Ames Reel Easy Hose Reel Caddy Review and Information

The Ames Reel Easy Hose Reel Caddy is a middle of the road garden hose cart at a decent price. The Ames Reel Easy functions as a portable garden hose reel, but there are several flaws in the design that make us hesitant to recommend it, given its price point and its features list. In this article we will look closely at the Ames Reel Easy garden hose reel, and examine the advantages and disadvantages of this water hose cart. Perhaps the biggest selling point the Ames Reel Easy has is its two year warranty. If a portion of the Reel Easy breaks, Ames will send a replacement. That’s a big help, but given the issues many users have had with the Reel Easy, most consumers would be wiser to pick up another reel such as a self winding hose reel that works a little better.

Basic Specs

• Dimensions: 23“ x 22“ x 24“
• Weight: 11.4lbs
• Garden Hose Capacity: 175’ of 5/8“ garden hose
• Wheel Size: 8“

Basic Features

• Fold Down Handle for Storage
• Resin Plastic Construction
• Easy Assembly
• Leader Hose Included
• Handle Has Notches for Hose Attachments
• Warranty: 2 Years
• Country of Origin: China

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Who is the Ames Reel Easy Hose Reel Caddy For?

The Ames Reel Easy Water Hose Cart is designed for those that need a fairly high capacity garden hose reel, and also want a good deal of portability. If you’re planning on purchasing just a single large garden hose and moving the whole cart from one end of the house to the other, this system would work for you. However, there are problems with this sort of system, and some other ways of accomplishing these tasks may be preferable.

Long Garden Hoses

It is best to get no more garden hose than you actually need. Long garden hoses tend to be heavy and awkward to deal with, and if they break, you will likely have to purchase a whole new garden hose. Instead of using one long hose reel on a caddy, it may well be smarter to pick up multiple reels, either wall mount or deck mount, with shorter hoses. This will enable you to water everything you need to, but if something fails, you won’t need to get everything full sized again. Also, it is best to get no more garden hose than you actually need. Before you purchase, measure out your space to determine how much hose you’ll need. Getting excess hose simply means more weight, more water loss, and more chances for kinks and hiccups when winding.

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Ames Reel Easy Garden Hose Reel Review

This section breaks down many of the different aspects of the Ames Reel Easy Hose Reel, and covers each in depth.

The Frame

The frame of this unit is made of resin plastic, and should be relatively weather resistant. It is colored a two tone brown, and is not bad looking, rather innocuous. We would still suggest storing this garden hose reel in the shed during winter time, or covering it, if at all possible, even simply to protect the garden hose itself. The size of the Ames Garden Hose Caddy is compact, which is nice if you don’t have a ton of space, but want a large capacity garden hose cart. Ames was fairly efficient with its sizing on this unit.

The Cart Wheels

The wheels on the Ames Hose Reels are only 8“ in diameter. Due to their small size they often have a difficult time moving through even remotely-tall grass areas without tipping. This is a problem, and makes moving the cart from place to place a difficult endeavor for some. Larger, sturdier wheels would have made the cart much easier to move around, and really, what’s the point of having a garden hose caddy if you can’t move it through grass?

The Handle

The handle on the Ames Reel Easy is well designed, and folds down easily when not in use. This allows for compact storage of the Ames ReelEasy Garden Hose Cart. It also has a few handy slots routed out of the handle that allow for easy storage of nozzles, sprayers, etc. However, the handle is not attached to the cart with a fastener, and is instead just pressure-fitted together. It may dislocate when you push the cart up a steep incline, or move it through difficult terrain. If you’re moving up hill, be gentle with the Reel Easy.

The Hose Reel

The Hose Reel on the Ames ReelEasy is supposed to support 175’ of 5/8“ water hose. In practice, getting over 150’ of hose on the reel is difficult. The crank is not great quality, and if the hose has water in it when you crank it back up, you will have a hard time even reeling in 100’ of 5/8“ hose, let alone 150’. Additionally, the fittings that attach the leader hose to the Reel Easy hose reel are made of plastic, and are a significant point of failure. Often leaks will develop at the point where the plastic fitting connects to the leader hose and ultimately to the spigot, so treat this connection with care. With a garden hose caddy, one would assume that the leader hose is going to be connected and disconnected frequently, so why skimp on the leader hose fitting?

The Leader Hose

Ames includes approximately 4’ of black rubber leader hose, with rubber O rings. These leader hose is fine, and issues related to connection leakage is generally related to the fixture on the hose reel, not the fixture on the leader hose.

Replacement Parts

If your Ames Garden Hose cart has a broken or damaged part, you can order replacement parts without too much difficulty. See this diagram to identify the part you need, and you can find a replacement on Ames’ website.

The Warranty

Ames covers the Reel Easy 2385585 Garden Hose Reel under a two year warranty, which is a significant plus. We have commented on several potential points of failure, but Ames does back up their products with two years of protection. So if you need a replacement part in those two years, contact the company and they should be able to send it out to you.

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If you have your heart set on the Ames Reel Easy Garden Hose Reel, and are gentle with it, it will probably be fine for your needs. The best part about the Reel Easy is the 2 year warranty and easy ordering of parts, so if something breaks, you should be able to fix it fairly easily. Happy Gardening!