Hoses are used for a variety of gardening, landscaping, and industrial activities. Hose accessories are often required to complete specific tasks. Some of the different types of hose accessories are a water sprinkler, water sprayer, hose holder, hose clamp, and hose coupling.
Garden and landscaping hoses often are used in conjunction with a water sprinkler to deliver water to lawns and gardens. Water sprinklers are available as a screw-on attachment that circulates water only when the spigot is turned on. While timers can be used, this is normally intended as an economical watering method so a simple manual turn-off can be used.
Underground sprinkler systems utilize sprinkler heads that are attached to lengths of hose by PVC fittings. These types of sprinklers are typically set on a timer and pop up from a tube level with the ground to water lawns for a set amount of time. Once the water has been delivered, the pop-up sprinkler head retreats into the tube until set to water again.
Water sprayers are a screw-on hose accessory used when hand watering. The built-in lever is squeezed to deliver water. Some varieties include a multi-spray head that can be twisted to spray in different ways. Most often there is a jet setting that sprays at a high pressure in a small radius and a stream setting that sprays at a lower pressure over a larger radius.
Hose holders are another type of hose accessory often used. This accessory mounts to the side of a building and is an oval shape approximately six to eight inches deep. When the hose is not in use, it is wound around the hose holder for storage, which keeps it from being damaged by lawn mowers.
Hose accessories like a hose clamp are also needed to seal hoses to a fitting. Also known as a hose clip, these hose accessories are made of stainless steel with a screw band on one end. The clamp is put over the hose and tightened with the screw. These are used mainly to control the pressure going through a hose. If the pressure is too high, the hose could become dislodged, so the clamp is used to keep the hose attached.
A hose coupling is another one of the hose accessories needed to keep hoses properly working. A coupling allows two hoses to be connected together or with another machine. Typically the coupling is made of stainless steel and is made to be airtight and watertight. Hose couplings are often used to connect fire hoses to fire hydrants or in factories where high pressure hoses are being used.