De Luxe Hosiery- a cunning plan

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, Tony1 said:

 

 

 Oh well. I'm glad I asked before I took the plunge on that idea! 

 

How far does your boat move at the water point when a boat passes

[Rose Narrowboats]

I am aware of two incidents involving cyclists  injuring themselves whilst trying (unsuccessfully) to negotiate hoses, hurting themselves quite badly and attempting to sue. Likewise I recall a great deal of fuss surrunding a boat which had come adrift and been remoored (no doubt with the best of intentions) with the remaining rope accross the towingpath into the hedge several feet above the ground so I shudder to think of the consequences of intentionally stringing a hose accross the towingpath.

 

Proper 1/2" potable water blue hose is cheap enough to replace regularly if it gets damaged, and if always coiled the same way is easy enough to handle, even in the winter. If you are worried about muck getting in it, just make some blanks using hoselock type adaptors.

 

I've never bothered, but I suspect the safest way to leave a hose would be full of water as the water has chlorine in to kill bugs - but that's probably only valid in approved hose which nasties are less likely to grow in anyway.

[Tony1]

4 minutes ago, Rose Narrowboats said:

I am aware of two incidents involving cyclists  injuring themselves whilst trying (unsuccessfully) to negotiate hoses, hurting themselves quite badly and attempting to sue. Likewise I recall a great deal of fuss surrunding a boat which had come adrift and been remoored (no doubt with the best of intentions) with the remaining rope accross the towingpath into the hedge several feet above the ground so I shudder to think of the consequences of intentionally stringing a hose accross the towingpath.

 

Proper 1/2" potable water blue hose is cheap enough to replace regularly if it gets damaged, and if always coiled the same way is easy enough to handle, even in the winter. If you are worried about muck getting in it, just make some blanks using hoselock type adaptors.

 

I've never bothered, but I suspect the safest way to leave a hose would be full of water as the water has chlorine in to kill bugs - but that's probably only valid in approved hose which nasties are less likely to grow in anyway.

 

Thank you Mr Rose, I agree about it being impossible to consider hanging a hose even a few inches above the towpath, as I explained in my second post, and repeated in several others since.

 

 

[David Mack]

3 hours ago, Tony1 said:

Or the other way around maybe- leave the reel in the cratch, and put the short end into the water filler, and the long end pulled over to the tap. 

But not in that order. Pull the long end over to the tap, connect, and turn the tap on. Let the water run to waste for a few minutes to flush any nasties out of the hose. Only then put the short end into the water tank filler.

Edited March 22, 2022 by David Mack

[Tony1]

8 minutes ago, David Mack said:

But not in that order. Pull the long end over to the tap, connect, and turn the tap on. Let the water run to waste for a few minutes to flush any nasties out of the hose. Only then put the short end into the water tank filler.

 

Yes, quite.

In this case I was attempting to describe the overall setup, and specifically the point that the hose ends would be 'reversed'.

I was not trying to describe the actual process steps that would be followed, and I am aware of the need to flush the hose before filling. 

 

[MtB]

An ordinary hose is (like democracy) a terrible solution but once investigated, all the other options turn out to be inferior.

 

 

[Tony1]

22 minutes ago, MtB said:

An ordinary hose is (like democracy) a terrible solution but once investigated, all the other options turn out to be inferior.

 

 

 

I would add that if I were on a widebeam boat (shock horror) there might be a better case for a retracting hose mounted on the front of the cabin wall. 

 

One of the challenges with mounting a sizeable hose reel on a narrowboat is the lack of real estate. The model that ended up top of my list would have fitted (just), but then the bow doors would only have opened to 90 degrees when the thing was in place, so it couldnt really be left there permanently. It would have to be mounted on its pole for every use, as part of the watering process. 

 

When you look at it overall, you've then got a process where you have to mount your reel, take the end over to the tap and attach it, flush out the hose and then stop the flow, then go back and insert the short hose into your tank, then go back to the tap and start the fill. 

 

For me, this idea was initially about reducing the amount of faff around water fillups, and having to mount the reel (or else have it blocking my bow door opening) was just a step too far. Its not removing any faff at all, in fact its possibly adding some in. 

Its become a gadget for a gadget's sake, rather than streamlining anything. 

If I could have left it permanently mounted that might have tipped the balance, but even then, its the same level of faff as a normal hose reel. All it means is that instead of you carrying the reel back to the boat and winding it in as you go, the thing winds itself in. That's just not enough of a plus to make it worth the cost and the faff. 

 

But as I said, if I were on a widebeam I might go for one of these reels. 

The beauty of a forum like this is that you can chuck in an idea and get some actual user experiences with it, plus some useful assessments on the unexpected impacts of your proposed new device- as well as the usual 'technology is bad' folks, who it seems would rather live on a wooden raft with a tent and a spade to provide toilet facilities, because that's how they did it in 1965. 

 

 

Edited March 23, 2022 by Tony1

[Alan de Enfield]

36 minutes ago, Tony1 said:

When you look at it overall, you've then got a process where you have to mount your reel, take the end over to the tap and attach it, flush out the hose and then stop the flow, then go back and insert the short hose into your tank, then go back to the tap and start the fill. 

 

Why ?

 

You simply have a stop-valve in the 'tank' end of the hose.

 

Go and plug hose onto tap

Turn tap on

Go back to boat, point hose over the side

Turn valve on- flush water over the side.

Turn valve off, open tank, put hose end in tank

Open valve.

 

You obviously have never done any time and motions studies - going backwards and forwards to the tap - inefficient and wasteful.

 

My hose 'end' .................

(The plastic pipe goes into the tank filler pipe and makes sure that the hose doesn't jump out, thrash about, & soak the boat)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ex Brummie]

This thread reminds me of many of my customers. 'Nothing to do and all day to do it!'

[Tony1]

16 minutes ago, Ex Brummie said:

'Nothing to do and all day to do it!'

 

But enough time for some negativity and sniping. 

 

I can only apologise for the various shortcomings that you perceive in the thread. 

Sometimes for relative newcomers like myself to gain new information and to avoid costly purchasing errors, you have to make 100% sure on the detail.  It is probably extended further by my wanting to make a reply to each comment out of courtesy (at least those that are worded reasonably politely).

It is what it is, really.

 

There is always the option to avoid reading any of my future threads or comments. You might save yourself becoming exasperated, and of course save your very valuable time, and do me a favour.

 

 

Edited March 23, 2022 by Tony1

[ditchcrawler]

2 hours ago, Tony1 said:

 

But enough time for some negativity and sniping. 

 

I can only apologise for the various shortcomings that you perceive in the thread. 

Sometimes for relative newcomers like myself to gain new information and to avoid costly purchasing errors, you have to make 100% sure on the detail.  It is probably extended further by my wanting to make a reply to each comment out of courtesy (at least those that are worded reasonably politely).

It is what it is, really.

 

There is always the option to avoid reading any of my future threads or comments. You might save yourself becoming exasperated, and of course save your very valuable time, and do me a favour.

 

 

I use a hose reel like this at home and is easily demountable 

[Tony1]

9 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

I use a hose reel like this at home and is easily demountable 

 

Thanks, and the self-retracting ones are usually easily mountable to be honest. 

But largely thanks to the contributions here, I've had a bit of a re-think. 

When you stop and think about the overall level of faff involved in using a retracting hose (or even a normal hose on a reel) when compared to the expandable hose I already have, its all pretty similar. In fact, my expandable hose is probably less faff than a reel-mounted hose of any kind. 

I've had some good ideas though, like fitting a stop tap onto the end that goes into the tank, and using a length of pipe or similar to help stop that end thrashing around and coming out of the tank- so its been very helpful, even if not in the way I initially hoped. 

 

 

[Alan de Enfield]

32 minutes ago, Tony1 said:

In fact, my expandable hose is probably less faff than a reel-mounted hose of any kind. 

 

 

 

Exactly what I have :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 23, 2022 by Alan de Enfield

[Tony1]

9 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

 

Exactly what I have :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yep, and they pack down really small as well. 

My expandable hose comes with the screw on tap connector at one end, and the other end is a female hozelock type joint.

I bet most of them are same configuration.

So my thinking is to get a spray/lance type nozzle that has a male hozelock connector and an on/off flow tap, and then hacksaw the steel lance tube down to about ten inches long. 

The hozelock connector means it can fit straight on the 'tank' end of the hose with no adaptors etc, and you then have an on/off tap plus a long tube to go into the filler tube, and help hold the hose in place during filling- all in a single attachment.

 

Something like this (maybe a cheaper version), with the sprayer bit sawn off, would make a great addition to an expandable hose:

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00PNUC6XG/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1

 

 

 

 

[ditchcrawler]

6 minutes ago, Tony1 said:

 

Yep, and they pack down really small as well. 

My expandable hose comes with the screw on tap connector at one end, and the other end is a female hozelock type joint.

I bet most of them are same configuration.

So my thinking is to get a spray/lance type nozzle that has a male hozelock connector and an on/off flow tap, and then hacksaw the steel lance tube down to about ten inches long. 

The hozelock connector means it can fit straight on the 'tank' end of the hose with no adaptors etc, and you then have an on/off tap plus a long tube to go into the filler tube, and help hold the hose in place during filling- all in a single attachment.

 

Something like this (maybe a cheaper version), with the sprayer bit sawn off, would make a great addition to an expandable hose:

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00PNUC6XG/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1

 

 

 

 

Dont forget the tie wrap

[Hudds Lad]

1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

I use a hose reel like this at home and is easily demountable 

 

We have one of those (minus wall mount bits) sat under the cratch. I knew we needed a new hose, but before i could look into the pros and cons of flexi vs. reel, this just turned up at home one day. Suspect the wife had a hand in it. I just did as instructed and assembled it, owt for a quiet life  

[haggis]

53 minutes ago, Tony1 said:

 

Yep, and they pack down really small as well. 

My expandable hose comes with the screw on tap connector at one end, and the other end is a female hozelock type joint.

I bet most of them are same configuration.

So my thinking is to get a spray/lance type nozzle that has a male hozelock connector and an on/off flow tap, and then hacksaw the steel lance tube down to about ten inches long. 

The hozelock connector means it can fit straight on the 'tank' end of the hose with no adaptors etc, and you then have an on/off tap plus a long tube to go into the filler tube, and help hold the hose in place during filling- all in a single attachment.

 

Something like this (maybe a cheaper version), with the sprayer bit sawn off, would make a great addition to an expandable hose:

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00PNUC6XG/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1

 

 

 

 

Instead of a solid bit at the end which goes into the tank, we have a short (a couple of feet) length of hose which we connect to the end of the water hose (with Hozelock connectors) and the other end goes into the boat tank. We keep that bit of hose separate from the main hose as it is going into the tank as it fills. We tried using a Hozelock nozzle but it stopped the air coming out of the tank as it filled and it sometimes jumped out. 

[Alan de Enfield]

8 minutes ago, haggis said:

We tried using a Hozelock nozzle but it stopped the air coming out of the tank as it filled and it sometimes jumped out. 

 

That is exaclty why I use the 12" length of 'push-fit' pipe.

[Tony1]

1 hour ago, haggis said:

Instead of a solid bit at the end which goes into the tank, we have a short (a couple of feet) length of hose which we connect to the end of the water hose (with Hozelock connectors) and the other end goes into the boat tank. We keep that bit of hose separate from the main hose as it is going into the tank as it fills. We tried using a Hozelock nozzle but it stopped the air coming out of the tank as it filled and it sometimes jumped out. 

 

Thanks Mrs H- I think finding a good way to stop the hose coming out will be a case of 'try it and see' to a large extent. 

I'm a bit surprised there isn't an off the shelf gizmo you can fit on your hose to do the job. 

The steel tube itself will easily fit in there and allow the air out, but if the plastic nozzle starts going in as well, I could maybe cut grooves into it it, so as to allow the air out. 

It'll be one of those little bodges that you have to do, but it needs to be a superior bodge.

Alan already seems to have invented the 'boaters nozzle', but I don't know if he's copyrighted it.....

 

 

 

Edited March 23, 2022 by Tony1

[ditchcrawler]

No one has mentioned the filler cap adaptor yet 

[Rob-M]

4 hours ago, haggis said:

Instead of a solid bit at the end which goes into the tank, we have a short (a couple of feet) length of hose which we connect to the end of the water hose (with Hozelock connectors) and the other end goes into the boat tank. We keep that bit of hose separate from the main hose as it is going into the tank as it fills. We tried using a Hozelock nozzle but it stopped the air coming out of the tank as it filled and it sometimes jumped out. 

That is the same as we have, gives the option of attaching other things to the hose as well like a cleaning brush.  The piece of hose that is stuck in to the boat tank is kept in a bag in the boat when not in use and is always removed when the hose is being pulled out or wound back on the reel so it doesn't drag on the floor or end up in the cut.