My Old Plastic Hose Reel Snapped Again

Last week when I was rewinding my garden hose after watering tomatoes, that cheap plastic reel cracked right in half. Water sprayed everywhere like a broken fire hydrant. The mounting bracket snapped clean off too - plastic parts were just littering my garage floor. Felt like throwing money straight into the trash can.

Time for Some Real Testing

Went down to the hardware store and grabbed two heavy-duty reels off the shelf - one shiny metal beast and that plastic "premium" one claiming to be indestructible. Got them home and unboxed both in my driveway.

First thing I did? Yanked the metal reel out of its box and dropped it straight onto the concrete from waist height. CLANG! Sounded like a garbage can lid hitting pavement. Scratched it up real bad, but zero cracks or dents. The plastic one got the same treatment - dropped it and heard this sickening CRACK. Didn't completely break but got this nasty spiderweb fracture near the handle mount.

Stressing Them Out Properly

Mounted both reels side-by-side on my garage wall using their included brackets. Loaded each with 100 feet of my thickest garden hose - that rubber monster weighs like 40 pounds when full. Started cranking them hard:

• The metal reel turned smooth like butter. Gear mechanism didn't even grunt.
• The plastic one started groaning halfway through. Saw the casing actually flexing when the hose got heavy.

Left both reels hanging with full hoses overnight. Next morning? Plastic reel looked like it was doing the limbo - sagged nearly two inches lower than when I hung it. Metal one stayed put like a stone statue.

Final Showdown

Decided to test the retraction springs. Yanked out 50 feet of hose and let go:

• Metal reel snapped that hose back so fast it whistled
• Plastic reel sucked it back like an old man breathing - slow and wheezy

After two weeks of daily torture tests, here's the damage report:

• Metal reel: Scratched all to hell but functions 100%
• Plastic reel: Base bracket cracked, retraction spring gave out, handle loose

What This Dummy Learned

Don't trust fancy words on plastic packaging. That "heavy duty" plastic reel cost only $10 less than the metal one. Now I'm out $45 plus my broken hose reel deposit bottle money. Metal reels are ugly tanks that won't quit. Plastic reels? Basically garden decorations that break if you glare at them too hard. My garage now smells like WD-40 from the metal reel maintenance, but I'll take that over picking up plastic shards any day.