“Setting everything up this morning, it seemed to be a lot easier. I get to do what I have to do and move right on to the next one.”
For grounds and property maintenance crews, watering can become a major part of the daily routine, especially when new sod, trees, and landscaping are being established. At an apartment or townhome community, golf course, or city park, the work can stretch across an entire property, with crews moving from one area to the next throughout the day.
But watering is only part of that routine. The hose has to move with you. It has to be pulled out, routed around buildings and landscaping, kept clear of vehicles and equipment, and eventually wound back up. That was the daily reality for Maintenance Supervisor Alfonso Martinez at Bluestone Community. With seven buildings, roughly 60 trees, and around 1,000 feet of water hose across the property, managing the hose had become a job of its own.
Finding a Better Way to Manage the Hose
With that much hose being used across Bluestone Community, Alfonso needed a way to make it easier to manage from one building to the next. That led to the Series 20000 motorized reel, which gave him the capacity for the longer hose runs he was already using while taking the manual winding out of the process.
The challenge wasn’t just reaching everything that needed water. Every section of hose had to be pulled across the property and eventually wound back up.
Over the course of the day, that added up.
The Problem With Handling Hose by Hand
Anyone working with long lengths of hose knows that getting it where you need it is only half the job. At some point, it all has to come back.
For Alfonso, repeatedly winding hose by hand was taking a toll. And with construction activity still happening around Bluestone Community, hose lying across the property was constantly exposed to traffic.
My arms hurt just about every day winding these up. When I pull it around the new construction buildings, we’ve got a lot of traffic, and it’s getting run over every day by cars, vehicles, people pulling their tools in and out.
That creates a few considerations for any grounds crew using long hose runs. There’s the time spent pulling and retrieving the hose, the physical effort required to wind it, and the wear that comes from dragging hose across pavement, gravel, and other surfaces.
A reel gives the hose a dedicated place to go and can make it easier to deploy only the amount needed for the job. But not every grounds-maintenance operation needs the same reel.
Choosing a Hose Reel for Grounds and Property Maintenance
Alfonso’s setup shows how much the way you use your hose can influence the reel you need. For Alfonso, the combination of long hose runs, frequent winding, and moving between buildings made a mobile, motorized setup the right fit. A few questions can help narrow down your options:
How far do you need to reach?
Consider your longest run and choose a reel that can hold the length and diameter of hose you need.
How often are you winding the hose?
For shorter runs, spring retractable keeps things simple. For longer runs, hand crank offers more capacity, while motorized takes the manual winding out of the job.
Does the reel need to move with you?
For a fixed watering or washdown area, a wall- or post-mounted reel may be enough. If you’re moving across a larger property, mounting the reel on a truck, UTV, cart, or trailer lets it travel with you.
What are you running through it?
Make sure the reel’s pressure rating, seals, and fluid path are compatible with your application and the fluid you’re using.
Taking the Reel to the Work
With the Series 20000 mounted on his Kubota, Alfonso can bring the reel with him as he works his way around Bluestone Community. Instead of managing the hose separately at each building, he can pull up to a spigot, unroll what he needs, water, reel the hose back in, and move on.
My arms hurt just about every day winding these up. When I pull it around the new construction buildings, we’ve got a lot of traffic, and it’s getting run over every day by cars, vehicles, people pulling their tools in and out.
For Alfonso, the watering hasn’t changed. He still has the same buildings, trees, and landscaping to take care of. What has changed is how he gets from one job to the next.
The Bottom Line
There isn’t one hose reel that’s right for every property. When you’re choosing a reel for your own property, start with the same questions: How far do you need to reach? How much hose are you handling? How frequently are you retrieving it? And does the work come to the reel, or does the reel need to go with you? Answer those first, and choosing the right reel becomes much easier.
