The Best Hose Quick Connect Fittings + 4 Indispensable Lawn Tools

DIY lawn care is easy when you finally decide to buy (and use) the most basic yet indispensable tools available. Each of the tools that I used today I've owned for at least 4 years, and I can't imagine not owning.
The best garden hose quick-connect system is made by Eley. I use their quick-connect hose fittings as well as their swivel hose valves. I even use their free-standing hose reel and full-flow faucet splitters. These products are easily worth their cost.
► See my comparison of eley quick connectors vs all the other alternatives here: turfmechanic.c...
The best all-purpose rake by far is the Groundskeeper II rake which I've owned for many years. I use it for so many tasks and it performs so much better than basic leaf rakes. It can gather debris, pull up light thatch, detach unwanted stolons, and even spread light material like a hard tines garden rake. Very useful.
I bought my Groundskeeper II on Amazon a few years back. I still need to make a dedicated video on it but you can price one out for yourself here: www.amazon.com...
I also have stopped using all hose-end spray nozzles provided by lawn product companies and have instead been pouring all basic liquid products into my Ortho Dial & Spray hose-end sprayer. I have an Eley male quick connect fitting attached to the end of it making it dead-simple to do lawn apps quickly and effectively...and because the product is so cheap it is essentially replaceable if you ever damage it.
Additionally, I've been using battery mowers ever since February 2020, before I even started this channel. The longest-running mower I still use is my favorite and it's going on its fifth season of use as of time of filming this video. The Snapper XD 82-Volt push mower is by far my favorite of all the battery mowers I've ever owned. It is also one of the cheapest battery mowers you can buy today.
This is the 21" Snapper XD Push Mower that I'm trying to convince my wife to let me buy! :D www.amazon.com...
As a bonus, I've mostly been fertilizing with Lawnbright products over the past 12 months. They are super easy to use, contain no synthetic sources of nitrogen, and include lots of natural biostimulants like humic acid, kelp, fish emulsion, molasses, and more. They even have products that microdose lime, repel insects like mosquitos and ticks, push deeper greening with liquid iron, and they have no phosphorus fertilizer options in their lineup for lawns that don't need added Phos.
► Turf Mechanic viewers get 15% off all orders on Lawnbright on this dedicated page: turfmech.link/...
The Irrigreen computer sprinkler I use in this lawn space is not included in this video. I am able to water this entire zone with a single sprinkler head with no overspray and no underspray. This has been a game-changer for me...now, if only I can eradicate the wild Bermuda from the KBG over the coming season.
► Irrigreen is offering a big discount on new systems this weekend (Labor Day), price yours out here: irrigreen.sjv....
Other products I use often or recommend for various purposes can be found here: turfmechanic.c...
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[@enzomoya1689]

I went ahead and bought the shower nozzle from ELEY and absolutely love that thing! Expensive but worth it! I like that shut off valve.

[@TurfMechanic]

I've not yet pulled the trigger on their nozzles but I've been tempted. Glad to see you've had a good experience with yours. As for the shutoff valve, that thing is worth it's weight in gold. Love it, and the swivel on it make it even better. The nozzles never point in the wrong direction and the swivel joint never leaks. So impressive.

[@jasonfournier]

I have the same quick connect system I've been using this year. I also ended you also buying a Eley hose reel. Expensive, but totally worth it for the high quality. I use the quick connect on three different hoses and then 3 nozzles, a sprayer, my pressure washer, and lawnmower cleanout adapter.

[@TurfMechanic]

those Eley pieces I've been buying here and there over the past 12 months, every single purchase I'm not sure if I need but I'm never disappointed. The hose reel actually did have an issue earlier this summer though. The elbow joint has a plastic part and it cracked. They sent me a replacement complete with repair instructions for free, awesome Customer service! The part was super easy to repair. I'm thinking about getting a mounted reel for the back yard soon and attaching it to my back fence so we don't have the hose lazily drooping all over the back patio all the time. As for those male connectors, I think I have 12 of them now, attached to so many random things. At this point almost everything has one connected to it. Makes everythis so easy and it's amazing that I haven't seen a single leak in any of them yet.

[@futurizo]

thanks for the tips. just fyi, the industry term for a non-constricted valve is "full port." a constricted one would be a reduced-port valve.

[@TurfMechanic]

ahha, good to know the right term. I'll bust that term out next time and hope to impress. :D Much appreciated

[@BenjaminT.Minkler]

wait a second, so those quick connects don't shut off the water flow when disconnected? as mine do, and it actually is a failure point, as I've just had my second female end break; which horribly they get stuck closed blocking all water flow, they still attach to the male ends but its like you can't jam them together far enough to open whatever value is in there - turns out this is a real pain in the butt with the cheaper 'low flow' common ones, and just to make things worse currently that broken female end is stuck(corroded/welded) onto the threads of my longest hose

[@PaulW-db3ks]

I have the same quick connects. Sorry to say they suck and leak just like the cheap plastic ones I’ve tried. I even tried lube on the o-rings.

[@TurfMechanic]

That stinks to hear; I have yet to see a leak in 13 months except for a plastic part that failed on my hose reel a couple months back, that was replaced with a single email. Other than that everything still works flawlessly for me.

[@TravisLaing]

Any link for the quick connect?

[@TurfMechanic]

Links are on this page turfmechanic.com/best-garden-hose-quick-connect-sets-reviews/

[@peupeuguy310]

will you reseed the KBG or will that fill in like the bermuda did ? 🧐

[@TurfMechanic]

I could wait for the KBG to fill in, it will but the spots I killed off are a little big for me to want to wait for the recovery so I'll spot seed that areas. It's straight Midnight KBG so it shouldn't take too long to fill in this time of year but the color and texture will be off for a bit while the new stuff matures. Better than having a whitish dead spot in the lawn though.

[@brianallen140]

I've slowly switched over to all eley stuff. Just not the hoses.

[@TurfMechanic]

I wish they made some 3/4" hoses, I'd love to see the full flow hoses to pair with their full flow connectors. Right now I only use their leader hose from my front spigot to hose reel.

[@brianallen140]

@@TurfMechanic my back yard is over 200 feet deep. I'd go broke buying their hoses. I have about 10 quick disconnects on sprinklers, hose end sprayers and extension hoses. Coupled with the swivel on off. I just have to order a cover for my reel. Keep forgetting to do so.

[@upnorthofcali7399]

Will the fertilizer you just applied burn my lawn at all???

[@TurfMechanic]

I suppose it's possible because that particular bottle contained some urea but you'd still probably have to apply at least three times what I applied to a dry lawn in heat. What I applied was already a pretty high rate so the risk of burning with that product is quite low.

[@upnorthofcali7399]

@@TurfMechanicthank you for responding...I have 3x that much area to fertilize

[@mikeo8890]

It seems kinda expensive to apply anything with a hose end sprayer, it comes out too quickly and just seems wasteful, the rake is 😎.

[@TurfMechanic]

yeah, I wouldn't advocate for applying 'everything' with a hose end sprayer but it's no doubt a great tool for many things that go on the lawn. Also, so long as the sprayer isn't clogged and it's cleaned regularly you can set the dial-n-spray to apply very slowly. I've used it in a video once to demonstrate how it could even be used to apply Tenacity. Not the best idea but it's certainly possible. Biggest limitation is the tank size. The tank only holds 32oz of product...but unlike a regular sprayer you don't have to add water into the tank either so it can cover a good sized area for non-risky products. You are right though, there are good and bad things about using the Ortho. Beginners though should experiment; thats the best way to get that practical knowledge.

[@I3arbarian]

Rather stick with Hoselink. Groundskeeper rake is indeed a great tool. Skipping the Ortho.

[@TurfMechanic]

Honestly I need to get my hands on the hoselink connectors to compare. Last year I put together a major blog post comparing 5-6 of the top connectors on the market but I didn't think to add hoselink to the comparison list. They definitely look very different than most quick connectors on the market.

[@I3arbarian]

@@TurfMechanic I mainly stick with Hoselink as I already have the hose and whatnot. Eley I can almost guarantee is the better quality. For my purposes the Hoselink works just fine.

[@TurfMechanic]

GTK, thanks for the insights. I may just buy a few Hoselink products this Fall to get better acquainted with their offerings anyway. Their Hosereel is probably great but I always tell me wife, fewer moving parts are usually best for long term durability. :D

[@joec2442]

What are stolen.

[@TurfMechanic]

I don't understand your comment Joe. Who said anything about stolen anything?

[@bigjigg5672]

​​@@TurfMechanic Lol- I believe he was referencing the grass "stolons". The question was lost in translation. IMHO Keep up the great content B!

[@TurfMechanic]

HA! OK, BigJigg helped me out a bunch there, stolons are above ground runners that warm season grasses send out so that they can spread side-to-side. They typically sit below the visual grass and run right on the soil surface re-rooting down as they grow sideways. When you try to kill these grass types the stolons remain on the ground looking dead or in this case white because of an herbicide I applied 10 days ago. I could leave them in place but I don't want to see the white (dead) stolons in the lawn any longer than I have to so I uproot them with the rake and either pluck them by hand or cut them off with the mower which is set to a super low setting. Once my Kentucky Bluegrass starts growing tall again the dead stolons of Bermudagrass remaining will be nearly imperceptible. Sorry for not understanding your question initially! :D

[@TurfMechanic]

Thanks for the help Jigg! I should have figured out that misunderstanding but sometimes I'm a little slow. :)

[@bigjigg5672]

@@TurfMechanic No problem Brian, all the teachings you've given me & made it so that even in drought my lawn is the ONLY 1 in the community that's green and lush...... I OWE YOU. Happy I could be of some help. Hope you and the are well.💯