Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Try using the Side Tracker after installation and you could get compelled to write a 4- or 5-star review. The unit works well when new. But realize that the Side Tracker is made mostly (if not completely) of plastic parts, especially where you would rather have metal parts - at the spool and hose attachments. And there is another flaw in the design. The critical O-ring connection. The reel can be attached and removed by the use of a plastic lever lock at the center of the spool. Remove the spool and you'll see the plastic center spindle. On it are two rubber O-rings, one was blue and the other, white, which are meant to seal the center slot where the water flows to the hose. The two rings appear to be slightly different sizes.
Now here is where things went wrong. After about a year, the leaking increased. Usually you can consider going to the hardware store to buy the rubber hose gaskets, but the replacement didn't seem to seal as well as I had hoped. Don't even bother purchasing the set of black rubber O-ring replacements at Home Depot, because they are too big for the Suncast Sidetracker reel. And try to find the replacement rings at the same place you can find the Suncast hose reels on display? You'd be S.O.L.
So, I just finished special-ordering a pack of O-rings for $2.19, with a shipping charge of over $7... and yet I can expect that each set of two rings will have to be replaced within a year's time. Having to keep buying replacement O-rings every three years or so? No, and after I run out of my O-rings (if they even fit), I'll search for a more reliable reel system that's got a better design, and offers us the chance to get replacement parts easier than having to do special-order.
That's why, with two stars, I should really give this one star. Well, I've decided that it only deserves a single star. The good-usage is too short-lived. Then, you wind up feeling stuck with this big, leaking plastic spool.
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