How To Avoid Crushing your Hose Reel

There is no such thing as an uncrushable hose reel. While some hose reel drums are stronger than others, no hose reel drum is able to withstand the immense crushing power of a pressurized hose.

Pressurizing a hose while it is still on the reel leads to what the industry refers to as the “boa constrictor” effect, which can cause welds to break or drums to crush. There are two ways to avoid the boa constrictor effect:

1. Wind the hose up on the reel while it is still pressured up, then turn it off. This way there will be enough space to prevent the hose from crushing the drum when it is pressurized next time.
2. Unwind the hose from the reel completely before you pressure it up.

Some reels also come with what is called the “Brawny Drum” – which is a heavy gauge sheet metal drum. While it is still not uncrushable, it is stronger.