Garden Hose Sizes Explained for Retail Buyers
Why 1/2 inch, 5/8 inch and 3/4 inch are not interchangeable and how hose size decides every other product on your watering wall.
Hose Size Is an Inside Diameter Not an Outside Diameter
A 1/2 inch garden hose is 1/2 inch across the inside of the tube, roughly 13 mm. That is why hose reel capacity in this catalogue is written as 1/2 inch or 13 mm, the same measurement expressed two ways. The outside diameter varies with wall thickness, which is why two hoses labelled the same size can feel very different in the hand and still take the same fitting.
What the Three Common Sizes Are Actually For
1/2 inch is the domestic default across most of Europe and it is what this catalogue is anchored on. 5/8 inch carries more flow for longer runs and larger gardens. 3/4 inch is the step up for high demand use and for the tap end of an installation, which is why the tap adaptor range covers 3/4 inch and 1 inch while the hose itself is 1/2 inch.
Why Size Decides Your Whole Range
Hose size sets the connector size, the mender size and the reel capacity rating. A reel rated to store 45 metres of 1/2 inch hose will hold noticeably less 5/8 inch hose. If a range is built on 1/2 inch and a buyer adds a 5/8 inch hose later, the capacity claims on the reels stop being true.
How to Check a Supplier's Size Claims
Ask which hose size a reel capacity is rated against. If the answer is just a number of metres with no hose size attached, the figure means nothing. Every reel and cart in this catalogue states the hose size the capacity is measured against.
Families This Article Covers
PVC Garden Hose
2 models. Half inch fifteen metre PVC garden hose supplied plain or as a complete watering set…
Hose Fittings and Connectors
32 models. Quick connectors menders tap adaptors and valves in 1/2 inch 3/4 inch and 1 inch sizes that mate across the wh…
Hose Carts and Hose Reels
12 models. Wall reels two wheel carts and metal frame reels storing 40 to 100 metres of half inch hose…
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Questions About This Topic
Which hose size should a new range be built on?
1/2 inch for a general domestic range. It is the size this catalogue is anchored on and it is what the reel capacities are rated against.
Can a 1/2 inch connector be used on a 5/8 inch hose?
No. The connector has to match the hose it clamps onto. Mixing them is the most common cause of a leak at the coupling.
Put This Into a Quotation
Send the models you are considering, the volume and the market. We will confirm the specification and the carton data before you price it.