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Water Hose Length


JoeC

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I had a flat hose reel, I thought would be easy to stow.  It failed in about six months with pinhole leaks, the inner part separated from the outer part.  I replaced it  with a food grade hoses, available from caravan suppliers.

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27 minutes ago, Ex Brummie said:

And if on the Thames, don' forget your self amalgamating tape, or jubilee clip and inner tube piece to counteract the antisyphon valve.

Or unscrew the valve ;)

A lot of them are only hand tight now. 

 

As for hoses I don't have any. just use two black plastic buckets and a funnel.

 

Helps to keep in touch with reality carrying all the water yourself. 

 

Also time efficient as you are not constrained by the flow rate through 'ose. 

 

Edited by magnetman
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1 hour ago, koukouvagia said:

I bought one of those expanding hoses.  The first time I used it,  it blew up like a balloon and exploded.  Waste of money.

Unless it was faulty, you were probably using it wrongly.

I found it is most important to open the tap only a little way for the first couple of minutes, before then going to full pressure.

I've used my expanding hose for 4 years now without problems, and would never return to the old plastic type.

Reaches 150 ft fully extended, weighs next to nothing and lives in a small plastic bucket.

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55 minutes ago, Peanut said:

I had a flat hose reel, I thought would be easy to stow.  It failed in about six months with pinhole leaks, the inner part separated from the outer part.  I replaced it  with a food grade hoses, available from caravan suppliers.

 

Yes, ours is a food grade caravan job. I have the tap end on a short tail and the tank end on the 30m long wound up reel. It amazes me how many people do it the other way around. 

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41 minutes ago, Machpoint005 said:

 

Yes, ours is a food grade caravan job. I have the tap end on a short tail and the tank end on the 30m long wound up reel. It amazes me how many people do it the other way around. 

I do and then I can keep the reel on the front deck and take the hose to the tap.

 

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2 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Our 'tank water' is not used for drinking, we have separate 20/15 litre containers for that which are filled directly from the tap. In extremis I'd drink from the tank but just would rather not 

Similar here .

We use/refill  5 litre supermarket water bottles and buy fresh bottles  each spring. Refilling them from a water point is rarely, if ever, a challenge. 

 

 

I have the flat blue type hose but its a pain really. One of the expanding type will probably replace it.

 

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'Magic' hoses are great in theory but: they are not long enough and will not reach the boat when they are empty / take on a life of their own when you turn the water on and make a dive for the nearest/muckiest patch of water they can find. Dead easy to stow away, though - bucket/bag/box.

Next time you are in the hose shop buy a packet of the rubber washers that fit in the tap connector - they leap out and dive in the cut (following the hose).

My local B&Q have a special at the moment - a flat flexible hose of about 20m which is as small as a magic but does not contract - standard fittings.

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25 minutes ago, Opener said:

 

'Magic' hoses are great in theory but: they are not long enough and will not reach the boat when they are empty / take on a life of their own when you turn the water on and make a dive for the nearest/muckiest patch of water they can find.

 

 

I think you need a to buy an expanding hose that is rated as being a bit longer than what you think you need.

My first expanding hose was (I think) a 10 metre one, but when I actually tried to make it cover 10 metres it was quite stretched out and under some tension. 

But as soon as it started to fill, it seemed to expand (and in particular to lengthen), and it did cover its rated distance.

 

So if you want a 20m hose and you opt for an expanding type, my suggestion would be to maybe buy a 25-30m hose.  It will still pack down smaller than a 20m plastic hose.

But its not a problem to reach the boat with an expanding hose, as long you choose the right length of hose.  

 

It is also true that they can move a bit when they first fill, but I can't honestly say that proved to be an problem in the 16 months I've used mine as a liveaboard. Because of the way plastic hoses want to retain their coiled shape, I found it more difficult to keep my plastic hose out of the mud and dirt, and I found that it kinked much more easily when it got moved about. My expanding hoses very rarely form kinks, and are much easier to lay out along a particular route if needed.  

 

 

Edited by Tony1
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28 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Surely a lay flat or expanding hose requires a pressure drop across it to inflate it so will make the slow taps even slower  

 

I used a plastic hose and then an expanding one at the same tap, about a week apart, and it never struck me that the expanding one was taking any longer. 

That said I dont know if the tank was at the same level on these occasions, so all I can give is an impression. 

I've used the expanding hose scores of times since I got it, and I've never felt it was taking longer than it used to with the plastic hose. 

It might take longer to fill as you say, but even if it does, I'd be happy to put up with say a 10% longer time, for the extra handiness of the expanding hose.  

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1 hour ago, MartynG said:

We use/refill  5 litre supermarket water bottles and buy fresh bottles  each spring. Refilling them from a water point is rarely, if ever, a challenge. 

Reusing single use bottles is not recommended:

https://www.onegreenbottle.com/this-is-why-you-should-never-reuse-single-use-bottles/

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25 minutes ago, David Mack said:

 

Single use PET bottles, that is. Plastic isn't just plastic!

 

1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

I do and then I can keep the reel on the front deck and take the hose to the tap.

 

 

That's a valid reason, but so is putting the reel next to the tap and having full control over the other end, so as not to drag it in the mud!

 

If I were to put the reel on my foredeck, it would likely end up in the cut.

.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Machpoint005
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27 minutes ago, Machpoint005 said:

 

Single use PET bottles, that is. Plastic isn't just plastic!

 

 

That's a valid reason, but so is putting the reel next to the tap and having full control over the other end, so as not to drag it in the mud!

 

 

 So how do you get the hose from the tap to the boat. If I am by myself I can plug the hose on the tap and then walk the real back to the boat and stand it on the deck. The ends of my hose never touch the ground, grass or any water other than what comes out of the tap.

Edited by ditchcrawler
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1 hour ago, Tony1 said:

 

I think you need a to buy an expanding hose that is rated as being a bit longer than what you think you need.

My first expanding hose was (I think) a 10 metre one, but when I actually tried to make it cover 10 metres it was quite stretched out and under some tension. 

But as soon as it started to fill, it seemed to expand (and in particular to lengthen), and it did cover its rated distance.

 

So if you want a 20m hose and you opt for an expanding type, my suggestion would be to maybe buy a 25-30m hose.  It will still pack down smaller than a 20m plastic hose.

But its not a problem to reach the boat with an expanding hose, as long you choose the right length of hose.  

 

It is also true that they can move a bit when they first fill, but I can't honestly say that proved to be an problem in the 16 months I've used mine as a liveaboard. Because of the way plastic hoses want to retain their coiled shape, I found it more difficult to keep my plastic hose out of the mud and dirt, and I found that it kinked much more easily when it got moved about. My expanding hoses very rarely form kinks, and are much easier to lay out along a particular route if needed.  

 

 

Yeah - I'd accept that. I guess my problems arise when filling from a waterside tap in the marina. Along a path then along the jetty to my bow. Not long enough to stretch empty but as soon as the water is turned on it makes a dive for the water. Wouldn't be sorted with a hose that stretches dry since, full, there would be even more to dive in the cut.

I'm solving with a 'magic' on the path connected to a lay flat but non-expanding on the jetty. Still takes some supervision though.

All fine out around the cut though - just zig-zag  and trip cyclists.

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6 hours ago, system 4-50 said:

Regardless of length, each section of hose should be fitted with double-check valves so avoid the chance of water feeding back.  

Not the same thing,  but I noticed that, when I replaced the plain hose connector of our garden hose with one that incorporates a  valve to cut off the water when the nozzle is removed, the pressure dropped significantly.  It turned out that the cruciform striker  of the valve was not axially long enough to lift the O ring completely clear of its seat  when engaged by the end of the mating connector. I glued a strip of polystyrene to it that was just thick enough to ensure it opened fully and did not affect the flow rate.

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2 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

 

 

I really like the sound of the hose not getting in contact with the ground at all, I must say.

Some of the facilities points are pretty grim at the moment, what with mud and semi permanent puddles everywhere. I think that sounds a good system to be honest. 

 

But there will always be a few water points on the towpath where the public can and do walk past, so its not always going to be possible to keep the hose off the ground, otherwise you'll be risking tripping them up, although their dogs might enjoy the jump. 

One of these is Grindley Brook, where your hose crosses a towpath that at weekends gets very busy, as it is a through-way to the cafe at the locks.

 

In these sorts of places the hose has to lie flat on the ground, but in fairness those are the exception, and I would think at most water points, pedestrians tripping on a raised hose is not an issue. Maybe plastic is worth another look....

 

 

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11 minutes ago, Machpoint005 said:

I hold the end. The bit that goes into the tank is the only part that has to be clean (apart from the inside, of course!).

 

When the tank is full I carry the end of the hose back to the tap, then wind up the reel.

 

 

 

And I do the same in the opposite direction. Reel on deck, me holding free end and walk to tap. connect and bingo. Nether of us dragged the end anywhere.

 

When I have finished walk back with end and wind in hose. I then remove the 4 foot bit going from reel to tank and plug the the free end of the hose onto the reel so its now all sealed and no creepys can move in.

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18 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

Surely a lay flat or expanding hose requires a pressure drop across it to inflate it so will make the slow taps even slower  

That's my experience. Turn the tap on with valve on rank filler closed and hose expands. Depending on the water pressure it may expand fully, put filler in tank and open valve. Drop in pressure causes hose to retract. If the pressure is already low it will go back to its original, unexpanded length and the water will only trickle through

Hence my comment about Fradley where the taps on the Coventry are particularly slow. That was with a short 10 metre hose which we promptly gave away.

 

Now we are in a marina some 200+ metres, and 20 or so taps, from where the water enters the pontoons. On our new boat we found we have to fill every 2/3 days and as we are moored stern in bought a 30m Hozelock expanding hose. As others have said, these have a mind of their own snaking all over the place as the tap is turned on. I guess the longer the hose the more wayward they are. 

 

So I drag it along the finger pontoon to the front of the boat, open the valve on the filler, the hose starts to retract and I have to  put my foot on it to stop it being pulled out of the tap. Depending on how many other boats have decided to fill at the same time it may only retract a little. Other times it becomes so short that it is pulled at sharp angles around the stern and front of the boat, further restricting the flow. On a bad day it will retract then expand so the hose drops between the boat and pontoon then gets caught behind a fender when I try to lift it back out.

 

So it's gone.

 

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1 hour ago, pearley said:

That's my experience. Turn the tap on with valve on rank filler closed and hose expands. Depending on the water pressure it may expand fully, put filler in tank and open valve.

Don't you open the valve and allow the hose to flush through for a while before putting the hose end into the tank?

Edited by David Mack
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