Geka vs. Hozelock hose fiittings

Hozelock should really be called Hozeleak I must have spent many hundreds of pounds on this rubbish, this is including their supposed top range of stuff, but the durability of this seems to be designed to last 1 year if you are lucky.

I have vowed never to use them again, so this thread is right up my street and I hope many more of the GC members think about this each time they buy another Hozeleak part to replace the very same Hozeleak part that they purchased 1 year ago.....

If you want a good product and can source it OK, sometimes from Lidl, try the Florabest range, it is built to German standards and makes Hozeleak look like something out of a cheap Christmas cracker....

I will look out for Geka as Kristen seems to be impressed, so I will report back later

 

Fascinating thread thanks Kristen. I've been having quite a few problems with my set up, though not big. This has given me a lot of food for thought.
Thanks very much for that information oldtj. I didn't realise Florabest were German, but it is readily available here in France so I shall look out for it.

 

Re the hozeleak complaint I have trodden that road also. In my case it was invariably caused by one or more of 3 (maybe 4) acts of carelessness on my part.

1) Use the brass/chrome connectors rather than plastic ones, wherever possible. Yes the metal ones have plastic parts, but there is no doubt in my mind that overall they are better. Added cost, of course.

2) Ensure that the hose is jammed into the connector as far as it will go.

3) REALLY tighten that screw around the hose. Generally you worry, quite rightly, about over-tightening threads, particularly plastic threads, but on the odd occasion that mine have come adrift or leaked, this has in the past I think been the main contributory factor. Lose the fear factor here. THEN go back and revisit those fittings a week or so after you have let them bed in, and re-tighten them again. It may seem surprising, but no matter how tight you screwed them down first time, there will be more play after a week.

4) Excessive water pressure? I only include this as a speculative item. I have no evidence that this has caused me any problems, but it seems reasonable that at least in theory this could be a cause. But taking care of 1, 2 and 3 above has solved all my problems with leaky hozelock fittings for now (same with Verve).