UK’s best automatic garden hose reels TESTED on price and quality

The HAUSHOF Wall Mounted Retractable Garden Hose Reel is my absolute top pick. Why? It’s a bargain, well built, the reel retracts beautifully (I have tested other models and prefer this when compared), the pivot is smooth and never snags, and install was a breeze. I have to say things have moved on a long way since I bought my Gardena’s and the main winner is the customer at the price point. Let’s take a look at this – I decided to mount it on my shed but they provide the right anchors for brick walls as well:

Let’s talk about the bolts – you need a 10mm SDS bit if you’re going to install into a wall – remember the bit linked is for an SDS drill – you need a smooth shaft if you’re going to use a cordless drill. The screws are anchors with hexagonal heads – these are 13mm hexagonal bits which is vitally important to know! They are have a posi drive PZ1 screw option but these are far too large for that.

Now I made a blunder when installing into my shed. Because it’s wood I didn’t bother piloting (obviously I didn’t need the wall plugs either) but the result was I split my wood. Four word descriptions were in full flow:

So lesson learned. Next time pilot with a 3mm standard wood bit – you could use 4mm but I preferred a really tight fit.

Let’s talk about the plastic mount itself. I was a little concerned it felt flimsy – I was doing up the bolt with my impact driver and I was being careful not to go too hard and smash the plastic – I was completely wrong. The plastic mount could be pushed hard, I even dented the timber with the edge of the plastic mount frame so it’s very solid – this is probably the most important component when you compare these against other models – this is the easiest thing to fail, be it fall off the wall or break. I can tell you with 100% honesty from testing I am super happy with this unit:

One last thing on the install – obviously I am screwing into the frame of the shed on all four bolts – if you go into wood it needs to be solid and thick. I insulated my shed and reinforced all the corners with 4 by 4 so ideal.

So then I setup the additional hose from the tap to the shed mount. I needed an additional pack of hoselock fitting set – I used the ones linked. I actually bought this because of the sprayer thinking the one supplied with this unit would be naff, but actually it was as good as the hozelock when compared. Mountic the unit is so easy – just push the bar in once the unit is aligned in the holes:

In terms of using the pull and retract / gearing mechanism stood up just fine. a word of warning. Because this is new the spring is extremely powerful so hard to pull out – this will calm down and become easier over time – remember you don’t want it too easy as this is the mechanism that actually pulls the hose back in too!

If you’re not extending from the tap then it comes with everything you need, the sprinkler and the connector – just plug it onto your garden tap:

So to test it I pulled it over the garden about 15 metres – there was loads left and had a go with the garden sprinkler as an initial test:

The flow was good, there were no leaks and the pivot worked great. I couldn’t be happier – an easy time watering the garden this Summer is coming up except one thing, the wife planted right where the pivot of the hose reel is going to get dragged. I’m sure as you read through my site one of two things will happen – the plants will be relocated, or my hose reel will be refitted to another convenient place! 😀 One top tip is to put a stake in front of your plants in case you drag the hose over something by accident, I did this with my Gardena – this time round I plan to be smarter and setup the garden to avoid this problem as much as possible. This is definitely a top buy, no question about it I am very happy with the testing and price point.

Specification: hose length: 40m, size: 54 x 65.5 x 26.2 cm, warranty: 1 year, child lock: yes, easily removed from wall mounting: yes

Hozelock are a trusted name when it comes down to garden watering tools and have top selling products in categories from hose nozzles and spray guns to connectors and various hose types. So, it should come as no surprise that their auto reel is also a best seller and our first review.

For this article we chose the 40m hose version but this products available in 10m, 20m, and 30m versions too, each one costing about £20 more than the size smaller than it.

When the Hozelock auto reel arrived I was a little surprised at how big the reel housing was, but I guess I should have expected it because it was the 40m version and I’d expect the other versions to be more compact.

The housing itself is nicely designed, with a modern, round aesthetic, coloured grey with the odd yellow part such as the front where the hose reels in and out of. It’s not the most striking thing I’ve ever seen, but personally, I liked the understated look.

The casing is made of polypropylene which is a strong and hardwearing plastic that is used in a large percentage of modern gardening tools due to its lightweight and durability.

To ensure the long working life of the hose inside, Hozelock have ensured that the casing for this automatic garden hose reel is UV protected, and also added a child lock so your kids can’t play ‘yank the hose to death’ when you’re not looking.

The Hozelock auto reel comes with the wall bracket and screws to attach it to your garden wall. The bracket seems fine to me, but with any of these products, I always prefer to invest in my own, higher quality fittings just to be on the safe side.

I would also change the standard plastic connectors for metal ones for the same reasons. Brass hose connectors are relatively inexpensive and are much more durable than plastic hose connectors, not matter how high quality the plastic is.

Once the reel is mounted onto the wall, it can pivot through a 180 degree arc. I found this particularly useful as my garden has a less than standard shape and I didn’t feel like I was stressing the hose into unnatural angles.

The main box is detachable from the bracket so that you can remove it and store it inside for winter to prevent unnecessary damage, yet it is also possible to padlock the box in place so that it doesn’t go walkabout during the summer evenings.

This automatic garden hose reel’s unwinding action is nice and smooth, and what I really liked about it is that it is not constantly pulling back and putting tension on the hose. The mechanism inside the housing automatically gives you more hose as you pull and then locks it in place. Then, when you want it to reel back in, you simply give the hose a little tug and the Hozelock auto reel will take care of the rest.

I have to say, I often find Hozelock products a bit hit and miss, or at least a little over rated, but this automatic garden hose reel impressed me. Yes, there was a little bit of water dripping out, but it wasn’t anything that would bother me too much, and even if it got worse, there is a 5 year guarantee that I could call upon.
 All in all, this is a good product worthy of consideration.

Specification: hose length: 35m, size: ‎53.1 x 48 x 26.9 cm, warranty: 1 year, child lock: yes, easily removed from wall mounting: yes

You can’t deny that Amazon has got the online shopping market all but tied up for the most part, so it should come as no surprise that they have started producing their own products to compete with the most popular brands. And since it was fist made this wall moluntedd garden hose reel has been getting better. The reviews also proove that too.

Amazon basics is their line of products that aim to offer the consumer a cheaper alternative to the top brands and models of certain items, and this is their offering in the automatic garden hose reel category.

While it has the word ‘basic’ in its name, this product is certainly not substandard by any stretch of the imagination. The reel’s casing and winding mechanism’s build quality is only second to the far more expensive Gardena model and it’s a close second at that.

Functions and features are what you’d expect from the best automatic garden hose reels. There is the pivoting through 180 degrees, a 35 metre long hose that should be enough for most gardens, brackets and fittings to mount it the wall, a carry handle, connectors, and adjustable spray nozzle.

The main function of auto reeling works really well and we had no bother with it getting tangled or stuck during our time testing it. Water output was also as good as the Hozelock and Von Haus.

The colour scheme might not be to everyone’s liking, and the housing itself is a little bulky, but no more than many of its competitors. The connectors that come with the product aren’t bad, however the one that connected to the tap on the model we tested did leak a little bit. It was an easy fix with a change of rubber washer though.

There isn’t a lot I can say about this automatic garden hose reel that I haven’t already said in our other reviews, and I think that sums up this product quite well. While it doesn’t blow my socks off with innovative features, and none of the products reviewed here do to be honest, it does tick all the boxes it needs to and offers you a quality product at a very good price. It is certainly not one to be overlooked.

Specification: hose length: 20m, size: 41 x 40 x 20 cm, warranty: 2 years, child lock: yes, easily removed from wall mounting: yes

This Von Haus automatic garden hose reel is making a lot of customers very happy with the right combination of functionality, durability, and low price.
 When compared to the Hozelock auto reel of the same size (20 metres), the Von Haus is quite a bit cheaper, yet has all the same features and a build quality that is on par, if not superior to the Hozelock.

Design-wise, this automatic garden hose reel is very similar to Hozelock’s product. They both have a grey plastic housing and round shape, and they both fit onto a 180 degree pivoting wall bracket.

Again, the screws that come with the product are not something I would personally trust, so do yourself a favour and go spend 20p on some better ones. They’re readily available from any DIY shop.

The anti-kink hose itself actually feels good quality and didn’t give me any immediate cause for concern over its durability. I also like the fact that Vonhaus had placed an extra design feature into the hole where the hose feeds in and out that guides it and keeps it reeling and unreeling in a uniform manner.

The connectors provided with this automatic garden hose reel are plastic but good quality and I didn’t have any leaks. I would still suggest changing them though, as I would with any plastic hose connectors because in my experience, they simply don’t last and if you use a booster pump to up your pressure then they really won’t last five minutes.

As for the actually automatic reeling mechanism, I have no complaints. It works in much the same way as the Hozelock, and will automatically lock into place when you stop pulling but will retract with a sharp tug. The whole thing is very smooth, if a little stiff pulling out at first, and I had absolutely no problems with it the whole time I was testing it, so well done Von Haus.

This product comes with a 2 year manufacturer’s warranty, but from my initial impressions, it should last you longer than that without any major issues. Most of the problems you get with these types of products can be solved with a few fitting/connector change, so if you do have leaks, try replacing these first before considering replacing the whole product as it will undoubtedly save you time and hassle in the long run.

The Von Haus automatic garden hose reel is a quality product at a very reasonable price. With proper use and a little care, you should get years of good use of it.

Specification: hose length: 35m, size: 68.6 x 27.9 x 55.9 cm, warranty: 5 years, child lock: yes, easily removed from wall mounting: yes

Gardena is almost synonymous with premium quality, but for premium quality you also have to pay a premium price. The 35m version of this product actually costs almost 3 times as much as the Von Haus automatic garden reel hose, but is it worth it?

Well, that is all a matter of opinion. Is the build quality of the Gardena better than our two previous products? My answer would be a definite yes. In fact, it is of the highest quality of any of the products reviewed on this page. Everything just feels solid and built to last, even down to the connectors and fittings, which are usually sub-par at best on most models, are of a good quality.

The auto-reeling mechanism on the Gardena is by far the smoothest we tested, however you have to make sure you pull it slowly and it does take a little strength to do so at first. When the garden hose retracts, it actually has quite a bit of pull which speaks volumes about the quality of the spring, and it almost caught me off guard the first time.

There is also an integrated hose guide, much like the Von Haus, that makes sure the hose reels in evenly and doesn’t get tangled.

Like both the Hozelock and Van Haus automatic garden hose reels, this one can pivot 180 degrees so you can reach the harder to get to parts of your garden, and it also has the same auto-locking mechanism (every 50cm or so) so the hose isn’t constantly trying to retract, making the whole situation less taxing and your arm muscles.

None of these products should ever be left out during winter as it is sure to ruin them, and so all decent models can be detached from the wall bracket for storage. This particular model has a very handy handle moulded into the top of casing which makes it much easier to carry around. I was thankful of this, because these automatic garden hose reels can be pretty bulky, and the common rounded design can make them a little awkward to handle. Not so with the Gardena and the handle, like the rest of the product, feels very sturdy and durable.

There is also an anti-drip device that you can insert when transporting the hose reel to stop it leaking and dripping. It’s only a small thing, but it is nice that Gardena thought about this annoying problem and offered up a solution.

At the end of the day, you get what you pay for. The Gardena is more expensive, but you get a higher quality product for the extra pounds you spend.

Specification: hose length: 20m, size: ‎26 x 22.75 x 7.2 cm, warranty: 1 year, child lock: yes, easily removed from wall mounting: yes

As you’ll remember I pointed out that I have a couple of GARDENA Wall-Mounted Hose Reels earlier on. This little offering from Karcher was the reason I decided to update this post. With pretty stiff ratings from customers, I can tell you that is no reflection of this automatic hose reel whatsoever. People are rating this based on value for money. Now fine, everyone wants a bargain. But personally, after using the spring mechanism on this hose reel I can tell you that it is the real deal and built to last. When my automatic reels inevitably fail, I am almost certainly going to switch up to Karcher unless something comes along in the next few years which I very much doubt.

How can you be this confident ahead of time you might ask? The answers pretty simple. The hose is practically bullet proof. The swivel mechanism feels and looks industrial. The automatic return system also feels bullet proof. If you’re like me and want a product to last, then I feel this is the one to watch. Granted, there is the upfront cost.

There’s no frills here, it’s simply an extremely well built product that will last a very long time. The wall mount is solid, the installation is pretty easy and the instructions make it a doddle. It comes with everything you need. No additional purchases are necessary. You have a spray gun and nozzle, hose connectors, and hose coupling connections. Check those links out. These items aren’t cheap and they are included. That sweetens things considerably. You can’t go wrong when you buy quality.