Customer Reviews

Rapid Reel GH164-PD 150-Foot Perpendicular Wall Reel

5 star:		(70)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been putting up with a cheap (but not in price) plastic hose reel ever since we moved into our new house a few years back. It was free as the previous homeowner had installed it but that's where the positives ended. It leaked like crazy and the plastic wasn't strong enough to even hold the hose.

I knew I needed an all metal hose reel and that's when I found the Rapid Reel. Holy cow folks this thing is a beast! The Army could fire these from cannons and do massive destruction. They are THAT strongly built. Even the hose that connects the reel to the house is an industrial Good Year hose. It looks just like the hose used on gas pumps. The brass fitting where the hose hooks into the reel is a very heavy, high quality piece of brass with a ball bearing inside. Rapid Reel has a 10 year no leak guarantee on this and I don't think they need to honor that very much.

The reel when mounted to the front of the house does stick out quite a ways, I'm talking about a foot and a half here. This reel is quite massive so if you're married guys get ready to hear it from your wife on this one, I know I did :). Seriously though if you have a small ranch style house this reel will take up a lot of real estate on the front so you might want to measure before you buy it.

As far as how good this reel works I can tell you it's a pleasure to use compared to my old plastic reel. The sheer weight of the reel itself helps to create a momentum that more easily pulls the hose back in. I've seen no leaks so far, not even a single drop. I have 75' of 5/8 inch hose on mine right now and theres room on the reel for plenty more hose. The reel almost begs to be loaded with it.

My only reel ;) complaint with this product is that it was supposed to come with anchor bolts for mounting to concrete, bricks, etc. Mine didn't come with these, and I've seen at least one other reviewer state the same.

All in all I'd say if you want a very good quality, American made hose reel, buy this one. It, like the Humvee is big and ugly, but it gets the job done long after the others have fallen apart, and that to me is all that matters.

Update 2-2-09: I've now been using my Rapid Reel hose almost weekly for well over 2 years. I leave my hose on it year round, as I wash my car by hand all winter long. All I do is unhook the leader hose (the Good Year) from the spigot. I leave the water in the reel and the rest of the hose. This thing still looks and functions like new. Keep in mind I live in an area that has 300+ days of sunshine a year. My house faces south so this reel gets a LOT of hot sun in the day and then freezing temps at night, presumably still with water inside it. I just used it again today and it's as if I bought it yesterday!

I've since bought another Rapid Reel (parallel model) for the backyard that's performing as perfectly as this one. I use that one all winter long as well for refilling the hot tub. I love them both!

My only complaints are that the big plastic zip tie that holds the hose to the reel has broken on the older model. The stainless steel spring also goes all the way through my hose, making it pretty useless. I just wrapped the hose around the handle to keep it from crimping and that's been working fine. I love the heavy duty construction of these things and recommend them to everyone I know.

I own two of these, the parallel and the perpendicular reel. Although they are both bullet proof as stated in the other reviews, it is worth mentioning that the perpendicular unit can not hold as much hose because of the fact that the hose eventually piles up and contacts the holding bracket. So if you need to hold over 100 feet of 5/8 hose or over 70 feet of 3/4 hose, the perpendicular unit is not for you, get the parallel unit instead. The parallel unit will hold 120 feet of 5/8 hose and 80 feet of 3/4 hose, although it must be carefully and evenly distributed for it not to fall off the sides.

I must admit I'm a repeat buyer of this product, having purchased our first model in 2006. Subsequent purchases were for additional reels, not replacements for now-dead items. The Perpendicular Wall model as been unavailable from Amazon for some time now, so I ordered directly from the company. I found it strange that the reel wasn't in stock, but backordered, with an expected arrival date of 4 - 6 weeks. The last I'd heard, the factory was located in Nebraska, I thought perhaps a shortage of components was the problem.

Received my purchase today and learned Rapid Reel moved its manufacturing facility to CHINA in July 2009. Laying off half (7 people) of its staff, probably to increase the bottom line. But the retail price of the reel hasn't decreased to reflect the 'cost savings' of being made in China. The company's website language leads one to believe their offerings are made in the Midwest, but that is NO LONGER the case. Upon seeing the 'Made In China' phrase on the back of the box, I now realize the cause for the 2-month delay... the SHIP had to get here.


Mere words cannot convey my disappointment in Eley Corporation. (Rapid Reel) My condolences to the fine folks of Lincoln, Nebraska, the now-former employees of Eley Corp. I hope you've all found new jobs and have bright futures. I hope my new hose reel works as well as the previous two we've purchased, but I can honestly say I will not be recommending this product as enthusiastically as I have in the past.

And please correct the text on your website that ambiguously suggests your product line is manufactured in the U.S.A., when in fact it is not.

I purchased 5 steel version of the Wall Reels (4 perpendicular and 1 parallel) from Amazon about two years ago. These reels are heavy duty and very well made in America. I recently purchased 6 more Rapid Reels (2 perpendicular and 4 parallel) from Amazon. These reels are made of cast aluminum so they are much lighter in weight. The product is made in China and appears to be well made too. I liked the new packaging. I noticed the feeding hose has been down sized to 5/8'' from the previous 3/4" but it is still from Goodyear. The brass swivel part is not as robust as previous product. While I was installing these new units water actually leaked out from these brass swivels if I wiggled the rigle angle hose coupling. This is the coupling where your water hose connects to. Since the units are new I don't know how it will compare with the previous version however I do have one complain about the product. The design apppears for right handed users. The previous product worked well for right or left handed.

I agree with the majority of the other reviews,with one huge caveat:
It will not hold 100' of 3/4" goodyear hose purchased off of Amazon.(GoodYear HP7262-C 3/4 x 100' Rubber Water Hose ).
Sure,its beefy 3/4",but that's why I wanted a beefy reel.
Also note that it wont hold 100',let alone 150'.
It isn't that the hose won't actually fit on the reel itself,its that it rubs against the mounting bracket.
If only I would have bought the non-perpendicular model,I would be happy!

Carefully wound,this reel holds about 90' of my hose.

Installation was easy and the product is everything it is advertised to be. I have received a number of complements on the appearance and obvious quality of the product. Well made and should provide a lifetime of service.

This is an extremely well designed product. I am happy someone spent the time to actually design a hose reel that works. Using powder-coated metal and stainless steel hardware is how to do it right.

I bought multiple reels. In one of the units, one of the four screws was defective (the head was round instead of hexagonal). Rapid Reel promptly sent me two screws to replace the defective one. This was probably a one-in-a-million occurrence and didn't bother me at all.

I bought 25, 75, and 100 foot length EPDM rubber hoses in 5/8" sold on Amazon. These are large outer diameter hoses, and they all fit nicely. Although the Rapid Reel specifications claim a 150 foot hose will fit, that would probably only be a cheap, thin, 150 foot hose. With a high quality (large outer diameter) hose, you can expect to get about 100 feet of hose on this perpendicular reel.

I will be very disappointed if this hose reel does not last for many, many years. The company has absolutely done this right and it's well worth a few more dollars.

This is what a hose reel should be: sturdy enough to wind a heavy hose,constructed of materials appropriate to the application, and efficiently engineered to accomodate a variety of installation types. Even the very best plastic reels are not up to the job - I've bought a lot of them over the years because that's all you can find at retail, but they don't run smoothly, they always develop leaks at the swivel, and the handles break under load. This is a great product that should last for a long time, unlike plastic reels that are junk to start with and go downhill from there.

This is the best hose winder I have ever used. No more plastic carts falling over while unwinding....no more hose getting stuck in the plastic cart and won't come out...no more leaking hoses...no more having to step on the foot piece or bend over with your knee and hold the cart down while trying to wind up the hose. I thought it was a little hard to read the directions to assemble it but once I did and mounted it you could tell right off the bat it was a great product.

I'd say this product is the equivelant of a Weber grill for hose reels.

purchased this item and within a week purchased another. excellent construction, built to last. newer model now shipped with stainless steel mounting hardware for wood or brick. truly top of the line product.