Customer Reviews

Suncast PW100 Powerwind 100-Foot Capacity Automatic Rewind Garden Hose Reel

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

After reading the reviews, I reluctantly ordered this power hose reel. Initially I experienced the same impossible task of trying to unwind the hose.

The problem was solved after charging the battery. I ran the reel empty of hose continuously for 30-40 minutes. This stretched and loosened the drive belt.

I then recharged the battery, and the hose reel now works perfectly.

I suggest not reeling the hose until you operate the reel for an extended time.

Under the conditions I have given above, this power hose reel is highly recommended.

After owning one of these little marvels for nearly two years, I bought two more -- one for each outdoor spigot on my house. I used to be pretty lazy about leaving hoses sprawled around the yard but rewinding is so easy with one of these that I'm not tempted to leave the hose out for the next use anymore.
Several other reviewers have complained about pulling the hose out after it's been reeled in and there is a knack to using this thing:
1. On first use, you may need to manually adjust the guide so it aligns exactly with where the hose is unrolling off the reel (just once per hose).
2. After winding in the first time, unwind it straight out from the reel, fill with water and rewind.
3. Position the reel in a position where you can unreel the hose straight out. Pull what you need straight out and then haul it where you need it.

With these simple steps, it works like a charm: no bending and cranking, no wet muddy hands from hand coiling and one or two battery charges last a whole season.

This really is a great product. It truly is the "lazy" man's way to wind up your garden hose. It can handle hoses up to 150 feet in length. If I only had a little hose to wind up (say 25 or 50 feet), it really wouldn't be neccesary to have the powerwind hose reel, but for those of you who have at least a 100 ft. hose, it really is tough to wind up your hose with those hand cranks. With the powerwind hose reel, all you do is step on the lever, & it winds it up for you. I use my hose quite frequently, & it definately helps out my back from having to bend & crank. I just purchased another one as a gift for my wife's father. I know that he will truly enjoy it. I highly rate this product & definately recommend it to those interested in purchasing one.

This is the 2nd unit I've purchased and the first one is still going strong after 4 years! I got sick of hand winding the long hose in the back of the house and bought another last week. Several reviews indicated the hose was extremely difficult to unwind which I found to be true. A simple fix is to remove the 3 screws on the side panel door(next to the foot pedal) and open up it up. A careful inspection showed that the "BACK" of the drive belt tends to create to much friction on the winding wheel. When that happens it makes it very difficult to unwind the hose simply because the friction is causing the drive belt to try and turn the other wheels. It supposed to be free or not engaged when unwinding the hose. All you need to do is "lubricate" the "BACK" of the drive belt. After you do that it will turn very easy (the way it's supposed to) and work great. It really is something the factory should be doing because it's so easy and inexpensive to do. I would use any good silicone type lubricant which should last a long time. I believe with use the belt will become freer as it stretches out.

One of the reviews said he ran the winder for about 30 mins non stop and it freed it up. I tried that first and unfortuantely it didn't work for mine, hence my solution! Bottom line other than that it's the best winder on the market IMO. I've tried the water driven models and frankly they are lousy. Never had one work very long or well!

I strongly recommend this unit to anyone wanting a relatively inexpensive electric unit that works great. It can hold a 100 ft of hose which is normally long enough to do most watering jobs. It takes 30 secs of "hands free" work to roll up the hose. You stay nice and clean and it makes for very neat storage. Be SURE to bring it in BEFORE the first freeze if you live in a cold climate. You DO NOT want to freeze the plastic connections with water in them! It's an excellent unit or I would not own 2 of them...........

Suncast Powerwind Hose Reel #PW100

I purchased this unit as a replacement for a NO CRANK CLASSIC water driven hose winder unit that lasted less than a year, was problematic and was a waste of money in my opinion. I read the other reviews on the PW100 and figured the folks who complained about how difficult it is to pay out the hose were probably 90 pound weaklings. Well, that will teach me to judge others... this thing requires Charles Atlas to dispense your hose!!!

All kidding aside, I went to Suncast's website and voiced a complaint. After more than a week, I finally received an email from their customer support folks instructing me to open up belt/pulley compartment and verify that the belt wasn't misaligned or binding on anything. I inspected and verified everything was aligned properly. While I had the cover off the compartment, I went ahead and removed the belt and pulleys to see if the hose pulled out easily - which it did. I put the pulleys and belt back on and had my wife pull out on the hose while I observed the unit... the belt still makes slight contact with the motor pulley so this is where the added resistance to pull out on the hose is coming from. MY ASSESMENT - the belt is too small and needs to be slightly larger so it doesn't bind up on the motor pulley during pay-out.

I replied back to Suncast today to let them know my findings and to see if they would send me a replacement belt to see if my assessment of the situation is correct. I absolutely love this hose winder -IF- they can get the belt issue resolved. I'll post back with my findings once I've heard back from Suncast and/or received a replacement belt to test out my theory. Hope this is helpful to others...

***UPDATE 9/03/2008***

Suncast customer service has sent me a replacement belt to see if that corrects the difficulty with paying out the hose. I'll post back after I receive and install the replacement belt.

We have used a PW100 for 2 years and it has worked flawlessly.

I suspect that the reviewers that are having problems pulling the hose out are not following the directions when retracting the hose.

The hose should be aligned with the level wind mechanism when it is installed on the reel.

The hose should be stretched out in front of the unit while retracting. The weight of the hose will provide enough tension so that the hose spools evenly on the reel. If the hose is all kinked and loose when it is retracted it will not spool evenly and the snarls make it hard to pull the hose out next time.

Our neighbors have bought their own units after seeing how well ours works.

Do not buy this product. It is virtually impossible to pull the hose out and use it. The winder works great, but when trying to pull out the hose, you are pulling against the motor and the gears and it is very difficult to pull out the hose. I am trashing mine. I went out and bought a different suncast model that holds up to 150 feet of hose. You have to hand crank it but at least you can pull the hose out to use it.

After reading the reviews and having two previous water powered units(both of which were no good) I decided
to try this one. In reading the reviews I was concerned that some thought that it pulled out hard, then I saw the
dates of the reviews(some a year or two old) and decided that the company must have fixed this problem by now.
Sure enough it reals out very easily ... I'd recommend it to anyone... works great...
Tom U. Silverton,Oregon

As was the case with many other reviewers, it was impossible to pull the hose out. I figured out that the drive belt that came with my hose reel was too small. Therefore, the drive motor never disengaged from the reel. I tried to stretch the old belt to be a little longer for weeks without success (good belt material!). I contacted Suncast a few months ago and they were working on a fix for the problem. I just got (for free) a replacement belt that is a tiny bit longer than the original - it is so close that it is hard to tell the difference. Don't mix them up and accidentally put on the bad/short belt again! Now the hose reel works perfectly! It is easy to pull the hose out and it rewinds just fine. So - if you have the "impossible to pull the hose out" problem, just call Suncast for the new, longer belt. NOTE: Getting it in is a bit tricky but it is doable, just be careful.

I had an older version of this product which lasted for 5 years. This newer model is not as sturdy as was the previous one. Also, it only holds 100 feet of hose versus the older model which held 150 feet. In addition the older version had wheels on it to made it easy to move. This unit must be picked up and/or dragged from place to place. I would say that the new model is a result of cost cutting by the manufacturer.