[Blue Frog Systems]

Is a £500+vat (£600) hose reel the only option for an electric reel ?

13 years in , realising i need to make some changes  to the way i work. Ive changed my pole use and next is the reel.

Are there any other options for an electric reel ? £600 is a chunk

[Smudger]

There is a diy option if you search or bite the bullet and get one

Depends on if you REALLY need one or not

Darran

[Stoots]

Not at all, I have 2 electric reels. Both D.I.Y 50 quid a pop.

I use the cheapest pure freedom reels for the conversion.

The pure freedom reelmaster looks a really nice bit of kit though. 600 quid is only a couple of days money just buy one will last you many years.

Says me , too tight to fork out 

In terms of do you need one, yes absolutely you do. For a while  I had 1 leccy reel and 1 manual for employee working 2 man. When I had to reel his in it really reminded me of the Ballache. Its one of those things you don't think you need  till you get one then you wish you had done it years ago.

[Pete Thompson]

I pondered this exact question for a few months. ‘It’s just so expensive’ ‘do I really need it’

Eventually I got one, £510 inc vat.

It was a life changer. I had not realised just how much of my energy was being used up by reeling in.

I will never ever ever go back to manual reeling in, never. I have less muscle aches and more energy.

It’s faster than manually reeling in, but that’s not the main benefit, it’s the feeling less fatigued at the end of the day.

It’s no exaggeration to say I get through 10-20% more work per day with a powered reel, purely because I don’t get as tired. That fact alone has paid for itself.

It’s so essential to my operation that I bought a 2nd reel as a spare in case the first one broke and needed repair. I don’t want to be without one even for a few days.

Save yourself from tendinitis, repetitive strain injury, carpal tunnel syndrome and whatever else wrist and elbow injuries there are. Just bit the bullet and get one.

[Jonny 87]

There is a diy option if you search or bite the bullet and get one

Depends on if you REALLY need one or not

Darran

If I had employees doing the reeling in I would ask the same question. 😁

As a sole trader though I’d say go for it. If your handy with diy then make your own, but if you want something solid and reliable then go for a bought one.

It’s a no brainer to me. Who would rather manually use their shoulder to wind in a hose as opposed to pushing a button. It just saves effort and energy while minimising RSI.

It has to be better for your health in the long run, wether you realise it at the time or not.

[simon w]

I'm guessing the reelmaster type reels once fitted aren't easy to take out to make room for other equipment on days spent doing other cleaning jobs such as pressure washing where you need the room the reels take up, one benefit of manual is you can easily take them out of your van to make space for other cleaning kit.  If your windows only I can see the benefits of going electric reel.

[AuRavelling79]

Maybe just put reinforced pole hose on your reel. Light as a feather.

[Stoots]

Maybe just put reinforced pole hose on your reel. Light as a feather.

Doesn't it get in an absolute tangled mess ?

My pole hose is a nightmare I wouldn't want 30 or more metres of it,surely it loops up and kinks and won't lay flat ?

[dazmond]

Is a £500+vat (£600) hose reel the only option for an electric reel ?

13 years in , realising i need to make some changes  to the way i work. Ive changed my pole use and next is the reel.

Are there any other options for an electric reel ? £600 is a chunk

black and decker drill on the reel spindle.......

trust me the pure freedom ones are great....ok £600 is a chunk of money but its not THAT expensive when you see the build quality of the reelmaster...its a solid,robust bit of kit.....

[SB Cleaning]

Is a £500+vat (£600) hose reel the only option for an electric reel ?

13 years in , realising i need to make some changes  to the way i work. Ive changed my pole use and next is the reel.

Are there any other options for an electric reel ? £600 is a chunk

black and decker drill on the reel spindle.......

trust me the pure freedom ones are great....ok £600 is a chunk of money but its not THAT expensive when you see the build quality of the reelmaster...its a solid,robust bit of kit.....

Yep..
You'll soon forget about the money once you get one.

[NWH]

When you get lower back and shoulder pain if they start charging 2 grand a pop you’ll be first in the queue.

[windowswashed]

I got purefreedom hosereel with a swivel plate and can lift off the hosereel in seconds if need be for pressure washing, etc. Use to use 8mm normal hose on it but with all the slopes, it's a bit of a strain on the motor so I use Reach-it's silicon 8mm internal and 10mm external hose which is much lighter and doesn't kink as easily and reduces any strain on the hosereel motor. It's also much quicker to reel in.

[spudd]

Sounds like a lot of money but guy won’t regret it..

I was exactly the same mind set.. bit the bullet bought a reel master was so impressed I bought another now had twin stacked in the van for me and my lad and it’s honestly one of the best investment I’ve made

[KS Cleaning]

600 quid, pfffft, that’s about 6 hours work for most on here! …….or 7 if you’ve got a manual reel😂

[windowswashed]

I use to think I was quick reeling in hose but it's so much easier to press a button and let the electric motor do the work for you. Noticed I had more energy at the end of each working day so anything for an easier life.

[Frankybadboy]

had two electric reels and had to go back to manual reels for 6months after van got written off long story.

for someone with back issues,then its a no brainer and the cost shouldn't come in to it.

never again go back

[Splash & dash]

I don’t think anything in this world is worth what it costs , but we have no choice to pay the price for things , as for £600 for a reel I agree it’s a lot of money but when you look at the fact that a lot use an extream 22, or 25 pole everyday and that’s a lot more than £600 and probably will last 2 years or so a reel should last considerably longer and as such is probably better value for money than the pole .

[Smudger]

I don’t think anything in this world is worth what it costs , but we have no choice to pay the price for things , as for £600 for a reel I agree it’s a lot of money but when you look at the fact that a lot use an extream 22, or 25 pole everyday and that’s a lot more than £600 and probably will last 2 years or so a reel should last considerably longer and as such is probably better value for money than the pole .

good post

[NWH]

A pole and reel earn you 1000s and 1000s of pounds you need to look at it logically.

[Smudger]

A pole and reel earn you 1000s and 1000s of pounds you need to look at it logically.

no point talking to you then is there

Darran

[AuRavelling79]

Maybe just put reinforced pole hose on your reel. Light as a feather.

Doesn't it get in an absolute tangled mess ?

My pole hose is a nightmare I wouldn't want 30 or more metres of it,surely it loops up and kinks and won't lay flat ?

No. I use Gardiner's normal yellow on my poles but I buy red reinforced from Soap National for the first (as in the first part that gets pulled off the reel) 50 metres or so on my reel.

I also favour light Claber reels as the one I mainly use gets lifted out to get a better angle from time to time.

[robbo333]

I've just got the new 'Combat Ready' electric reel from Waterworks at the show price of £350 plus VAT.

Absolutely brilliant!

[dazmond]

I've just got the new 'Combat Ready' electric reel from Waterworks at the show price of £350 plus VAT.

Absolutely brilliant!

waterworks plastic electric reels have been known to have a lot of issues...belts snapping,switches breaking,motor not powerful enough and the general cheap nature of the reel itself has been a problem for lots of window cleaners who ve bought them.....hopefully theyve ironed out these by now

[Pete Thompson]

waterworks plastic electric reels have been known to have a lot of issues...belts snapping,switches breaking,motor not powerful enough and the general cheap nature of the reel itself has been a problem for lots of window cleaners who ve bought them.....hopefully theyve ironed out these by now

Er what?

How many have you had daz? And how many of those have exhibited these problems?

I have two 3D waterworks reels.

No belts have snapped.

The motors are incredibly powerful! I was joking the other day that if I threw the hose over the top of a house, I think the reel could probably  pull me up the wall and onto the roof!

The switches have been fine, (but I did modify mine so that they work with a remote control, rather than a wired switch).

What problems have you had with your waterworks reels daz?

Or are you just repeating hearsay?

[Simon Trapani]

Yep, my waterworks works fine too. Just wish it had a speed control switch like on a scalextric controller.😁

[Splash & dash]

waterworks plastic electric reels have been known to have a lot of issues...belts snapping,switches breaking,motor not powerful enough and the general cheap nature of the reel itself has been a problem for lots of window cleaners who ve bought them.....hopefully theyve ironed out these by now

Er what?

How many have you had daz? And how many of those have exhibited these problems?

I have two 3D waterworks reels.

No belts have snapped.

The motors are incredibly powerful! I was joking the other day that if I threw the hose over the top of a house, I think the reel could probably  pull me up the wall and onto the roof!

The switches have been fine, (but I did modify mine so that they work with a remote control, rather than a wired switch).

What problems have you had with your waterworks reels daz?

Or are you just repeating hearsay?

We have 6 of them and they are good reels we are long term testing them for water works and there have been a few issues but they listen act quickly to alter the design , I would recommend them I also have pure freedom reel masters in a twin stack stainless steel  cost  nearly 2 k they are also good reels but not without there issues as well

[tlwcs]

I've just got the new 'Combat Ready' electric reel from Waterworks at the show price of £350 plus VAT.

Absolutely brilliant!

waterworks plastic electric reels have been known to have a lot of issues...belts snapping,switches breaking,motor not powerful enough and the general cheap nature of the reel itself has been a problem for lots of window cleaners who ve bought them.....hopefully theyve ironed out these by now

Lol

[zesty]

My only issue with the waterworks is the power, I don’t think it’s great, especially when comparing to my old diy one.

I think this is obviously more an issue with all the reels, being they are only 12volt motors.

Sometimes it really struggles to pull the hose round tighter bends. Gets a bit annoying when you end up pulling half the hose round the house to ‘help’ the reel out.

[Spruce]

My only issue with the waterworks is the power, I don’t think it’s great, especially when comparing to my old diy one.

I think this is obviously more an issue with all the reels, being they are only 12volt motors.

Sometimes it really struggles to pull the hose round tighter bends. Gets a bit annoying when you end up pulling half the hose round the house to ‘help’ the reel out.

Are they actually 12v motors or are they still using the 24v scooter motor rebadged for 12v?  If they are then the motor will run at half the speed and have half the torque.

[Blue Frog Systems]

Thanks for all the replys... ill stick it on the to buy list.

[Simon Trapani]

My only issue with the waterworks is the power, I don’t think it’s great, especially when comparing to my old diy one.

I think this is obviously more an issue with all the reels, being they are only 12volt motors.

Sometimes it really struggles to pull the hose round tighter bends. Gets a bit annoying when you end up pulling half the hose round the house to ‘help’ the reel out.

This was the one that came with my 3d reel a few months back:

Are they actually 12v motors or are they still using the 24v scooter motor rebadged for 12v?  If they are then the motor will run at half the speed and have half the torque.

[robbo333]

I've just got the new 'Combat Ready' electric reel from Waterworks at the show price of £350 plus VAT.

Absolutely brilliant!

waterworks plastic electric reels have been known to have a lot of issues...belts snapping,switches breaking,motor not powerful enough and the general cheap nature of the reel itself has been a problem for lots of window cleaners who ve bought them.....hopefully theyve ironed out these by now

A window cleaning friend of mine has had a Waterworks Reel for over 3 years and no problems.
That's what helped me make the decision.
It's early days, but so far it feels rock solid.

[Frankybadboy]

i have the water works and the purefreedom reel and can honestly say the w/w reel is a bag of NWH talk


everything i think of has gone wrong with it,and still it plays up,yet the P/F has nothing gone wrong with it

[dazmond]

waterworks plastic electric reels have been known to have a lot of issues...belts snapping,switches breaking,motor not powerful enough and the general cheap nature of the reel itself has been a problem for lots of window cleaners who ve bought them.....hopefully theyve ironed out these by now

Er what?

How many have you had daz? And how many of those have exhibited these problems?

I have two 3D waterworks reels.

No belts have snapped.

The motors are incredibly powerful! I was joking the other day that if I threw the hose over the top of a house, I think the reel could probably  pull me up the wall and onto the roof!

The switches have been fine, (but I did modify mine so that they work with a remote control, rather than a wired switch).

What problems have you had with your waterworks reels daz?

Or are you just repeating hearsay?

i wouldnt buy one mate...they are rubbish compared to the pure freedom reels....i know 2 window cleaners that have got them and they ve had endless problems...they should of never been brought to market without thorough testing...instead window cleaners became their guinea pigs after forking out £400+!

[zesty]

Just waiting for mr G to bring out a ‘gardiner xtreme electric hose reel’

100mph reel in speed and the power of a bull on steroids.

That’d suit me