find somewhere
that has overstocks, so don't buy the "starter kit" unless you have to.
There are Hozelock, Gardena plus several other (one of them is French) makes
available. I picked up loads of packets of stuff for about 80p to 90p a
packet, including cutoffs, T's, drippers (both fixed and adjustable),
converters from large to small hose ... the bit that I can't get cheap is
the 10mm hosepipe though.

I have set up a massive system, about four times what they say the thing
will deal with. I have been through two of the automatic timer valves
though, both Hozelock, absolute junk. I dismantled one and it's cheap,
Chinese, badly designed and badly put together. The latest one I bought is
the B&Q own-make digital one which several people recommend me to.
Waterproof. Seems quite a useful feature for something which spends its life
connected to a tap, IMHO. Worked all this year, although it didn't have much
work to do!