Garden Hose Basics

As one fan or reader said (does a site like this really have fans?), "you need an article for those of us who know nothing about garden hoses." So here goes.

As Wikipedia so accurately says, "A garden hose is a flexible tube used to carry water."

They are commonly made of rubber or plastic, and reinforced for strength with an internal web of fibrous material, which you can often see through the surface of the hose.

This makes them strong, flexible, and easy to drag over and around rocks, roots, trees, and other obstacles as the outside is smooth.

You can get garden hoses in any color you'd like, although green seems most common followed by black. White hoses are not normally garden hoses; they are used for potable water supplies, for example for filling water tanks in RVs, and have a slightly different constuction.

In same places, for example the United Kingdom and South Africa, they are commonly called "hosepipes." As they normally connect to a water spigot or pipe this term make a lot of sense.

Hoses often receive a far amount of abuse, being dragging over things and around things and often receiving extremes of temperature, both scalding hot and freezing cold (note: most hoses are not made for hot water). Better quality hoses will hold up much better, and as usual you get what you pay for.

The cheapest hose at the local discount store may not last more than a season or two and may kink when dragged about, severely restricting water flow until it is un-kinked, while a better quality hose will hold up much better.

Some hoses even advertise themselves as "kink free," but "kink resistant" would be a better term. Anything can kink if subjected to the right pressures, even solid metal pipe!

Water spigots commonly have male connectors and hoses usually have female connectors (adaptors are available). Note that the standard for threading varies depending on location. For example US and British hoses have incompatible connections.

Hoses commonly are terminated in some type of attachment, for example a sprayer, sprinkler, or nozzle.