Are you wondering whether or not you should buy a premium quality garden hose reel cover? This article will help you make your decision.
ELEY offers two sizes that will fit on both Rapid Reel and ELEY brand hose reels sold since 2006. This includes all configurations of these two brands, including wall-mount reels, free-standing reels, 2-wheel cart reels, and 4-wheel wagon hose reels.
NOTE: Both Rapid Reel and ELEY brands were made by the founding and current, family-owned business. We changed the brand name to our family name in 2010. More on Rapid Reel Hose Reels
Our hose reel covers are black in color to help them better recede into the landscape. This might be of particular interest if your hose reel is positioned near your main entrance. The regular size fits standard hose reels, while the large size fits hose reels that are equipped with an Extra Capacity Kit.
How do you know if your hose reel has an Extra Capacity Kit added? There is a simple and quick method of finding out. If the center part of your hose reel that has been expanded by 4 inches using a drum spacer and is 15 inches across, then your reel has been equipped with the Extra Capacity Kit and you should purchase the large size cover.
The regular size cover fits on our standard size hose reels, which measure 11 inches across from flange to flange.
There are many reasons why you should protect your Rapid Reel or ELEY garden hose reel with an extreme-duty ELEY hose reel cover.
1. Protection From the Sun's UV Rays
The first is to protect your garden hose and hose reel from paint fading due to the sun’s UV rays. Haven’t we all seen and experienced the fading of many outdoor items due to the damaging effects of UV rays?
Although high-quality and extremely durable, even the powder-coat paint on your ELEY hose reel will most likely fade with prolonged exposure to the sun’s UV rays. The same is also true with our extreme-duty polyurethane hose. Direct exposure to the sun’s UV rays, over time, will slowly cause the earth-tone taupe color to gradually darken with a slight yellowish tint. ELEY hose reel covers can prevent this fading and discoloration from occurring.
Discoloration is not the only damage the sun’s UV rays can cause. Over time, it can also degrade the hose material.
2. Protection Against Mother Nature
Another reason to use a cover is to protect your garden hose and hose reel from ice and snow. I had a customer explain her dilemma of having a 3-story house where ice comes crashing down on the very spot of her hose reel. She felt better having some sort of cover over it, rather than leaving to chance that falling ice could damage the hose reel.
3. Protection Against Corrosive Salt Air
Eley hose reel covers can be particularly beneficial in coastal communities where there is a high concentration of salt air. Eley aluminum-alloy garden hose reels are covered with a high-grade powder-coat paint, and as long as the paint stays intact, you won’t need to worry about the oxidizing (not corroding) effects of salt-air on aluminum. Our extreme-duty powder coat paint is backed by a 1-year warranty against any chipping, cracking or flaking.
Eley garden hose reels hold up in coastal salt-air environments better than any other material, except for pricey stainless steel. Because of the oxidizing effects of salt-air on non-painted aluminum surfaces, every effort to minimize the adverse effects of salt air should be implemented.
In addition to keeping the hose reel covered as much as possible in these coastal environments, it would also be helpful to occasionally wash the hose and reel down with fresh tap water. A good rule of thumb would be to do this at least once a week. Be sure to give the hose and reel time to dry off before installing the hose reel cover. Another life hack shared with us by one of our coastal customers is that he occasionally wipes down his hose reel with a light coating of WD-40 to add an additional layer of protection against the salt air.
Installing the Hose Reel Cover
Installing the ELEY hose reel covers is easy and can be done in just a few seconds. Although the video below demonstrates the installation of a Regular-sized cover onto a portable 2-wheel cart hose reel, the install procedure is the same for the Large size and any Eley hose reel configurations.
Don't like color fade? Expect to replace the cover every few years.
ELEY hose reel covers are black in color which allows it to better recede into the landscaping. However, keep in mind that since the ELEY hose reel covers will be absorbing the damaging effects of the sun’s UV rays instead of your garden hose and hose reel, expect it to fade in color. This is inevitable. There are very few items that can be exposed to the sun’s UV rays over a prolonged period and not experience some type of discoloration.
As such, color fading is specifically excluded from our 10-year warranty. The quality and performance of the cover will not be compromised, but the black color will eventually fade to a lighter color. Accordingly, if the faded hose reel cover becomes too much of an eyesore for your taste, you should plan on replacing the hose reel cover from time to time. Consider it a preventive cover that will need to be replaced every so often.
Our 10-Year Polyurethane Garden Hoses
In the market for a garden hose upgrade? Check out neutral, taupe colored 5/8" Polyurethane Garden Hose. They are not only the most user-friendly and durable garden hoses on the market, they also blend much better than the traditional green colors found in the big box stores.
