For green spaces or for cleaning with large water jets, the use of water differs in quantity, but also in flow. The garden hose is one of the elements used to manage these parameters and to maintain the integrity of the environment to be “treated”. But to choose your garden hose, several factors come into play, starting with the profile of the targeted space. The diversity and multiplicity of offers on the market also leads to vigilance. Discover all our advice to correctly choose the garden hose you need through this article. Also find our selection of garden hoses available on My General Store.
The basic features of the garden hose
It is essential to know for what purpose the surface garden hose is intended, before purchasing it. Will it be used exclusively as a gardening tool, or also to clean the car and part of the house? Even if most pipes are versatile, the reality is that some equipment is more suitable than others for such or such work. Choosing your garden hose can therefore prove to be a more difficult task than expected, or involve risks if you do not have adequate data. But to avoid mistakes, you simply have to base yourself on a few variables that will determine the characteristics that the garden hose should have, and thus correctly choose your garden hose.
The dimensions of the garden hose
The question of the size of the duct is above all practical. But his consideration is relative. If having a long garden hose allows you to reach the confines of your 200 m² garden , this can maximize the constraints in terms of storage (the longer it is, the heavier and more cumbersome), of decompression after use , water flow, etc. A short pipe is dedicated to work in a more limited space, but offers the advantage of practicality. So you have to strike a balance all the time by taking a few steps. In particular, if the surface has to be defined for green fields (lawn, garden, etc.), it is the distance between the water. Best Garden Hoses
Source and the confines of the watering area that matters most . On My General Store, you can find different lengths of garden hose: 15m, 20m, 25m, or even 50m. Everyone can choose their garden hose adapted to the size of their garden and adapted to their needs.
Namely, that by making the mistake of buying a garden hose longer than necessary, we can always cut it. Unlike purchasing a hose that is too short where using a fitting can be even more problematic. Otherwise, the diameter of the garden hose also plays a role, knowing that a small gauge (12.5 – 13 mm) gives and supports high pressure (5 bars and more), while at 15 or 19 mm and beyond , the pressure supported and offered is lower (equal to or below 4 bars). But on the contrary, with regard to the flow, a larger diameter corresponds to a larger flow of water.
The strength and flexibility of the surface garden hose
Other constraints must be taken into account when choosing your garden hose, such as the fact that the tube will have to undergo twists and various water pressures , but also go through an environment with heavy traffic (frequently trampled ), or still withstand strong exposure to the sun or climatic and atmospheric aggressions. All these data lead in particular to choose resistant and flexible garden hoses at the same time. This of course consists in thinking about the quality of the manufacturing material.
To give these properties to the garden hose, their manufacture involves the use of materials known for their resilience and their stability under stresses. Previously, rubber and vinyl exclusively made up the ultimate in pipes. These materials are still the basic elements of high-end garden hoses today, but are increasingly challenged by new and improved plastic elements, mainly PVC. However, the quality of the base material alone is no longer sufficient today to manage water pressure and other external stressors.
So what pipe design for what purpose?
Today, the norm is the multilayer process: a design with at least three layers of materials. But a 3-layer garden hose is a minimum, even if it is already satisfactory for use at medium frequency and for switching to a pressure of 20 bars. To hope for better, it is necessary to turn to pipes with 4, 5 or even 6 layers … The multilayer composition consists of a single outer layer (the envelope) and one or two inner layers (the one which is in contact with water ) , and which are composed of the base material (PVC, rubber…). For the most successful pipes, the enveloping layer is often treated anti-UV and anti-algae.
But what makes the specificity of multilayer garden hoses is the interlayer (s) (between the 1st and the second) which serve as reinforcement. This part is used to maximize its flexibility, its non-deformability, its resistance to pressure, etc. It is at this level therefore that brands implement the maximum of technicality. This layer, which can be double or triple depending on the model (4-layer pipe, 5 layers, etc.) consists of a kind of mesh (often made of polyester, nylon or textile fiber yarn in addition to a metallic wire spiral), the realization is done in two ways:
The covering: it is a frame arranged diagonally and crossed preventing the inner layer from swelling, optimizing the resistance to pressure.
The knitting: an interleaved sheath (spiral) which gives an anti-twisting property of the pipe. It is the flagship technology of the moment since it also maximizes the resistance of the pipe. But for even more efficiency, this system is redoubled from time to time.
Other types of high-tech pipes
As technological developments have progressed, garden hoses have improved even more, to meet increasingly specific needs. Next to the high pressure washing pipes, we thus discover:
The drip hoses for watering which aims for a drip water distribution to save. The hose is perforated at regular intervals for the attachment of drippers and sprinklers.
Micro porous pipes are also manufactured for micro-irrigation. They transpire water in small quantities, to support certain types of plantations (rock garden, vegetable garden) at their base.
The extensible pipes are made of latex and a polyester envelope, to have at least double or triple its initial length. Lightness and its anti-twist nature are its main assets.
