optimal length for a pressure washer hose

[United Hose]

we received an order today from a very good customer of ours and he wanted
four sections of 100ft hose lengths with male pipe swivels on both ends of the hose. we started to talk about his hose usage and he told me he washes 99% of the time units that are 400ft long. so i asked him if he wanted one 330ft section and one 70ft section, he said no, but he did say lets change the order to 3 sections of 133ft. so that got me to wondering is getting hose in the standard 50ft and 100ft lengths the best way to go or is it better to get your hoses in custom lengths best suited to your washing jobs.


we have made up hoses in all sorts of different lengths for customers. 50,75,100,120,125,150,200,250 ft. and of course we can make the hose in any length.

it is our opinion that one should carry one section of hose that will do 99% of the jobs you need not multiple sections connected together with quick disconnects. when you use quick disconnects on 50ft hoses you put tremendous strain on the hose fitting when it is coiled up leading to premature failure.
so if 99% of your work is 125ft or less just use 1 125 ft hose and not 3 50ft hose sections.

your thoughts:

 

[greg/sd]

I would say 150 ft would be the best all around size. if your washing houses that will get to the back of most. if concrete centers thats about as much as you want to pull.

 

[Kory]

For truck wash I like 50-75ft for everything else 200ft I think most use 50 or 100 because its the cheapest way for vendors to order it so that is all they carry.

 

[Sunshine]

Jerry and I were discussing hoses two days ago, he wanted me to order 200 ft. After thinking about it he only wanted 2-100's so that when one blows he is only losing one hose instead of two..

 

[Nichole]

We inform our customers to use multiple lengths for the simple reason that when a hose bursts, it will not mean that you lose a larger section of hose. Yes, they can be mended, but hose repairs are often not convenient. Murphy's law rules that you will be halfway through the job when the hose bursts. lol This is where a back up hose is important. Some of the newbies we help out don't think of "back-up" hoses.

 

[Christopher]

I keep backup hoses on the trailer because a lot of times 200' of hose will not reach all the way around to the back of the house so I have to add sections.

I have a 300' hose I bought a while back but I don't have a hose reel big enough for it, I might decide to cut 100' off so I have another 200' to put back on the hose reel and have another spare 100' hose.

It is great when hoses last longer than a year but the guys that are very busy sometimes wear the covering off them so they have to replace them before the inside is worn out. Cost of being in business. Maybe they will come out with a Kevlar covering for hose for extreme dragging on concrete? It would be expensive.

 

[propressure]

I run 100 feet of heavy 2 wire hose off the reel, then I run 50 feet of lighter, single wire between the heavy hose and the gun.

 

[offdutyfireman]

I use 250' sections. Fits on the reels better with no couplers. If a hose blows, throw it away and buy another one. At Steve's prices, that is easy to do. Thanks for a great product.

 

[Ron Musgraves]

we received an order today from a very good customer of ours and he wanted
four sections of 100ft hose lengths with male pipe swivels on both ends of the hose. we started to talk about his hose usage and he told me he washes 99% of the time units that are 400ft long. so i asked him if he wanted one 330ft section and one 70ft section, he said no, but he did say lets change the order to 3 sections of 133ft. so that got me to wondering is getting hose in the standard 50ft and 100ft lengths the best way to go or is it better to get your hoses in custom lengths best suited to your washing jobs.


we have made up hoses in all sorts of different lengths for customers. 50,75,100,120,125,150,200,250 ft. and of course we can make the hose in any length.

it is our opinion that one should carry one section of hose that will do 99% of the jobs you need not multiple sections connected together with quick disconnects. when you use quick disconnects on 50ft hoses you put tremendous strain on the hose fitting when it is coiled up leading to premature failure.
so if 99% of your work is 125ft or less just use 1 125 ft hose and not 3 50ft hose sections.

your thoughts:

call me Steve. I like 200 ft sections

 

[United Hose]

I would say 150 ft would be the best all around size. if your washing houses that will get to the back of most. if concrete centers thats about as much as you want to pull.

is it better to take one section of 150 ft hose and use it till it blows or buy 3 50ft sections.

negatives to buying 3 50ft sections

price is higher $145 vs $125 (assuming he has to buy 2 quick disconnect couplings at $5 each

heavier hose with the two quick disconnect couplings

lot more difficult to coil on the reel with quick disconnect couplings more stress on the hose fittings coiling hose up with quick disconnects

positives

if you blow a 50ft section you can just throw out that section and put another 50ft section on, however you still have the hot water and pressure and chemicals on going through all 3 50ft sections of the hose, and chances are when the first section blows the other two sections are going to blow within one month.

we had a customer come in today and buy 2 150ft hoses in 1/4 inch and i asked him why not take 3 50ft hoses instead of one 50ft hose and he looked at me like i was nuts for asking that question. he immediately said why would i want to do that it is heavier with the two quick disconnects. this gentleman washes trucks primarily and to him every pound of extra weight counts

 

[United Hose]

Jerry and I were discussing hoses two days ago, he wanted me to order 200 ft. After thinking about it he only wanted 2-100's so that when one blows he is only losing one hose instead of two..

yes but if you connect two hoses together all the time the same damage is occurring to both hoses simultaneously.

 

[United Hose]

I use 250' sections. Fits on the reels better with no couplers. If a hose blows, throw it away and buy another one. At Steve's prices, that is easy to do. Thanks for a great product.

thank you for your compliment, we will keep trying our best

 

[United Hose]

For truck wash I like 50-75ft for everything else 200ft I think most use 50 or 100 because its the cheapest way for vendors to order it so that is all they carry.

how is it cheaper?

you have 3 extra hoses if you use 50ft'ers which means 6 more hose ends to pay for and 3 extra sets quick disconnects

 

[Kory]

they order a pallet at a time that way they get a better price

 

[tomtucson]

150' for shopping centers (1/2"). We were using 100 ft for ease of use and hook two together when needed, but the 150' has saved a lot of time and seems to be perfect, 200' at 1/2" is too much.

 

[HighTide]

200'. First one off the trailer (100') is a lightweight non-marking hose with the second being a heavier 100' 2-wire hose. I keep another 100' on trailer ready to go in case one busts or need 300' feet to get to back of larger building.

 

[El Flojo]

I have 200' on the reel but they are joined with a f coupler. this way they never hit a snag and the QC pops open. I had my old hose with a 45* to aid in the reel,putting less stress on the ends but forget to get one.

 

[tomtucson]

Whats a f-coupler

 

[Nichole]

is it better to take one section of 150 ft hose and use it till it blows or buy 3 50ft sections.

negatives to buying 3 50ft sections

price is higher $145 vs $125 (assuming he has to buy 2 quick disconnect couplings at $5 each

heavier hose with the two quick disconnect couplings

lot more difficult to coil on the reel with quick disconnect couplings more stress on the hose fittings coiling hose up with quick disconnects

positives

if you blow a 50ft section you can just throw out that section and put another 50ft section on, however you still have the hot water and pressure and chemicals on going through all 3 50ft sections of the hose, and chances are when the first section blows the other two sections are going to blow within one month.

we had a customer come in today and buy 2 150ft hoses in 1/4 inch and i asked him why not take 3 50ft hoses instead of one 50ft hose and he looked at me like i was nuts for asking that question. he immediately said why would i want to do that it is heavier with the two quick disconnects. this gentleman washes trucks primarily and to him every pound of extra weight counts

Good points Steve. We just get a lot of guys on a budget who still feel that losing a 50ft section at a time is cheaper than losing a 150 foot section at a time.

Do many of you have problems with hoses being ran over and bursting?

 

[FCPWLLC]

Good points Steve. We just get a lot of guys on a budget who still feel that losing a 50ft section at a time is cheaper than losing a 150 foot section at a time.

Do many of you have problems with hoses being ran over and bursting?

Advise them to increase thier pricing and not to worry about it. Stepping ove dollars to pick up dimes is what we call it.