[paul mc]

how much would any guys be prepared to pay for such device.  on another note have a job which is four storeys high. what length of pole would i need and any1 know roughly how mch it would cost

[GAZZA B]

Hi Guys,

In my past life, I was production manager for a company that made reels.
we made one for the MOD for their carriers, it went on the side of the ship to communicate to the pilots, it had a spring inside, with a locking gog, it went out 75ft, all made of S/Steel,

Gazza

[GAZZA B]

This is it

Gazza

[David Slater]

This is it

Gazza

Very nice Gazza!

Questions -

what does it weigh?
how much?
how much power does it draw?

[David Slater]

This is it

Gazza,

One more thing.....

Any chance of posting up a youtube video of it in action?

[GAZZA B]

David,

It needs no power! you just pull and wind up a spring inside,
it has a self lock,
Then pull and it will wind up under pressure from sprig.

it will last forever, all S/Steel

the down side, it will cost around £750

Gazza

[STEVE-UK]

if its designed to take 75foot of hose,would it still work if there was 200 foot of hose on that same reel

[GAZZA B]

No, it will only take around 100ft

Gazza

[Clive McDonald]

You talk about this as if it can't be done. I and others use an electric reel every day and for every job and we've been doing it for months.
The big benefit for me is that it makes the job easier. The only ceiling on my earnings is what i am physicaly capable of. I find the work hard and I get tired, so this little helper that doesn't need paying but whizzzes the hose in without any effort on my part has become a good friend.

My Drill is a good one- in fact Matt laughed when he saw what I was using it for and said that a cheap B&Q jobbie would do exactly the same thing and could also be wired up directly to the leisure battery. I'm not very technical and not that good a DIY, but the point is that this method has worked perfectly for me since the very first day.

Can I take my reel out of the van and use it via remote control? No. And even if I could I wouldn't want to lift a reel in and out on every job.That's just stupid.And as for remote control i'm not sure how safe that would be. To use an electic reel you've got have proper hose disipline if you want it to work well, safely, and avoid tangles. You walk out with the hose, and upon completion you walk back to the van with it and then when the pole and tap etc is back on board you wind in.

Some of the comments on what people are prepared to spend have been a bit silly. The guy saying £75 yes, £150 no,
well for a start a standard reel costs more than £150. A certain supplier who shall remain nameless who still uses hoselock reels in some of his vehicles always puts up a rolls royce type reel as being the best but this has no connection with motorised reels.

My estimate is that the electric reel saves about twenty five minutes every day and leaves the operator a lot less tired. How much is that worth?

[Clive McDonald]

I wasn't taking offence. There are some motorised reels on the market circa £600 but no one that I know of has used one for this application.To get a guidance system at the front would be extra and quite a bit extra.Also I'm not sure how fast they are, my reel is very fast.

I can't do anything about getting the reel off the van, but if you are prepared to fix it on the van, all you do is take the handle off and drive it with a drill.

I think lifting a reel on and off is stupid, that's not the same as saying you or anyone else is stupid. Cleantech list 100m minibore on reel £163 inc vat.

[L.J.Thorpe]

wcw £126 inc vat and del.
i would prefer a reel outside van
but if it was £150 and self contained i would think that was more than reasonable,cheap even
doubt very much tht anyone could do em for that price tho
at least not until plenty had been sold
still not convinced about how useful it would be
mind you i never realised how much difference a van mount tank would make
so who knows

[windowwashers]

I wasn't taking offence. There are some motorised reels on the market circa £600 but no one that I know of has used one for this application.To get a guidance system at the front would be extra and quite a bit extra.Also I'm not sure how fast they are, my reel is very fast.

I can't do anything about getting the reel off the van, but if you are prepared to fix it on the van, all you do is take the handle off and drive it with a drill.

I think lifting a reel on and off is stupid, that's not the same as saying you or anyone else is stupid. Cleantech list 100m minibore on reel £163 inc vat.

Clive why do you sday it is stupid to take the reel out ? I do this and can put the reel in the direction where I want to go something if van mounted you cant as far as I am aware, I have tried the reel inside and it was a bit of a nightmare to be honest.

Your view please on this


Ian.

[L.J.Thorpe]

got to agree with ian
i can put the reel outside of either side door or at the rear
and because of fiats great panel fit :
close em without restricting flow
much more versatile imo

[STEVE-UK]

thats a shame coz i was going to buy this one on ebay  280251716692

[paul mc]

hi guys looked at a few websites to source out products.  if i could sell it at £150 without reel i would be reasonably happy .will try get video up of it working if i can. i take your point about being able to set the reel outside the van but i find there it easier this way.  i no alot of wfp men would be interested if only to save time an energy reelin in hose.

[Clive McDonald]

I hope it hasn't come across that I'm sticking up for my system. It's simple and it works very well, but it does involve mounting it on the van. If I put a video up  you would be surprised. I think I've said this before but anyone who has seen it in action gives it a show stopper reaction.


To make my or anyone else's system work off the van is a lot more involved. There has to be a guidance system feeding in because a towel feed won't do(you just blew your £150 budget right there), and there would need to be power and control mechanisms so that you did not need to bend down.

Were you to get the product you want in my opinion it's value to your business would be £1,000 plus. It's very like having a hot system, once you have used one you will never ever go back to the old way.

As regards Ian asking about problems from the reel being fixed on the van, I park at the most appropriate angle I can ,open the side door, grab the shoulder harness and pole and walk away. The brush hits the glass in under twenty seconds of my arrival.

Every day I have about five and a half hours to hit a two-er, I'm 53yrs old and overweight so how else am I going to do it? I keep saying that I find the work hard, and I do, so I am prepared to invest in anything that will make the job either easier or quicker -for me-.

[jdp]

I have read the various notes  comments but am still not clear as to who, if anyone, is selling, or prepared to sell, some form of automation for winding the hose in at the end of the job.

A comment has been made as to how much time, over the whole day, can be saved - absolutely spot on as is the comment as to reduced effort.

I am interested in seeing and potentially buying a system - any offers?

JD

07973 174759

[paul mc]

hi jdp i have the product for reeling in hose very easily.  i have not finalised it a few things on the desighn front but will call u when its sorted.

[Clive McDonald]

You are asking quite a difficult technical question almost impossible DIY and unclear whether whats available commercially is suitable for us or not. Are you going to be the one to spend £600 to find out?

If you want to use a drill you need a two speed drill and must use it on the lowest speed setting. You can get a socket driver and a deep 22m socket from screwfix. Remove the winding handle from the reel and the socket fits over it. Do not try to hold the drill yourself it must be resting on something. An upturned bucket will do. Allow the hose to return by holding it in a  damp towel.

Some people find that this snatches and because of this I have introduced a dog leg clutch into the drive. This works the same way as a starting handle for a car used to work.

Maybe I should sell the clutches and then you could use any motor you like.They are very simple, but they are not an off the shelf item.

[paul mc]

well lads finally got video of hose geting reeled in not sure if this video will work. if anyone knows how to put the video on the forum any help would be appreciated. the video was taken at night and at a bad angle but u wil see that 100 metres of house is reeled in just over a minute