Dockside Water Hose suggestions..

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jefndeb

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Joined
Jun 11, 2018
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625
Location
US
Vessel Name
Indigo Star
Vessel Make
2006 Mainship 400
Hello,

It seems about normal that after about 3-4 months the water hose I buy starts leaking at the nozzle connection.

Looking for suggestions on what others have found to be a good one.

Has anybody tried the Flexzilla Garden Hose 5/8 in. x 100 ft?

Thanks in advance,
Jeff
 

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Yes and it seems well made compared to many. Only had it a short time, maybe a year, but was perfect when I sold it with the boat.

I still like Zero G hoses, but have had issues with their ends leaking and aluminum ends welding themselves to brasx fittings.
 
We have a Zero G hose for about 4 or 5 years now and had no problems with it. It collapses so it is easier to store.
 
jefndeb said:
Hello,

It seems about normal that after about 3-4 months the water hose I buy starts leaking at the nozzle connection.

Looking for suggestions on what others have found to be a good one.

Has anybody tried the Flexzilla Garden Hose 5/8 in. x 100 ft?

Thanks in advance,
Jeff
Click to expand...
I love this hose. I have had this for 3 or 4 years and it has performed flawlessly. Very unlikely to kink, coils well, and does not get dirty like the white ones from West Marine. So far, the best hose I have had for boat duty.
 
jefndeb said:
Hello,

It seems about normal that after about 3-4 months the water hose I buy starts leaking at the nozzle connection.

Looking for suggestions on what others have found to be a good one.

Has anybody tried the Flexzilla Garden Hose 5/8 in. x 100 ft?

Thanks in advance,
Jeff
Click to expand...

I have one of these and a zero G. The Flexzilla is a better hose but the Zero G is extremely convenient.

If you are looking for a rather permanent water connection then Flexzilla is the best. If you are looking for a cruising hose oR a wash your boat hose, the Zero G is very convenient and durable.
 
We had a Zero G hose but found the changing length as it pressurizes and "relaxes" to be a problem. It was a wash down hose and tended to knock things over when shrinking. Perhaps that is not its best role. It blew out a fitting after the better part of one season and was replaced by a more conventional dock hose.
 
The Zero G hoses I buy are NOT the "expandable/contracting" kind.
 
HeadedToTexas said:
We had a Zero G hose but found the changing length as it pressurizes and "relaxes" to be a problem. It was a wash down hose and tended to knock things over when shrinking. Perhaps that is not its best role. It blew out a fitting after the better part of one season and was replaced by a more conventional dock hose.
Click to expand...

The Zero G that I purchased had a bad end right out of the box.
 
When we've gotten leaks at the fittings, I've just cut them off and replaced with plastic fittings from places like Ace Hardware. They seem to last longer anyway.

-Chris
 
jefndeb said:
Hello,

It seems about normal that after about 3-4 months the water hose I buy starts leaking at the nozzle connection.

Looking for suggestions on what others have found to be a good one.

Has anybody tried the Flexzilla Garden Hose 5/8 in. x 100 ft?

Thanks in advance,
Jeff
Click to expand...

Yes! That is exactly what I use. Love everything about it. Going on 3-4 seasons after my white West Marine hose failed after 1. I like it so much, I bought another for my garden hose at home.
 
I got spoiled with the Zero G lightness and ability to coil tight.

The Flexzilla hose I bought was a bit on the heavy side like older top grade garden hoses, but if in shorter lengths should be fine.

Like Chris, bough good quality brass ends with hose clamps for replacements ends when they start leaking or it will be a hose with a long term couple to brass hose bib or fitting.
 
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I guess I would ask what it is about a hose that determines if its a garden hose vs a true drinking water hose?
 
jefndeb said:
I guess I would ask what it is about a hose that determines if its a garden hose vs a true drinking water hose?
Click to expand...

It's the materials used in the makup of the hose. Some contain chemical toxins, lead, etc.

If you use your water tanks for drinking, best to get a proper hose for potable water and perhaps a filter at the end of the hose and/or in your boat plumbing. My tank is fairly small, so I carry bottled water for drinking and cooking and use the tank water primarily for washing and showering. Rather than lots of small water bottles, a few gallon jugs of spring water usually suffice.
 
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A hundred foot hose seems like a lot to have on the dock or boat. Always tangled and where do you store it?

pete
 
I carry a 75 footer as our primary hose. It sits coiled under one of the chairs we have on deck. We keep a second one of the same stowed in the forward bilge for times we need more length.



Normally we just use the regular white potable water hoses. I drain the hose and coil it after every use and it's stowed mostly out of the sun. That keeps it from getting gross inside or yellowed and hard outside for much longer, so the hoses last quite a few years.
 
If your hose has brass ends it will be described as anything other than a hose for drinking water. California passed a law that classified brass as a toxic material and unsafe for drinking water.

Hoses deemed safe for drinking water will have plastic ends.
 
tiltrider1 said:
If your hose has brass ends it will be described as anything other than a hose for drinking water. California passed a law that classified brass as a toxic material and unsafe for drinking water.

Hoses deemed safe for drinking water will have plastic ends.
Click to expand...


Isn't that law about lead content? There is lead free brass for potable water applications.
 
I don't like those "shrinking" hoses for daily deck use. It seems they waste a lot water filling them up to use, and then shrinking them down again to stow. Obviously it's only an issue if you spend a lot of time on the hook, away from dock water.

I also don't like brass ends. It's inevitable that the hose ends get dropped on deck, or worse, on an overhead hatch. You don't want heavy metal there, or heavy metal spray nozzles. Another advantage of using cheap plastic nozzles is they don't get "borrowed" when left on the hose coil at the dock like the expensive ones do.
 
Plus..... the vast majority percent of the bibs (maybe only outside California) I have attached my hose to are brass also.

Then inside my boat and a lot others I suspect have brass pex or brass SharkBite fittings in the plumbing as well.

Maybe that's why Zero G has aluminum hose ends.... but leave them attached to a brass fitting for a couple months in Florida and the two are permanent mates.
 
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We had a Zero G discussion a while back as I recall. Some love them and I did initially too, but like many others I've also had so many problems I don't use them anymore, home or boat. Ends blow off, tubing splits. Very convenient and lighter, but just not reliable or durable in my experience. I've gone over to Flexzilla, home and boat and compressed air hoses for that matter. Always stays flexible (hence the name), even down to zero degrees for the airline. The light green doesn't mark up our white boat, and they don't degrade and get all gross and yellow and stiff and gummy inside in one season like a lot of RV/boat white hoses. (P.S. I know California thinks brass fittings will kill you, but that gummy stuff on the interior of white hoses can't be good for you either.)
 
HeadedToTexas said:
Hmmm, I was not aware they made non-shrinking hoses. Heck, mine might not even be a Zero G. Pretty sure it was though.
Click to expand...

I don't think so because I would have never bought a shrinking hose after my first and only shrinker.

I have had 3 Zero G hoses now. The first did split after 3 years, but the other two I have had for 3 years and took them off the boat and now are in RV service with 4+ months usage every day each year...plus the occasional RV and truck washing, tank filling, etc.

Look at an ad for one, doesn't have that kinked look a shrinker has when not under pressure.

 
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Ahh, ours was definitely a shrinker type. Guess I better quit casting shade on Zero-G and look back into them.
 
Zero G has different grades or levels of hose, with different colored sleeves or jackets. Pro grade, blue sleeve, gray sleeve, and some types expand a lot more than others. I usually bought the gray sleeve, which I assumed was the higher grade (more expensive). I even claimed the (5 year) warranty coverage once when a hose split in three places in the first year and they did honor it and sent me a replacement, but who has time for that hassle in life, or to wait 10 days or a couple weeks for a replacement hose.
 
In my experience the color doesn't mean anything except diameter, but there is a new Pro series....and they DON'T expand. They just are soft interior hose with a nylon cover which just fills but the length of the hose does NOT lengthen.

https://www.gardeningdream.com/zero-g-water-hose-review/

"There are two different versions of the Zero-G hoses: the original and the new Zero-G Pro. The difference between these two hoses is that the original Zero-G was made from a soft PVC which has been approved for use with water systems in the US and Canada.

The Zero-G Pro was originally made out of silicone, but now is made from a softer material called Silicone Polyurethane (SPU). This newer material was designed to reduce the possibility of damage to the hose
 
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hoses

So does the flexzilla and the g hose taste like hose water? The west marine white hose does not its potable I assume. I only use the west marine white hose at the moment.
 
Best hose but still looking for a good nozzle

I have found the Zero G hoses to be superb; lightweight, strong, no leaks, kind to gelcoat surfaces, won’t mark surfaces. Years of hard use and they look like new. Now, if I could only find a decent nozzle!
 
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