Clearflow water hose

vampress_me · 03-03-2016, 04:05 PM

Curiosity question, but has anyone used one of these? They seem like they would be nice. http://clearflowwaterhose.com/

Hubby found them last fall online while looking for a new hose since they seem to take up less room than our current blue hoses (and I gripe about coiling these up and have accidentally kinked it once - oops!). I'm considering a trip up to Thunder Bay to get a couple of the 3/4" dia ones sometime this spring since you can't get them in the US yet, but am curious if anyone has any personal experience with them before we make a weekend trip.

Murphsmom · 03-03-2016, 09:08 PM

It looks like Amazon is now carrying them. Not sure if the exchange rate will compensate your travel cost or not.

jsmith948 · 03-04-2016, 06:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vampress_me

Curiosity question, but has anyone used one of these? They seem like they would be nice. http://clearflowwaterhose.com/

Hubby found them last fall online while looking for a new hose since they seem to take up less room than our current blue hoses (and I gripe about coiling these up and have accidentally kinked it once - oops!). I'm considering a trip up to Thunder Bay to get a couple of the 3/4" dia ones sometime this spring since you can't get them in the US yet, but am curious if anyone has any personal experience with them before we make a weekend trip.

Thanks for posting - will have to check these out. I carry two 25ft lengths of the white 5/8" hose. Takes up a good bit of room in the storage tub.

Tbos · 03-04-2016, 07:28 AM

While expensive it looks like these might be a good addition for my TT.

**JRTJH** · 03-04-2016, 09:50 AM

Another option to the vinyl hose is the "old fashioned" Handi-hose reel. It's a nylon hose (with a vinyl lining) that rolls up into its own plastic "reel/carrier". It comes in 25' and 50' lengths, is actually a 1/2" diameter hose that "automatically" drains itself when you reel it into the carrier. The only "limitation" is that you must completely unroll the hose to use it, otherwise, the "rolled up part" won't expand to flow water. Here's a picture and a link to one source (Amazon,com)

http://www.amazon.com/American-Speci.../dp/B009IJQ8HS

**JRTJH** · 03-04-2016, 02:50 PM

I went to Amazon to check on the "clear poly" hose. If what Amazon is selling as the "Clear Flow Hose" is the same as the one being discussed, at this Amazon site, the first picture is the hose coiled in its packaging. There are 3 "bullet statements" in the blue part of the package. The second bullet statement says, "Do not leave pressurized"

If that is true, then it likely wouldn't be a good choice to use as a "city water hose" connected to an RV for any extended time frame...

Here's the Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=hydfbook0e-20

Tbos · 03-04-2016, 05:25 PM

JRTJH, glad you caught that. I can't blow up the picture on my phone.

vampress_me · 03-04-2016, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRTJH

I went to Amazon to check on the "clear poly" hose. If what Amazon is selling as the "Clear Flow Hose" is the same as the one being discussed, at this Amazon site, the first picture is the hose coiled in its packaging. There are 3 "bullet statements" in the blue part of the package. The second bullet statement says, "Do not leave pressurized"

If that is true, then it likely wouldn't be a good choice to use as a "city water hose" connected to an RV for any extended time frame...

I saw that too. The theory behind not leaving it pressurized is that the hose won't go flat again if left "full" for too long. The 3/4" dia. (contractor hose only available in Canada, hence the trip north) is rated for 100psi and their website states: "A: The common concern from RV customers is if the hose will loose it’s flat integrity if left charged for long periods of time at high pressures. This was seen for pressures above 80psi (some Mountain states can reach 100psi) and a 50 or 60psi regulator is recommended.". Since we use a regulator and I can put it on the spigot end, I'm not that worried about it, I think.

I was just wondering if anyone has used one and their thoughts. I know there are reviews on Amazon, someone's actual use on here would mean more to me. But, a trip north in a few weeks could be fun, and we could eat some more Kinder eggs while up north. Definite bonus for the kids!

notanlines · 03-06-2016, 03:22 AM

Lynette, be sure to have them eat them there. According to info on the 'net the US frowns seriously on bring them back. I'm going to guess Canadians are dropping dead left and right from these confections.

vampress_me · 03-06-2016, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by notanlines

Lynette, be sure to have them eat them there. According to info on the 'net the US frowns seriously on bring them back. I'm going to guess Canadians are dropping dead left and right from these confections.

I know. Found out a couple of years ago right after we had been in Canada, that a guy got caught at the border coming back to the US with around a dozen of them. Fine of $1000 for each egg. Apparently we aren't trusted to not eat the plastic egg inside the chocolate, unlike the Canadians who CAN differentiate food from toys.

I've often wondered if I took separated the halves and took the toy out if I'd be allowed back across the border, but I think it would be too expensive to get an answer to that question!

gearhead · 03-06-2016, 06:22 PM

Alright, y'all vet that water hose and report back. I've got it on my Amazon wish list.

Kinder eggs? Is that anything like those Welsh miners tacos y'all were talking about awhile back???
lol

vampress_me · 07-12-2016, 08:05 PM

Well, an update for those interested. We never did get the time for a trip up north to Thunder Bay to pick up a couple of hoses, but the 3/4" dia. ones are finally being sold on Amazon down here in the States. So, ordered a 35' and 60' a couple of weeks ago and finally played with them at home. Hubby and I love them so far. We haven't been camping with them, that will be in a couple of weeks when we head out west, but just playing around in the backyard they are awesome. They are a heavy duty plastic that stores nicely flat when not pressurized. The 3/4" diameter hoses are rated up to 100 psi and say that if used leaving pressurized while camping, to use a 50 psi pressure regulator. This helps prevent the hose losing the flat profile when not pressurized. This was also why we wanted the 3/4" dia ones and not the 5/8" dia.

I was worried that the hose wouldn't even go round with water run through it, it was so stiff feeling when I tried to squeeze it when it was flat. But, it did, and with a spray nozzle on the end it went even more round. When pressure released, it went flat again and emptied itself of water as I rolled it up on a reel. The best part, in my opinion, is that I can store each of them separately on a 150' electrical cord reel with no problem. This will take up much less room in our water storage Rubbermaid container than the current blue hoses that are so inflexible.

Next, the real test will be using them for 2 weeks in MT and WY. And I'll report in after that. The picture is of them rolled up on the electrical cord reels with Velcro to keep it neat.

Sorry, apparently the iPad doesn't want to play well with uploading the photo, so it's is upside down no matter what I do.

Tbos · 07-13-2016, 08:35 AM

Looking forward to your follow up report.

mikell · 07-17-2016, 04:02 PM

Clear hose is great for growing algae something I learned raising turkeys. Wouldn't even think of using it for drinking water.

vampress_me · 08-29-2016, 05:03 PM

The update I promised and almost forgot. We used the Clearflow hoses (usually the 35' one) from the end of July to the middle of August for our trip west. It was used every night at least, and usually hooked up for 3-4 days at a stretch. We did have the pressure regulator attached to the faucet/ spigot end of the hose since it says to keep the pressure in the hose at 50 psi or less for it to keep the flat shape when the hose doesn't have water in it. Temps outside were anywhere between 36 at night, up to the 90's during the day, depending on where we were. And they were used in the sun and shade.

Consensus between hubby and I was that it worked great, and was a definite improvement over our blue hoses (Camco 3/4" blue hoses).

Pros: easier storage on the cord reels (both winding up and storing in the basement), took up MUCH less room than blue hoses for storing, easy unrolling where I want it, water didn't seem to get as hot sitting in the sun, hubby says overall they are just faster to set up and put away, don't have to worry about kinking the empty hose

Cons: slightly stiffer than I thought it would be if cool temp out (but so much less stiff than the blue ones), does not flatten as much as when new after being pressurized for a few days (is about an extra 1/8" of space between insides where before they touched when flattened)

Overall, we love them. We also had zero build-up of "the greenies" in the hose, which was one worry someone had. I have horses, I know how much green can grow in standing water in water tanks, hoses, etc. But, for us, there is enough water movement in the hoses, and we move often enough (every 3-5 days) that I don't think that is going to be a worry for us. Same with the worry about the hose losing its flat profile From being pressurized for too long. If all we lose is an 1/8" of flatness, I can live with it easily. I don't have to worry about kinking a hose anymore, I can roll the hose up myself (hubby happy about this because before I either needed help, or left it to him to do), and it's so much quicker To roll and unroll.

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