This was the least expensive wall-mount garden hose reel I could find that conformed to my specifications. I wanted a sturdy metal reel that would hold a lot of hose because I have only one hose bib and often have to pull 150' of 5/8" hose to reach areas in the garden around the other side of the house. I also had the old reel mounted on a pivoting post (made out of old well pipe and scrap lumber, but that's another story) and to preserve this system I needed to bolt the new reel to a chunk of vertical 2 by 10 about two feet long. I prefer this post arrangement because it allows the aforementioned swivel and because it puts the reel a few feet from the house, whereas a wall-mounted reel inevitably drips and sprays right up against the house, which is bad for many reasons. Also, given standard 16" wall stud spacing in USA, mounting a 14" hose reel baseplate across two studs often requires a scab board affixed to the exterior wall. First positive, this reel adapts well to different mounting arrangements because the large, heavy-gauge back plate, which comes with 8 pre-drilled mounting holes, can be drilled in other positions if the stock holes don't fit your mounting profile. Second positive, the reel turns smoothly and has a good wide drum area. Third positive, the rotary union is tight and leak-free (it's only been two weeks, but if you read the reviews, a lot of the cheaper reels leak right out of the box). Sole possible negative, the reel flanges of this reel are stamped and spoked, which means that the inside surface looks like it could wear and fray the hose over the long run, at least in comparison with the solid, spreading flanges of some (much) more expensive reels. On my reel, these spokes appear finished and smooth, so I hope it won't cause trouble. First question, I haven't found the spec for replacement O-rings for said rotary union. I may yet hear from the seller on this. Second question, and this is not limited to this brand, the hose drum core diameter is pretty small, causing the inner windings of hose to be tighter than is good for the hose material and water flow. If manufacturers would offer a hose drum of, say, 8" core diameter, we would lose only a few feet of small inner windings and the hose would be less stressed.
