It’s hard to find a good fresh water hose with fittings that won’t give over time. I know there are online sources for ones with brass fittings, but they get you with the shipping. A good way to make a cheap hose last longer is to replace the standard fitting with a brass one.

Project cost: $4-6 depending on prices at your local hardware store

Difficulty: super easy

Materials:

• one water hose with crappy fittings
• one 1/2″ female to male brass adapter
• one 3/4″ pressure fitting (you might be able to find a kit that has both the adapter and the fitting together)
• a sharp knife
• a flat head screw driver
• teflon
• a rainsuit (optional but useful on a typical day in Campbell River)

Simply cut off the crappy fitting from the fresh water hose. Slip on the pressure fitting. Twist in the brass adapter. Tighten the pressure fitting. Wrap teflon around the male adapter on your water pressure regulator (or the threads on the water outlet if you’re foolish enough to not use a pressure regulator). Screw on the water hose. Turn on the water and check for leaks. Adjust the tightness of the pressure fitting (sometimes you need to loosen, not tighten, to fix leaks).

Total time:  five minutes, not counting running to the hardware store and back

typical fresh water hose fitting

Notice that the fitting is in two parts, which flex. It starts to leak when the two parts have flexed so much as to no longer fit tightly.

all-in-one replacement fitting for a garden or fresh water hose

teflon wrapped around the water pressure regulator threads

old fitting removed, pressure fitting added

end result; no leaks!