When we bought the house, I got two 100' hoses. I sort of blindly picked them out at Home Depot - there's not a lot of choice in the 100' heavy-duty hose selection, so I got the ones that said "NEVER KINK" in 400 point font. Guess what?
IT'S A LIE.
It's a really despicable lie. It's a brand name, not a product affirmation. The guarantee is a product replacement guarantee - you couldn't pay me to replace the two awful hoses I have with two brand new awful hoses.
Never ever buy the NeverKink brand of hose. They are some of the kinkiest hoses I've ever tried to manhandle into submission. (Dear god, what kind of hits am I going to get from that phrase?) They are extremely stiff, they kink at the slightest provocation, and the connectors are really hard to work. It's apparently impossible to drain a 100' hose, too - despite my careful coiling last weekend, the stupid things froze solid in our cold snap. Yesterday was the last straw - it took me a good 5 minutes to get the damn hose threaded onto the damn hydrant, then when I turned it on water exploded from the connector and soaked me, then no amount of stomping, banging, or cursing would dislodge the ice chunks in the NeverKink hose.
Eventually I gave up and dumped the frozen 18 gallon bucket into the de-icer'd 100 gallon tank. Luckily for everyone, the 4" chunk of ice didn't break the de-icer when it slammed into the tub. There would have been tears, I promise you that.
Today I bought a Goodyear hose. I am pleased to report that it's much more pliable, it screws on to my FF hydrant much more easily, and it doesn't appear to kink as easily. It's only 50', so it doesn't reach the tank, but I took the hacksaw to the wicked NeverKink hose and extended the Goodyear the extra 15' I needed.
Then I coiled the new hybrid hose neatly into the empty 18 gallon tub and took it in the house. I can learn from my mistakes, and I'm not letting the new one freeze.
I have about the same distance from the pump house to the horses' water tank. It gets filled about every third day. I'm fortunate that I can hang the hose in the pump house where it is warm.
ReplyDeleteMy well is 431' deep. It produces 2 gallons of water an hour. Sometimes it doesn't produce any water at all. Of course that usually happens in February when the temps are double digits below zero.
Several years ago I would haul water in two 55 gallon drums in the back of my Ranger pickup truck. We would fill the barrels at the Chevron station in town (7 miles away, 15 minutes to fill each drum) and transfer water into the holding tank at home with a one half horse power water transfer pump.
Did you know that if you lose the prime in the pump at 32 degrees below zero it only takes 5 minutes for the hoses to freeze?
How frustrating! I hate it when things don't work. And I hate it even more when I'm trying to make them work when it's freaking COLD outside!!
ReplyDeleteOne hint that *might* help: coil the hose into your heated tank. I just did this yesterday with a hose I forgot to drain, but there was a time before I added my three outside frost-free hydrants (I had one in the barn) that I just stored the hose there in the tank (be sure to tie a piece of baling twine to it to fish it out with). Your gloves will get wet, so bring an extra pair.
@AKPonyGirl--YIKES! I hauled water for a couple of years (when my kids were little, no less) and I HATE IT! I'd rather live without electric than without water! 32 below?!? NO thanks!
this is the very best part of having my horse at home, very near my front door - i disconnect the hose for the year and don't touch it til spring. in our bathtub - our feed prep area (!!), i just put an extra little bucket in there with warm water and then take it out morning and night to thaw/refill the stall bucket. he doesn't drink much cuz he gets soaked meals. this would not work if we had more than one horse, or if i had a horse who drinks a lot.
ReplyDeleteafter hauling wheelbarrows up icy streets full of water tanks and then having to ask the neighbor everyday if i could use her bathroom to fill the tanks after the outdoor pipes froze, man i love having my horse at home. it's my bathroom that gets "horsie" now.
I laughed really hard at this entry. I'm sorry they got you with the brand name. Nothing worse than a bad hose in winter.
ReplyDeleteOur hoses don't freeze very often, so we can usually fill up the big tanks before the cold hits. (Also: water tank heaters = gift of the gods!)
ReplyDeleteHowever, like lytha, I glory in the luxury of making beetpulp in my own kitchen to carry out to my ponies in the backyard.
Happy sigh!
I thoroughly enjoyed this post!Lol! This is so true! I bought a Non Kink hose last winter for the same reason, my water always froze, so I spent a small fortune on one!
ReplyDeleteBut by the end of last winter, I had sliced it up, burnt it and given it to the dogs to chew on! It was UN-KINKABLE! Full, of loops and curves, and crap!!!Ha! LOl!
Last week, we had a deep freeze with temperatures dipping down to 21 below, and guess where all the hoses where. Buried under the snow that is where. So I brought one in and put it in the bathtub with warm water for about 10 minutes. Works every time.
ReplyDeleteOur hoses kink too, some more than others. And with the stiff finger problem, attaching them to the hydrant is really frustrating. Winter just makes life harder. Those "I love snow" folks obviously don't have horses.
ReplyDeleteHey AKPG, I have to know - is there a point where it doesn't feel any colder? I can't really tell the difference between 10 and 0 - it's so super cold (for me) that my face goes numb at the same speed, the snow makes the same squeaky noises, etc.
ReplyDeleteThose of yall who store the hose in the tank - doesn't the de-icer melt the hose? And I can't imagine how cold it is to get it back out.
Aarene, I was hoping it'd warm up before she emptied her 100 gallon tank... :(
Hannah, the stupid evil hose would not fit in the bathtub, I promise you that. In warm weather it's creaky; in cold weather it's like it's made out of PVC. The sweet new hose is much softer and more rubbery, and if I foolishly freeze it I'll remember the bathtub trick!
My kink free hose (that is an oxymoron if I've ever heard one) is in winter hibernation. We have now resorted to 5-Gallon buckets filled with hot water in the bathtub, and a wagon to drag them to the barn.
ReplyDeleteKINK FREE ha hahhaaaaa haaa!
Hi there - just stumbled upon your blog.
ReplyDeleteI laughed out loud at your post, because just last night I attached the hose to the hydrant and turned it on...only have have an explosion of water as the hose blew off the hydrant. What else there to do in that situation but laugh? I swear the horses were all laughing anyway.
After a while cold is a state of mind. You know you have to deal with it so you just do.
ReplyDeleteI've always said that once it gets below zero the number doesn't matter much.
Word verification - antardec. Now that's a place that's really cold!