I bought this hose reel for the small pancake compressor in my basement workshop. Out in my garage workshop, I have a much larger 'serious' air compressor and a much larger air hose reel, made of steel, with a 50' Goodyear rubber hose. But for the basement shop, my requirements were more relaxed. I was looking for compact size, light weight, about 30' of hose, and also a swivel mount because I would be pulling the hose at more acute angles.

I selected this reel based on other Amazon reviews, specifications, and price. Especially important to me was a good hose quality that was not stiff like so many cheaper hoses. I understood that a 30' hose in a small reel like this needed to be a light weight type, or else it would be too bulky and heavy for the reel size. The 1/4 inch "hybrid polymer" hose seems like good enough quality, and while not quite as floppy/flexible as my Goodyear rubber hoses, it is pretty close.

The reel's metal bracket is made of heavy metal (steel I think), with what appears to be a powder coat finish. The reel itself is a fairly robust feeling plastic. It does not seem weak or wobbly. The retract spring and ratchet mechanism seems to work well, and in the same manner that my more professional reel does. As I pull the hose out of the reel, the ratchet make a few clicks about once every foot of hose. If I stop pulling before a set of clicks has passed, the reel will lock in that position and will not try to retract the hose. Then, if I pull the hose out some more, enough to get past the last click of a set of clicks, then release the tension on the hose, the reel will rewind until either all the hose has been retracted, or I stop allowing it to retract. If I stop retraction at any point short of full retraction, and then pull the hose out again until a set of clicks occurs, the reel will once again lock in position.

The last few inches of the hose is protected and stiffened by an external coil spring.

A movable weight/bumper is installed on the hose a few inches beyond the coil spring, which both protects the hose and also stops retraction of the hose end into the reel. Screws on the weight/bumper may be loosened to allow adjusting it further up the hose, if desired.

The hose, at both ends, is terminated with 1/4" male NPT brass fittings. You will need to supply your own quick disconnects or whatever fittings or tools you want.

A note about the mounting bracket. It has two slotted holes and a third round hole. Mounting is easy using the slotted holes, as long as the screws or bolts you use for mounting (not included with the reel) have a head size that is wider than the small part of the slot, yet narrower than the wide area at the end of the slot. Also, the mounting screws/bolts pretty much need to have hex heads, of the sort you would turn using a box wrench or open end wrench. There is only about 1/2" clearance between the rear of the reel and the mounting bracket, so it is all but impossible to fit the screws/bolts through the bracket's holes from the reel side. You MUST have those screws/bolts already mounted to the wall or other surface, then slip their heads through the slotted holes, and then reach in from the side using your wrench to tighten them. You will not be able to get a screwdriver, nut driver, Allen wrench, etc; up to the heads for tightening, except from the side. The middle hole on the bracket is not slotted, and it is all but impossible to get any meaningful screw/bolts in from the reel side to that hole, so you might as well pretend that it does not exist.

The reel can swivel through a range of just under 180 degrees, in other words it can swing nearly 90 degrees to either side of straight out from the wall surface.

I tested the reel with my compressor's regulator set for about 150 PSI. The hose remained easily flexible under the internal pressure, and there were no apparent leaks from the rotary union inside the reel. But of course any reel's rotary union will leak a little, and this will probably result in the compressor needing to run a bit more frequently than it would without the reel.

Good product.
Very pleased

This is so great to have.I would recommend to anyone. Great value and so perfect to have in the garage,, Very happy I bought it

Generally, a well made and sturdy unit that is appropriate for the home shop or light garage use. The hose material is high quality and the internal rollers are of sufficient size to stand up to regular use.

have problem locking the hose once it's out