 Flimsiest piece of junk ever purchased at Home Depot |
| Review Date: November 5, 2009 |
| Reviewer: John L. Mchugh, San Antonio, TX |
This was easily the poorest quality item I have ever purchased at Home Depot - and that is saying something. I should have known what I was getting myself into when I noticed that almost all of the boxes on the shelf holding this item had already been opened [a sign that they had possibly been purchased and returned]. I ignored this warning and found an unopened box and purchased it.
My second clue should have been when I got home and opened the box, only to discover several pieces of flimsy plastic requiring assembly following a poorly-worded instruction booklet. It wasn't exactly rocket science to assemble, but neither did the flimsiness improve once assembly was complete.
Finally, I was given yet a third sign that this was not a top-shelf item when it did not provide instructions or screws for mounting to a brick/masonry wall. The instruction booklet simply said that the screws provided were for wood or siding mount, and for masonry, to consult with your local hardware store. When consulted, the Home Depot professional advised that the task required a pack of masonry screws ($10 - or 25% of the cost of the original hose reel) and a 5/32 masonry drill bit (thank goodness I already owned one). Foolishly optimistic, I purchased the masonry screws and continued the installation process.
When mounted to the wall, there is no way to tighten the screws holding the reel (the reel housing covers the screws), and as a result, when cranked, the whole assembly would jump up and down.
Despite all of the above setbacks, I was resigned to my purchase, until I discovered that, far from holding the 250' of hose as described on the box, it held 100' feet comfortably, and one could squeeze another 50' on with a careful and exact reeling method.
Well, that was the last straw, and I am making yet a third trip to Home Depot to return this item where it can rejoin its opened-and-returned brethren on the shelf.
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Mixed opinion, basically positive
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| Review Date: October 7, 2009 |
| Reviewer: M. Fred, Polk City, FL |
I bought this to replace an Ames unit that suddenly fell off the wall. Still don't know why, but the sides were torn as though a giant had ripped them apart. No sign if it being hit by anything, and a vandal would certainly choose another target, I would think.
Back to the Suncast. First, take some time to decide how you want to place it relative to the hose bib that will supply it. It is designed to be fed from the left, which didn't work for me. But you can assemble the unit in reverse, so the supply is on the right side. The hose will then feed into the reel on the bottom side of the reel, rather than the top, but it works OK. Also, the crank will then be on the left, but if you're left-handed, you may want the crank on the left anyway. Finally, make sure the reel is neither too close nor too far away from the hose bib, so the supply hose won't kink. A right-angle adapter for either the reel or the bib would give more flexibility in mounting location.
The next concern is mounting it on the wall. They've cleverly designed it so that once mounted, you can't reach the upper screws with a tool to tighten them. However, when the reel is pushed down onto the mounting bolts, a ramp built into the casting will tighten up against the shoulder of the screw. So, for best security, tighten the screws gradually, and see how hard it is to press the reel down onto them. If it's too easy, it will be a flimsy installation. The lower screws can be reached with a 5/16 box wrench OK, so leave them a little loose to start, and tighten them down after firmly seating on the upper screws.
So far, it's worked well for almost 4 days, so I can't yet comment on its durability. It does seem flimsy compared to the (more expensive) Ames unit, but a sturdy appearance didn't help that one much. For Reel 2.0, I'd recommend to Suncast that they a) make it ambidextrous, b) make the mounting screws accessible, so they could be retightened as they loosen over time, and c) supply a right-angle adapter for the inlet. |
Actually .... ZERO stars! Stay away from Suncast products.
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| Review Date: August 27, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Dave, Maine |
I bought this item to replace a broken Suncast hose real (one that rests on the ground .... I thought I would upgrade to the wall mount model).
Everything mounted and installed fine. But after 3 months of light and infrequent use (maybe used it 8 times?), the sides warped outwards causing the reel to disconnect and drop down. Instead of being connected at both sides and sitting horizontal, the reel is now connected at only one end and hangs at a 45 degree angle. There's no way to fix it. (I posted a customer photo .... look right below the manufacturer's photo for the link. See for yourself.)
Suncast ripped me off by selling cheap junk that promptly breaks under normal use. Lesson learned the hard way: don't by Suncast ANYTHING.
ZERO STARS for this piece of crud. |
Poor Design
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| Review Date: June 21, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Lola R. Treinen, Waterloo IA |
I purchased this hose reel after relocating my hose bib made our side-winding real impractical. Big mistake and will be attempting to return it to Home Depot.
1) One of the snap-fit pieces never fully "clicked" (it was part of the center spool). This may not have been a problem in and of itself, but it was bothersome nonetheless.
2) It was very difficult to mark the hole locations. Directions said to use the back of the unit as a template, but it was nearly impossible to fit a pencil through the cramped spaces from which to access the mounting holes. On top of that, it was SO FLIMSY that it twisted and bent, making it difficult to rely on it being in place when attempting to mark the holes. I eventually made a cardboard template, which was difficult given the pencil issue.
3) It is IMPOSSIBLE to tighten the screws after mounting - no wrench or screwdriver could fit into the spaces you have.
4) I have vinyl on top of wood lap siding. The lap siding is sufficient to mount the screws. And despite (3), above, I got the screws nice and tight so that the unit was VERY SNUG after mounting it. Yet what happened the first time I attached a hose and began to wind it? It came lose from the wall on the first crank. Despite it being impossible to have the screws any tighter.
Very, VERY poor design for something that is under this kind of stress. I'm taking it back tonight. |
A very good hose reel for the money.
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| Review Date: December 10, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Ati Kovi, Washington DC |
| This is probably my 3rd Suncast unit and they seem to hold up 5 to 6 years for me. My current one is 4 years old and the water inlet tube just broke which is why I'm here checking the current price of new ones. If I was in a hurry I would go to Sears and pick one up for $30 but it seems they have a 5 year warranty so I went to the Suncast website and ordered a replacement part at no charge, not even for shipping. Most complaints are probably due to how the unit is assembled, mostly by snapping parts together without the need for hardware. Convenient design but not as sturdy as more expensive metal reels. I've anchored two short pieces of 2x4 studs to a brick wall and then mounted the unit to the studs which is why I keep buying this unit, my mounting points are already there and it would be a pain to install a different brand. |
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