Water connection 'flat' hoses for serviced pitch
Just happen to pass the Care-avan stall (on the way to picking up cheese) at the NEC on Wednesday and happened to spot some flat food grade hoses for connection up to the tap on serviced pitches. The came on a reel. Looked good and seemed easier to handle that the non-flat ones we use at present.
I just wondered of anyone else has used these and what you think of them. Are they worth buying? Does it make life easier? I'm all for the easy option! 
David
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David, weve had one of these for a couple of years now.....some good points and some not so good....
firstly, the not so good....
in order to roll it back up on the reel, ALL the water needs to be squeezed out of it, otherwise it just wont fit back in the space available. this rather precludes the USP of these things......however....(read on
)the better stuff....
the hose is really well made, is food grade and has shown no signs of wear in around 60 weeks of use over the two years.
based on other folks' forum experience, and the fact that i knew it wouldnt roll back on the reel, i did two things..
1. i ditched the plastic reel.....
2. i cut the hose in half and fitted joiners so that i could use half or all by just clipping it together.
based on my experience, ive used just one piece for around 80-90% of the time, rarely needing the other piece, but i have it should i need it.
this makes for lighter, easier handling when connecting and (importantly) putting away....
when putting away, i just pick up the hose by the centre point, hold it high and the water runs out of both ends making it easy to fold and place in a plastic bag and away in the garage.....not so easy to do with the full length hose.
so, good product, provided you are aware of (perhaps) its limitations....
ours has lasted very well, the connectorsstill dont leak and the hose doesnt take up much room.
goodluck.
ps.....not cheap, i remember...
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I bought a cheap, none food grade, flat garden hose for occasional use with my last caravan (on-board tank filled via a motor home type filler cap) Being flat just means that you need to unwind all of it, even if the tap is only a few feet away.
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I had one supplied with the Motorhome with a range of adaptors. As space is at a premium it is very useful, you just need to get rid of all the water when rolling up as BoleroBoy says. I drape it over the canopy to drain. Certainly wouldn’t change it for a round hose.
The AS Motorhome has a very useful auto-fill feature. There is an adaptor permanently attached to the hose (in the shape of a small cube). You plug into the socket on the Motorhome, turn the mains tap on and walk away. When the Motorhome water tank is full it shuts of the supply. Also quite clever is an adaptor that you push into the ‘cube’ which turns it into a hose so you can fill in the conventional way using the tank fill point on the other side of the vehicle. We also have a submersible pump (never used) so I think they have everything covered!
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I bought ours at very low prices from eBay. I bought a 10M and a 5M. I use either/or/both. Rolled up in a plastic bag they occupy very little space.
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Many years ago (at least 25yrs) I bought a 20m flat hose from Halfords for the boat. It is made of a thin clear polythene pipe encased in a red woven fabric outer. As long as the pipe is laid out straight, you can wind it directly onto the (10 " diameter) reel, squeezing the water out easily as you wind in.
That hose has withstood some very high water pressures with the end nozzle turned off ...and is still in perfect condition. I simply wish I could find a similar item on sale today.
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BoleroBoy
If you cut the flat hose into , say, 1/3 & 2/3 sections, would you be able to use the plastic reel for the larger length ? Then put the shorter piece onto a home-made reel, just to keep it tidy & undamaged wherever you have room ?? Workshop ( shed ) or storeroom comes to mind
. Just asking for clarification thats all Cheese-less of Crewe
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Bri, i did consider this but, unlike Vic, above, i didnt have as much success in winding it back in (even a shorter length) when it was full of water. as i have it now, i can fold it up in a trice...
BTW, it doesnt live in my shed, unless that what think i call the van
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I bought a BRUNNER HOSE REEL WITH NEW FLAT HOSE - 15M
about 5 months ago,
The most important thing about it is you do NOT have to worry about getting all the water out before you roll it up. It has three chambers running along the length of the hose and rolls up flat very easily every time.
I have been using it for about 5 months and it is great, I guess it does impede the flow of the water to some degree but nothing to worry me or stop me using it on my travels
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David
I've had quite a lot of experience of these hoses - having used them on our various boats for the last twenty years or so. It is often the case that moorings are a long way from water points so I had two 50m reels that I joined together and they worked fine for that.
They are a bit of a pain in that, as someone else has said, you have to get all of the water out so as to get them back on the reel - and that means having sufficient room to lay it out flat.
However, the reason I have three of these reels languishing in my garage - and have been replaced by the conventional rigid blue hosepipes - is that they don't like being under continuous pressure. I found that when on serviced pitches and connected to your Aquaroll via the usual ball-valve arrangement, they start to swell - especially in hot weather - and eventually go bang! By their very nature, they're not as strong as the rigid pipe - hence my replacing them.
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We have a flat food grade hose on its own reel for over 2 years. No problems so far and you do not need to unwind completely, just the length you need. Also it rewinds without squeezing out the water. it is a twin tube fairly rigid plastic so holds its thickness even when full of water.
The only thing to get used to is the hose retains its loop when unwound for a little while creating a spiral unless you do it with care. No problem after you get used to that.
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We bought a hose on a reel which was a triple gallery type. In winter or any cold periods its a nightmare as it becomes too rigid and doesn't really wind onto the reel very well at all. I bought a flat blue food grade hose with a length of about 7M and this is ok. You have to flatten it as others have said, but I have found that a handful of wet microporous cloth (the wetness lubricates the movement of hose through the hand) enables the hose to be squeezed and rolled up in a jiffy. We've got an additional one now so can manage a total length of 15M. When rolled up and stored in a polly bag they are very compact. On balance I think the roll flat stuff is best.
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This has turned out to be an interesting discussion. If I decide to go for the flat hoses, my feeling is to go for 5m lengths and join them as necessary. This will make individual sections easier to handle and store. Any comments still very welcome. I could still change my mind!! 😀
David
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I use the aquasource connection when on a service pitch. This has 7.5 metres of flat food grade hose attached. I also carry and additional 7.5 & 4 metres hoses. With this combination I have never had a problem in reaching the water supply tap or trying to lose metres of hose around the caravan. All three are kept on individual cassettes. I haven’t expirenced problems with winding them on / into the cassette. When packing up, i turn off the water and disconnect - including any joins. Raise one end up and let them drain. Keeping an open end low and holding the cassette at waist height any water left in the hose tends to drain from the hose by gravity.
whatever hose you choose to use, it is sensible and good practice to drain all the water from them for two very good reasons:-
you don’t want any water left in the hose to drain out in your car /caravan/ Motorhome causing damp
and there is a high risk of bacteria growth such as legionella breading with in it.
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