Welcome to my biggest of all gardening pet peeves: Leaky hose nozzles. I’m so irritated with having water dripping down my air every time I try to water. Every year I buy one or more new nozzles in hope of finding the holy grail of watering wands.
I’m not asking for a lot. I just want something I can stick on the end of the hose that has at least full, shower and soaker settings. A mist setting would be a great bonus. I want it to last a full summer without sending water shooting up my sleeve. I prefer the mid-length (about 12 to 16 inches long) but I’m flexible.
I bought a new nozzle/wand thing two weeks ago. Maybe three. It was $15.99 and promised a lot. First of all, the mist setting does not work. Unless it is misting microscopically and I can’t see it. Then the little clip that locks the handle down fell off. This will not do, because I like to set it on soaker and leave it for a bit to deeply water new plants. Then yesterday it started leaking like crazy. I tried a new gasket in it and that didn’t help either. And it shouldn’t be the gasket anyway. THREE weeks! For crying out loud, how ridiculous.
I would pay a lot of money for some sort of watering apparatus that actually worked properly and lasted a few years. Does anyone know of such a holy grail of watering?
8 Responses
This is such an old post. I have trouble with the rotating nozzle leaking almost as much as is sprayed. I assume it’s the O-ring behind the screw but I have not been able to fix it even with a new O-ring. I haven’t been able to find a Dramm Kaledioscope replacement to fix like new.
For those suggesting a new washer, for 99% of these problem devices it is NOT the washer. It’s faulty materials used in manufacturing (usually a cheap metal or plastic) that develops cracks where the hose screws into the base or in the shutoff valve itself that is DESIGNED to fail within a short time. Honestly, I have one old soaker nozzle from years ago on a long wand that still works great, but the on/off handle partially broke off. I can still use it, but it’s slight difficult to turn on or off.
Most of the things being sold by stores today are intentionally garbage, because we are cheap and willing to pay a couple of $ less for trash that we have to purchase every year, instead of paying more for something that should last a lifetime! For those in their 50s or older (like me) we remember devices from when we were children that lasted forever! But then companies started realizing that if they designed things to break sooner, we’d buy more. So it’s our own fault, really. We’ve allowed ourselves to become a lazy, throw-away society, unwilling (or unable) to make decisions that are best for our lives in the long term. And so the “evil” Chinese companies have been able to take over by making and selling us the garbage that we are asking for by our purchase choices.
I’d suggest a Dramm wand, but you MUST bring it in before freezing weather. I’d also get some neoprene washers and make sure you aren’t overtightening the fittings.
Oh' I also have a watering wand but it has a leakage and i hate using it. Glad that i saw this post. I will try to use that one. Keep posting.
-seff-
Excellent idea, Helen. I'm wondering if I haven't been buying plastic ones, and that's the issue. I'll give anything a try at this point!
Hi, there — it's hard to find a good wand sprinkler. But I've had better luck with leaks just replacing the washer between the hose and the wand from time to time. Here's a cheap and cheerful example I've used from Lee Valley Tools:
http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.aspx?c=1&p=10377&cat=2,2280,33160&ap=3
Might be an inexpensive fix worth trying.
I'm totally up for that, Dirt Princess! I just don't understand why this is so hard. I have to think there are a lot of gardeners out there who'd be more than happy to pay a little more for something that might actually work.
ughh I have the same problem, but more issues. I like the type I can rotate to different settings like shower, full, etc. I find that after less than a year, the rotating piece breaks. I also have a problem with the nozzle attaching itself to the hose, its like its rusts on too it!!!!!! Or the water leaks out like yours…maybe we should get together and design the perfect garden sprayer