L8310 - Levelwind Retractable Air Hose Reel

Works great in my semi shop, use it everyday. Id recommend this air reel.

This is one of those things you didn't know you needed until you bought one. Tired of constantly looping, coiling, tangling and mishandling your airhose? Take an extra moment, dear reader, and learn from my mistakes. The hose reel is a little stiff at first; both the reel itself but also the hose. I put some lube on it (the kind electricians use) and it works great with no decay of any parts. The outer case is (I think) ABS plastic, and has withstood one 4 foot drop already (clumsy, not mount failure). The mount parts seem flimsy but do the trick. The hose shipped with the reel is just so-so quality, but more than sufficient for my needs. No rust on any metal parts so far, and it now gets use multiple times per week in summer and winter. I too have a nice 100% duty cycle air compressor that eventually got buried except for when I needed to buff glass, paint, air-up sports balls, or put air in tires. It was a balance between nuisance and need. While browsing, I saw product, and bought one. I ended up mounting it almost to the front part of the garage, between the two doors. WHY? so I can use it outside to blow grass off the driveway, air-dry my vehicles after a wash, and other sundry tasks. But lets start at the beginning. 1. Find an easy access site for your air. Make note you'll be running air-hose *from* that spot, up (or behind) your wall, along (or behind) your ceiling, *to* your mount spot. 2. Take a string and measure the run from your compressor to the anchor-point for your FIXED air-hose. (meaning, attached to or behind garage wall. Picture the compressor. Picture the wall with a female fitting. Hang a string between the two. Then put a loop or two in it for slack. Write this measured distance down. 3. Do the same thing from the site you'll be starting your female fitting for FIXED air-hose, up wall, along ceiling, to your site for the hose reel. Add about two feet. 4. Install a female fitting for your chosen hose size. You can buy them anywhere. Now, if your distance from this fitting to the hose reel is a convenient 25', you are set. Teflon tape the hose end, screw into female fitting, and run/anchor your hose. Anchor the female fitting near your compressor, and drop the other end near the hose-reel. 5. You'll need to buy fittings to make the connection from the service line to the reel. I added in a valve, but it's not necessary if you use appropriate fittings. 6. Mount your reel. Good to go. Looking back, I shoulda left space on wall to mount a water trap. Since doing the above, I've also put in a manifold so I can drop air to other sites in garage. Bear in mind, all fittings leak. The more fittings, the more leaks. Some shops do custom airhose work. Ask around.

This is a great all around air hose reel. I originally bought the classic 100 ft metal ones that range in price from $100 to over $1000. They all seem to have the flaw that the winding catch is simply attached with a single bolt through therein body of the reel mount. So if you ever let it lock too hard, the bolt bend the frame and it is now useless. After being frustrated with this and having one for only a few months, I began looking for different designs. I found this one, which also ranges in price to affordable ~$250 TO ~$1000. I was skeptical at first due to the polymer design instead of metal. I have had this for several months and use it all the times, at least once a week... I do NOT use this in a professional garage, although I think it would probably stand up to it. PROS Hose is a hybrid design, not PVC or Rubber. Its thin, easy to bend, and doesn't seem to have much issues in the cold. I have had no problems with it leaking and I do not treat tools gently, they are supposed to take a beating and keep working. In fact I now prefer the hybrid design over traditional rubber. It seems much more durable than the rubber which bubbles and gets pin hole leaks from time to time. It also has an adjustable tension for the winding. CONS It does have issues sometimes winding the last 12-18 inches. This isn't a real big deal for me and can be fixed if you help guide it a little at the end. I think the polymer case is a little too thin for my liking, however have had no issues so far. OVERALL If you have a little more money to spend over the traditional metal reels, I would go for it. I would not buy another metal one unless they drastically improve the flawed design.

Have been using this in my shop for a year now and I love it. Plenty of hose and always reals in.

Very easy to mount. I like that as the hose retracts an internal guide moves the hose left and right which lays it down equally and you don't have one side with too much hose. The last 3' of hose are troublesome to retract and requires lifting the hose to remove tension and it will then retract. Other reviews have said the hose is poor quality and broke after a few uses. It's not the highest quality, but you need to take care of it like any tool. I unreeled the hose 40 times. 20 of those were pulled straight out and the other 20 were with the hose rubbing against a tractor bucket, work bench and an abrasive floor. Only minor scuffs were noticed as expected.