Will not hold a 100-ft. hose.

The hose caddy is too small for a 100-foot hose. The guide that aligns the hose while winding it onto the spool does a poor job of keeping it level. The hose will lay uneven and as you get close to winding in the last 10 feet of hose, it bunches and gets stuck. If you are able to get all the hose on the reel, it sticks and jams when pulling the hose out again. The caddy just needs to be slightly bigger to accommodate 100-ft of hose. Unfortunately, I bought two of these before I realized they were junk. I'm very disappointed.

Works until it doesn't.

After four or five years of three season use and being stored in a heated basement in the winter, this reel finally broke.

Works as expected

The reel itself is just what I wanted, size and likely to last a long time. Not plastic, because I wanted a metal real for stability. I use a heavy duty 75ft hose, which is just a little bit too much for this reel. The reel fits the hose to capacity, and does work if you carefully retract the extended heavy duty hose back onto the reel (be sure the hose can empty while being rolled). My only complaint is that if the hose is not rolled on the reel carefully, when you use it the next time the hose does not roll out properly, and I have had this reel tip over and not release the hose. I had to work around the messed up hose to get it fully extended.

Nice but Flawed

I have a different version of this product, but it is very similar and from the same brand. Mine works great and I like it, but it has a fault that this one shares. They both have the same handle/crank. I pulled the hose too far from the side and tipped the box over. In the process, the handle it the ground and broke off. Ames replaced it for me under warranty even though it was my own fault. Another time I hit the handle with a ladder and it again broke off. Now Ames says they have supplier problems and can't sell me a replacement handle. The handles should break that easily. I do not recommend this productd.

Far better than others

I love this hose reel box. Compared to the plastic one I used to have, it is light years better. First of all, it is smaller because there is no wasted space inside. In addition to the leak-proof plumbing, it has an efficient roll-up mechanism that keeps the hose neatly stored with no tangling. The hose is easy to pull out, and after using, the crank works really well for putting it away. Fabulous design.

Best hose reel:)

This is the 3rd one I tried for hose reel types. I love this one. I don't have to do anything. It has a self-guided reel so I just turn the handle and it automatically winds the hose up in a straight order across the shaft. It has slightly pointy legs that you can put in dirt. I just put the legs on bricks and pull gently and smoothly when pulling the hose out and I haven't had any problems with the reel box moving or pulling. I actually bought a second one as well to put in my front yard.

Horrible!

We previously purchased a different metal hose reel box and it has been great. So we decided to try this one for our back yard because we couldn't get the same one we already had in the front yard. It is horrible! It doesn't fit a 100 ft hose, like said on the box. The hose gets stuck inside and you can't pull it out easily at all. The box also tips over when you try to pull it out. I'm so beyond frustrated and can't wait to bring this thing back.

Why did I wait so long to get this...

I had a 100 ft hose that was just laying on the concrete porch, leaves and dirt and sticks were always stuck under it, and although I always coiled it neatly on the ground, my porch always looked untidy. When we bought this hideaway hose reel, I told my husband that all that hose was never going to fit in that tiny box. But after he attached the feet and made sure the hose connection was secure, that big ole hose just disappeared inside the box! I love the guide that makes sure the hose doesn't bunch up. I own another Ames hose reel that's plastic and very good also, but this one is like a miracle. Love it. And it doesn't leak.

Growing on me

No half stars, so I lean to 4 stars. After about a year I'm coming around to like the hose reel. I have a 100ft hose and it fits without any struggle. My issues have not been quality issues, the quality is very nice. When the reel was new, however, we had issues with the hose getting tangled inside. I assumed my wife was doing something wrong (being honest), but I found myself having the same issues after careful winding. I think the issue was the belt system, in that the spindle spins too freely, so it would back out and create slack inside which would lap over. I'm careful about making it taut when winding and no problems for awhile.

Smooth operator

I finally have a reliable and easy to reel hose reel, for real. I've had my time with plastic and automatic ones in my time. This is heavy and durable; you get what you pay for. It run so smooth that my wife doesn't mind rolling it up. This is the second one I've bought. It works as well as smooth and tangle free as my backyard one. No more searching for a good hose reel for me. This doesn't leak and is easy to assemble. I had my son put it together. I just had to show him the pull-down leaver on the side to place the hose connector when assembling it. He didn't read the directions at all. :-)

Totally leaks

I bought last fall. Assembly went fine, however water inlet, (silver piece) just pushes in on the side. Then you attach the leader hose to that. I'm no expert but it didn't make sense on how it wouldn't leak. It did and I wanted to return it since it was so expensive but time slipped away from me and missed the return window. Looked at it again this summer, took out the hose and tried to see if I could fix it. I do not see any sort of option to do so. I don't if I am missing a piece but it simply didn't work well from day one. This is the most I have ever spent on a hose reel and it's the worse I have ever owed. I even went to the manufacture website for more details but didn't find anything. Now it leaks so bad it just floods the area. It will be going in the trash.

Good, but not their best

I really wanted another 150' reel model, but it seems to be on global backorder, so I settled for this one. I was concerned by the many reviews complaining about the leg mounting screws, but with a little care I had no trouble attaching them. The fittings are good and the box is sturdy, but it isn't the heavy-duty feel of the 150' model. It is too easy to pull this box around just by unrolling the hose. One online listing (I don't remember where) said it doesn't come with the connector hose, but it does.

NeverLeak? Not so much!

Assembly is quick and easy. It does a good job of rolling up 100 feet of hose.

Very good hose reel.

This a well built unit, It's all steel construction should make it last a long time. It is attractive and compact. As advertised, no leaking so far.

Great purchase

Well Made and looks nice. I took the recommendation of other reviewer‘s and went ahead and bought different screws. I didn’t even put the screws in that came with it and so far it’s been holding up well and we have been using our hose every other day for watering. Did not use electricians tape for the hose connection but plan on going back and doing that as it is leaking a bit from the hose to box connection, but overall seems well-built and has been reeling in the hose nicely. I do feel that it’s a little nicer than the plastic boxes and it has held up for the month that we have been using it.

Buy it! Best I have ever owned.

Well made, and very easy to put together. For those who don't like the screws, use a longer #2 Philips. The foot of the leg makes you "tilt" the screwdriver in order to tighten the screw, so use an 8 inch or longer screw driver, push down on the head and no problems to tighten the legs. The construction is strong. The crank is heave duty and well made. The unit automatic wind is sinked to the handle so the hose goes on almost perfect. And "No leaks" It is well worth the money over the $45 plastic units.

You need a MADEINCHINA size 3 Phillips screwdriver

I work as a laborer for a major industrial supply company and when I saw the reviews about needing new screws I preemptively went on our catalog to look up and buy what I need only to see that size screw comes standard in a size 3 Phillips head size not a size 2 which is your common Phillips head size. Having opened the box And seeing the head was not a size 2 on the screws I felt quite smug and grabbed my made in America 15 year old Craftsman size 3 Phillips screwdriver only to find it didn’t fit. Befuddled I wondered if they made a size 2 1/2, so I grabed my 101 piece made in China security bit set only to find there was no 2 1/2, but the made in China size 3 fit like a glove and the screws went in with minimal resistance without stripping. Hope this helps.

Reel it in baby

One of the best purchases I have made. This Hose Reel works great. It allows me to move about the yard with ease, never having to worry about it getting stuck. or falling over as the wheeled hose carts do. Easy to assemble very thoughtful assembly and design. I don't have to get my hands dirty reeling the hose in and guiding it any more. So happy I bought a second for the other side of the house. I use it with one of the new lighter hoses by Zero-G. o far that was another great purchase.

So great, I bought two!

I bought one of these hose reels to use in the front of my house. I liked it because it was decorative and that there was a guide to allow the hose to go on evenly. Putting it together was easy and it didn't take very long. It is a little pricey, but it is 100% worth every penny. So much so I bought a second one for the back of my house! In the summer we use the hose a lot. I was so tired of the plastic hose reels. This is great quality, easy to use and pretty too!

Absolute junk

This is a nice looking hose reel, but that's about it. This thing would constantly get tangled. The way the legs mount to the body of the reel is sub-par, at best, as well as the metal used to make the legs. Last time I used this reel, I was pulling all of the hose out so that I could rewind it, again, and the front legs folded under the body of the reel. By that point, I was tired of messing with it. In to the garbage it went. Save your money and buy something better.