isn't it amazing what you can do with cable ties!
My first day out and my hose reels bust, bought another and the same thing happened. Hozelock reels come apart at the centre of the cone when using microbore because microbore has a tendency to contract on the reel causing it to split apart. A simple fix is to dril four holes on each of the four connections that hold the centre cone together then just cable tie them together. simple but effective!
After a little oiling my hose flies onto the reel now with no hic-ups.
Hope this helps anyone with hozelock reel problems.
Lee
