Flowmaster Retractable Hose Reel Review
The RL Flo-Master 65HR8 is one of the most popular retractable water hose reels on Amazon.com It has an unobtrusive design, and some excellent features that make it a compelling pick among retractable garden hose reels. This article is a review of the Flowmaster Retractable Hose Reel, and it covers all of the main pros and cons of this garden hose reel. If you would like to compare the Flo-Master against several other retractable garden hose reels, please see our Self Winding Garden Hose review article for more information.
What are the Basic Features of the FlowMaster Retractable Hose Reel?
To start with, you may want to take a quick look at this video showing the basic features of the FloMaster garden hose reel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mq92v8SNIs
Included in the Package
- Retractable Hose Reel
- Wall Mount Kit
- 65’ of 5/8“ Garden Hose with included brass fittings (around $30 to purchase something similar on Amazon)
- Spray Nozzle with 8 spray modes (around $10 to purchase something similar on Amazon)
- Instructions
Who Needs the Flo-Master Self Wind Garden Hose Reel?
The Flo-Master retractable hose reel is ideal for those who own their homes, and have a garden or lawn area that can be covered with 65’ of hose, and that needs regular watering. The Flo-Master attaches to the exterior wall of a house using a bracket and four bolts, so if you are a renter, you probably don’t want to bolt anything to the house that may need to be removed in the future. You could consider mounting the Flo-Master to a piece of wood sticking in the ground, like a 2“ x 6“ piece of pressure treated wood, but that seems like an unnecessary step when you could purchase ground-located hose reel. We would suggest going with a Suncast PW100 PowerWind garden hose reel if you prefer not to mount anything permanently.
Garden Hose Reel and Housing
The RL Flowmaster retractable water hose reel has several aspects pointing in its favor, and hits a good price point. However, it has its drawbacks, as well.
Competing products at a slightly higher price point use steel for the spring reel, which is much stronger and more long lived. The FloMaster features 65’ of retractable water hose, and if you pull it out all the way, you will see a yellow sticker at the end indicating the end of the line. It is not advised to pull the unit further than this line, as you can damage the retraction mechanism. The hose is 5/8“ wide, but the internal diameter of the hose is fairly small, which can restrict water flow on lower settings. The whole housing is plastic, including the reel mechanism. The reel mechanism can break, so buyers should be aware that they are relying on a plastic piece to reel in their hose. Competing products at a slightly higher price point use steel for the spring reel, which is much stronger and more long lived.
Wall Mounting System
The wall-mounting system works well, though you should be careful to make sure that you are mounting the FlowMaster into a stud in the wall, if you have wood, cement, or vinyl siding on your house. Use a stud finder to find the stud, or mount on a corner where you are guaranteed to find studs. To remove the Flo-Master for storage, simply grasp the carrying handle and remove the pin. This will separate the housing from the wall mount bracket. Bring the housing inside for winter storage.
Potential Issues
Some buyers have found that the garden hose ceases to retract into the mechanism. This can happen due to a variety of factors, but if it occurs, the best remedy is to do the following:
- Shut off the water
- Expel any water from the hose using the nozzle
- Pull the hose out of the housing to the yellow line
- Give it a slight tug to initiate retraction
- Slowly let the Flo-Master reel in the hose
If this doesn’t solve your problem, you may have some damaged parts. Root Lowell, the company that manufactures the FlowMaster, warranties this unit for one year. Should you need to contact them about acquiring replacement parts, their phone number is here: Root Lowell: 1-800-253-4642.
FlowMaster Spray Nozzle Modes
The spray nozzle on the FloMaster 65 retractable hose reel is quite nice, and offers 8 unique spray modes. The modes are highlighted here.
- Shower (a gentle even spray from the nozzle edges)
- Center (a narrow cone spray from the central points)
- Flat (a direct mist from the central point)
- Soaker (a bubbler-style spray from all points)
- Mist (a mild spray from several points)
- Jet (a powerful direct spray from central location)
- Triangle (a three point direct spray in a triangle configuration)
- Cone (a direct spray in a wide cone configuration)
Conclusion
The RL Flo-Master garden hose reel is a high quality package at a pretty aggressive price point, with some nice features included. The Flowmaster hits a pretty good price level for a retractable wall mounted water hose reel. That said, it seems to us that if you’re going to shell out for the Flo-Master, you should definitely consider spending a little more for the GARDENA retractable hose reel with 82’ of hose, and a much higher quality build.
RL Flo-Master 65HR8 Retractable Hose Reel, 65 Feet, Brown
Slow, Retractable spring-loaded hose with stopper
RL Flo-Master 65HR8 Retractable Hose Reel, 65 Feet, Brown
Slow, Retractable spring-loaded hose with stopper