Hose reels in the farm shop

Hoses laying around the floor will be stepped on, tripped over, and damaged from welding and grinding sparks. It takes little time to coil up a hose after each use, but often we must quickly repair something and hurry back to the field, and as a result, the hose is left on the shop floor. Hoses are easier to store on reels, which encourages us to practice preventative maintenance. We have installed several reels for air hose near the shop doors, and as a result, are more apt to blow out radiators and air  filters, and even a dusty cab floor, since we can easily grab the hose and reel it back up when the job is finished.

The airhose reels shown attached to our compressor are made byRapid-Reel, PO Box 316, Orchard, NE 68764.These reels sell for about $70 at farm supply stores, and will hold 100 feet of 3/8 inch hose. We installed a second reel for half-inch hose, used for our inch drive impact. We only have fifty feet of half-inch on a reel, as there isn't room for a hundred feet of the larger hose. The reels wind up by a spinner on the outside of the reel, and come with a short leader hose to run from the compressor to the reel.

We had previously tried a lighter-weight reel, which broke at the swivel where the hose attaches. These rapid-reels have a larger swivel, and a stronger attachment bracket. James Wiman (right), our production assistant, made and designed the post holding the reels from a bent harrow bar that had been used on our Landol till-all. It attaches to the foot of the compressor, and to the compressor mounting bracket on top. This allows us to move the whole unit on the shop floor for cleaning and maintenance of the compressor. The coiled yellow hose is dropped over a J-shaped pipe bolted to the frame, and is used for inflating tires of machinery in the shop, and is handy to grab to dust off clothing and machinery.

To the left of the compressor, on the shop doorpost, you can see an electric cord reel which winds the cord into a nylon basket. While this does work for light cords, it is very light duty and troublesome. It is easy to grab a cord and plug in a drill or tool for a light-duty job, as well as to provide power for the battery charger shown on the floor.

On the opposite door of our shop is mounted an automatic spring-rewind reel from Coxreels. It has a ratchet device that holds the reel while the hose is extended. If one pulls lightly on the hose to release the ratchet, the hose reels up automatically, much like a window shade. These are nice to use, but very expensive, and have presented some problems over the years, mainly due to broken springs that have to be repaired. Another disadvantage is their fifty foot capacity, as opposed to the Rapid Reel, which will hold one hundred feet of three-eighths air hose.

We ran three-fourths inch pipe across the shop wall from the compressor to this reel. The reel assists us in general maintenance of equipment, as it is near the fuel storage and lubrication center for our farm. Having these air supplies close and handy usually result in better tire pressure, filter, and radiator maintenance. I purchased this reel (and many other tools for my shop) from A&I Supply, 405 Radio City Drive-RT 29, N.Pekin, IL 61554-1-800-260-2647

The green tub-like object on the left of this picture is a water hose reel called a Coilmaster, from Union Tools inc., 1051 O'Neill Drive S E, Hebron, OH 43025It does a nice job of storing 100 feet of half inch garden hose, with a capacity of 150 feet. It has a guide that works much like the old reel-type open fishing reels, leading the hose onto the coil without bunching. A large crank on top connects to a roller chain on the bottom that drives the inside reel. It can be staked down easily, so coiling the hose is effortless. The grey reel shown on the right is a very poorly constructed water hose reel that didn't last through a season of use before it spread apart and sprayed water everywhere. The construction is much too light to be usable, but it is nice when it works.

We also have a very durable reel for our high-pressure washer hose. We purchased it from Northern Hydraulics, PO Box 1499, Burnsville, MN 55337-0499. It takes a very heavy duty reel to hold the 3,500 to 4,000 lb. Pressure of a heavy-duty pressure washer, but having this attached to our hot-water washer really encourages all of us to wash equipment with greater frequency. Northern sells several grades of reels for various pressure requirements, and also sells the rapid-reel air hose reel, mentioned at the beginning of this article.

Each of these reels encourage us to keep the farm shop neater and less prone to accidents from tripping over loose hoses left unwound on the floor. Coxreels manufacture many very good reels for gas welding hose, but we prefer to use shorter hoses and bring the tanks to the job. Having an easy way to store these hoses results in less scuffing and fraying of the hose, and makes a neater shop easier to maintain.