I have 4 hose reels and at least 450 ft. of rubber-vinyl hose. It clogs up my basement every winter. I want the summer yard equipment off of my basement floor. I’m going to put the hoses and reels on the garage wall. But how much can wall storage weigh before it’s too much for the hooks I’m using?
How much does a hose, hose reel and the water in the hose weigh? A 5/8 in. rubber-vinyl hose weighs about 2.52 oz. per foot, and a 3/4 in. rubber-vinyl hose weighs about 3.03 oz. per foot. The water in a 5/8 in. hose weighs about 2.12 oz. per foot, and the water in a 3/4 in. hose weighs about 3.06 oz. per foot. A Suncast hose cart weighs 12 lb, and a Liberty hose cart weighs about 35 lb.
Including Hose, Reel and Water Weight
Weigh your hose and cart before hanging them on a garage wall. Hoses can be heavy, especially if there’s a lot of water still inside.
A hose can be heavy, especially if it’s filled with water.
I’m going to put 4 hose reels on the garage wall.
Each reel still has its hose on it.
And I’m going to assume the water is inside the hose to be safe.
I realized that the hook I hang the hose reels on has to be both wide and sturdy. The hook has to carry the weight of the hose reel, the hose and the water combined.
I can’t be sure the water is completely out of the hose. The three weights I need to know are hose reel cart weight, the hose weight, and the water weight.
I have to combine the three weights to determine the required hook load. 5/8″ rubber/vinyl hose weighs about 2.52 oz./foot.
The water in that hose weighs about 2.12 oz./foot.
A 3/4″ diameter rubber/vinyl hose weighs about 3.03 oz./foot.
The water in a 3/4″ hose weighs about 3.06 oz./foot. A lightweight Suncast hose cart weighs 12 lb.
A heavy-duty Liberty hose cart weighs 35 lb. A 25 ft. 5/8″ hose full of water on the 12 lb. cart weighs 20 lb. A 225 ft. hose full of water on the Liberty cart weighs 93 lb.
Say I only have 50 lb. hooks around. Are they strong enough to carry my heaviest garden reel and hose with water inside? They are not strong enough, as my heaviest reel-hose-water combination is 93lb.
I could make sure to drain the water out of the hoses to lower the weight. I used maximum water weight to be safe.
I could take the hoses off of the reels. But it’s a lot of work. Then again, storing 93 lb. of hose and reel might be more weight than I want to lift onto the garage wall.
I definitely don’t want this on the ceiling as it could kill someone if it fell. I calculated all of the hose and water weights in 25 lb. increments for hoses from 25 ft. to 225 ft. long (5/8″) and to 200 ft. long (3/4″). This should help us understand how much weight we’re looking to hang on the garage wall.
This article’s weights come from a good-faith research and calculation effort. Your mileage may vary. Please err on the site of using stronger storage hooks if you’re not sure of the weight you’re hanging. Drain garden hoses to reduce total weight and avoid water freezing inside.
The Bottom Line Summary
Here are the useful numbers from the sections below. A 5/8 in. hose weighs 2.52 oz. per foot. If it’s full of water, the water weighs 2.12 oz. per foot. A 3/4 inch hose weighs 3.03 oz. per foot. If it’s full of water, the water weighs 3.06 oz. per foot.
ROUNDED UP even if fraction is under .5.Based on 2.52 oz. per foot., and water weight based on 2.12 oz. per foot. How to read this table using the first row: A 25 ft. 5/8 in. hose weighs 4 lb. The water in a 5/8 in. hose also weighs 4 lb. (rounded up). Combined, they weigh 8 pounds. A Suncast 175 ft. hose reel weighs 12 lb. If you store 25 ft. of hose containing water on a Suncast reel, the total weight you’re hanging will be 20 lb. A Liberty 200 ft. hose reel weighs 35 lb. Combined with 4 lb. of water and 4 lb. of hose, the entire weight being hung would be 43 lb.
ROUNDED UP even if fractions are under .5 based on 3.03 oz. per foot, and water weight based on 3.06 oz. per foot. How to read this table using the first row: 25 ft. of 3/8 in. hose weighs 5 lb. The water in that hose also weighs 5 lb. (rounded up). Combined, they weigh 10 lb. Combined with a 12 lb. 175 ft. Suncast reel, the total weight of the water, hose and reel is 22 lb. Or, combined with a 35 lb.Liberty reel, the hose, reel and water weighs 45 lb.
Storing Garden Hoses in the Garage
I live where it’s cold in the winter. We need to bring patio and garden equipment inside each fall.
The hoses come inside to prolong their usefulness. Freezing water and rubber don’t mix. My garage and basement get overwhelmed with outdoor equipment.
My garden hoses are on wheeled cart reels. The reels and hoses take up a lot of basement floor space.
I’d rather they take up garage wall space, instead. This is something I’m working on now.
How Much Does this Hose Weigh? (50 ft. 5/8″ and 225 ft. 3/4″ Examples)
A typical, old fashioned rubber/vinyl hose weighs between 8 lb. and 43 lb. A 50 ft. 5/8″ diameter hose weighs about 8 pounds, or about 2.52 oz. per foot. A 225 ft. 3/4″ diameter hose weighs about 43 lb, or about 3.03 oz. per foot.
How Much Does the Water In this Hose Weigh? (5/8″ and 3/4″ Diameters)
The water in a typical 3/4″ diameter hose weighs 3.06 oz. per foot. The water in a 5/8″ diameter hose weighs 2.12 oz. per foot.
How Much Does this Hose Cart Weigh? (With 2 Hose Cart Examples)
A plastic, small-capacity hose cart like the Suncast 175 ft. capacity weighs about 12 lb. A metal, high-capacity hose cart like the Liberty 2PAZ3 225 ft. capacity weighs about 35 lb.
How Much Does the Reel, Hose and Water Weight Combination Weigh? (With 3 Examples)
A Suncast hose cart with 175 ft. of water-filled hose weights about 61 lb.
The cart/hose/water combinations below weigh between 63 lb. and 110 lb. A small-capacity Suncast hose reel cart carrying 175 ft. of 5/8″ hose completely full of water weighs about 61 lb.
The Liberty 2PAZ3 cart can store 225 ft. of 5/8″ diameter hose. With water still in the hose, the entire cart, hose and water weighs 99 lb. The cart weighs 34 lb. The hose weighs 35 lb. And the water weighs 30 lb.
The Liberty cart weighs 110 lb. when carrying 200 ft. of 3/4″ hose full of water. The cart weighs 34 lb. The hose weighs 38 lb. And the water weighs 38 lb.
How to Calculate Garden Hose WEIGHT
If you have an old vinyl/rubber hose, you need to know the diameter and the length to calculate its weight. A 3/4″ diameter hose weighs 3.03 oz. per foot. To calculate the WEIGHT of a 225 ft. 3/4″ diameter hose:
- Multiply 225 x 3.03 to get the weight in oz.
- Divide that by 16 to get the weight of the hose in lb.
A 225 ft. 3/4″ diameter hose weighs about 42.6 lb.
How to Calculate the Garden Hose WATER Weight
A 3/4″ diameter hose carries about 3.06 oz. of water per foot. To calculate the WATER weight of a 225 ft. 3/4″ diameter hose,
- Multiply 225 x 3.06 to get the water weight in oz.
- Divide that by 16 to get the weight of the hose in lb.
A 225 ft. 3/4″ diameter hose can carry about 43 lb. of water.
Here are some typical hose weights in 3/4″ and 5/8″ diameters. Hose lengths range from 50 ft. to 225 ft. The hose weights range from 7.87 lb. to 42.6 lb.
Here are some typical hose water weights for 50-225 ft. hoses. The water weights range from 6.625 lb. to 48.96 lb.
How I Determined Hose Weights Using 8 Hose Examples
All of my hoses are old fashioned rubber and vinyl. They are heavy and bulky. I bought mine before the lightweight flexible hoses such as the FlexiHose became available. A 50 ft. FlexiHose weighs 2.9 lb., which works out to .92 oz. per foot. The FlexiHose expands and contracts. The surface area and weight are just way less than an old rubber and vinyl hose like the ones I own. I don’t have a simple way to weigh my hose reels and carts. And I don’t remember which brands of hose I have. So I researched similar hoses to determine approximately how much a typical rubber/vinyl hose weighs per foot. Then I multiplied the number of feet of hose I have times the weight per foot, to determine the weight of the hose I’m hanging on the garage wall.
The Greenbest and Gilmour Hose Weights
- A 3/4″ diameter rubber/vinyl hose like the Gilmour Pro Commercial Hose weighs approximately 3.03 oz. per ft.
- A 5/8″ diameter rubber/vinyl hose like the Greenbest Garden Hose weighs approximately 2.52 oz. per ft.
To get an average hose weight, I added the got the average weight of the 25 ft., 50 ft., 75 ft. and 100 ft. lengths for each brand. I based the garden hose weights below on their stated weights on Amazon. A couple of the weights were outliers. Both outliers looked short by 5 lb., so I added in 5 lb. in both cases. This data gives us the average weight per foot of both a 5/8″ diameter and a 3/4″ diameter garden hose.
Draining the Water is Easier than Weighing the Water
- the water in a 5/8″ hose weighs about 2.12 ounces per foot of hose
- the water in a 3/4″ hose weighs about 3.06 ounces per foot of hose
The hose water will add a lot of weight. Draining the water or blowing it out of the hose are both good options. I do both — I drain the hose and I assume there’s still water in the hose. I buy the stronger hook as if the water were still in the hose weighing it down.
Use Gravity or an Air Compressor to Remove Hose Water
Eley hose reel offers two helpful hose drain suggestions. The gravity method hose draining method has you put the hose pointing downhill. Then slowly reel the hose back in, allowing the water to drain as you do. The air compressor method has you clear the hose water with an air compressor. If you don’t drain or blow out the hose before hanging it on the garage wall, it will be very hard to lift, and the wall hooks might not be strong enough for the added weight.
How I Estimated the Hose WATER Weights
Great Garden Supply estimates that a 150 ft. 5/8″ diameter hose can carry 20 lbs. of water. That’s 2.13 oz. of water per foot. FireH20 on the Firehouse.com forum gives us a formula to calculate the weight of water per foot in any hose diameter. The formula validates Great Garden Supply’s 20 lb. of water per 150 ft. of 5/8″ diameter hose. FireH20’s formula is: Weight of water = 0.34 X d^2 X Hose Length Using this formula,
- a 150 ft. 5/8″ hose carries 19.92 lb. of water
- a 150 ft. 3/4″ hose carries 28.69 lb. of water
Two Practical Examples Weighing the Carts, Hoses and Water
- My Suncast carts with 175 ft. hose capacity are 12 lb.
- My Eley Rapid Reel #1043 hose carts with capacity extenders are 35 lb.
How Much Does the Suncast Cart, Hose and Water Combination Weigh?
A 175 ft. 5/8″ hose weighs 27.56 lb. It carries 23.19 lb. of water.
How Much Does the Eley Cart, Hose and Water Weigh?
The Eley cart weighs 33 lb. A 225 ft. 5/8″ hose weighs about 27.56 lb. and carries about 29.81 lb. of water.
What Hook Should I Use to Hang My Carts and Hoses?
My favorite hook for hanging the large garden hose reel is the simple but effectively large Tekton Heavy Duty Bike Hook. A “heavy duty” garage hooks that only holds 25 lb. is not “heavy duty.” My largest reel with hose and water is 110 lb. Most hooks max out at 100 lb. I also want a very wide mouth on the hook to hold the hose reel handle. I am using two 100 lb. hooks to hold the reel steady and to distribute the weight. While the Tornado U-Hook can handle the Suncast reel and hose, I like the bike hooks because the cart is less likely to fall off of the rounder bike hook design.
Conclusion
The heaviest cart, hose and water weight combination I measured came to 110 lb. (or 112 lb. if rounding UP on all calculations). Most garage wall ganging hooks max out at 100 lb. So two 100 lb. hooks offers 200 lb. of hanging capacity for the 110 lb. max cart-hose-water weight combination. This was about the heaviest combination of reel, hose and water I could find. Two 100-lb. hooks should be sufficient for hanging other reels, but please do your own measurements to be safe. p.s. The lightweight hoses available today make it much easier to drain the hose water and hang the hoses for storage. I’m thinking of swapping out hundreds of feet of rubber/vinyl hose for the lighter weight FlexiHose.
People Also Ask
Can I hang a hose on a Gladiator Slatwall? Yes, but I recommend not using their hose hook for heavy weights. The Gladiator hose hook carries only 25 lb. There are two types of hanging surfaces. The GearTrack system holds 75 lb./lf. The GearWall system carries 50 lb./sf. Gladiator hooks that carries 75 lb. include the Dual Hook, the Big Hook, and the Utility Hook.
What’s the best lightweight hose and reel combination? The Rolio 50 ft. Garden Hose and Reel. This is the hose that comes in a small box, and you just can’t believe you got the right product. But you did, and it’s a stunner. It comes with both a portable reel and a 9 function spray nozzle. It’s incredibly compact, and yet expands to 50 ft. when full of water. Hook it up to the water and you have a powerful, sturdy and yet really lightweight hose.
