[Ronnie Bryce]

Can't make up my mind here. My joints and upper arm muscles are killing me after 10 years of manual reeling in, it's getting seriously painfull. Any of you guys have experience of any of the 2 mentioned reels?
I know I could DIY, but don't have time or any inclination to do so. Thanks for any advice given.
Ronnie.

[matthewprice]

I have the waterworks reel ,really good reel ,sometimes I find when reeling in 300 m a little under powered on occasion .also  I feel it could do with a safety bar to stop hose coming of the reel .but must admit that in over a year only has happened a handful of times .hope this helps .i  wouldn’t be without it now

[dazmond]

Can't make up my mind here. My joints and upper arm muscles are killing me after 10 years of manual reeling in, it's getting seriously painfull. Any of you guys have experience of any of the 2 mentioned reels?
I know I could DIY, but don't have time or any inclination to do so. Thanks for any advice given.
Ronnie.

i dont get it...i get zero pain in joints and muscles from reeling in and ive been doing it for 8 years now....how old are you ronnie?do you weight train by the way?

best wishes mate

[Ronnie Bryce]

55 Daz and fine and fit, regular hill walker. Until 6 months ago, perfectly fine with no problems. At some point RSI will kick in, when it does, you will know all about it. Just keep doing what you do and you will find out for yourself mate, one day. With me it's primarily the elbow joint and shoulder joint on the winding arm.

[dazmond]

55 Daz and fine and fit, regular hill walker. Until 6 months ago, perfectly fine with no problems. At some point RSI will kick in, when it does, you will know all about it. Just keep doing what you do and you will find out for yourself mate, one day.

why will i?reeling in is virtually effortless with a decent fixed reel in the van.i also weight train 3 times a week so my muscles and joints are strong....i enjoy the extra effort as it gives me a little "cardio kick" if im reeling in 100m at pace....

im also a part time window cleaner so i dont think i work enough hours to give me RSI.......

[Ronnie Bryce]

So am I, Tkd black belt, drummer, kayaker, hill walker, I'm fit and don't need to work many hours, but it's happened. Take care.

[alank]

Im the same ronnie and will be ordering two electric reels at end of summer. In my fifties now and starting to ache. A lot. And yes im fit walk dogs have six allotments and cut logs etc also weight trained for years but why reel in with a manual when you dont have to

[NWH]

It’s not about the weight of it it’s the  movement which gives you problems just like any other RSI problem,I have the waterworks reel it changed my working day it will give you the same benefit it does switching from a fibreglass pole to an extreme pole.

[NWH]

An electric reel is well worth the money imo I didn’t used to think it was but I was soon convinced,I had deltoid pain and elbow pain which were completely gone once I started using the electric reel.like I say you could be the biggest strongest bloke out there it’s not about strength it’s the repetitive movement which aggravates the joints and tendons.

[Jonny 87]

55 Daz and fine and fit, regular hill walker. Until 6 months ago, perfectly fine with no problems. At some point RSI will kick in, when it does, you will know all about it. Just keep doing what you do and you will find out for yourself mate, one day.

why will i?reeling in is virtually effortless with a decent fixed reel in the van.i also weight train 3 times a week so my muscles and joints are strong....i enjoy the extra effort as it gives me a little "cardio kick" if im reeling in 100m at pace....

im also a part time window cleaner so i dont think i work enough hours to give me RSI.......

I’ve been saying this to you for ages daz, rsi WILL kick in at some point. It doesn’t matter how fit or active you are, I think it’s madness your not going to spend a few hundred quid  to eliminate the problem completely.

Ronnie we use two waterworks reels and they are spot on.

I’ve never had to touch them maintenance wise and they are nearly a year old.

If they do break down, there is a manual handle you can attach so your not stuck, and maintenance on them is straight forward. Take a few bolts off and replace the chain etc.

I’m really not sure if the purefreedom reel is worth the extra few hundred pound.

[Jonny 87]

An electric reel is well worth the money imo I didn’t used to think it was but I was soon convinced,I had deltoid pain and elbow pain which were completely gone once I started using the electric reel.like I say you could be the biggest strongest bloke out there it’s not about strength it’s the repetitive movement which aggravates the joints and tendons.

Exactly. Receptionists don’t get rsi because there hands aren’t strong enough. It’s the repetitive movement. It doesn’t happen overnight, but eventually it catches up.

[NWH]

I know the reel has fixed the problem after about 2-3 weeks the aches were gone they are on par with extreme poles and hot systems it would be the 3 things I would insist on with a new system.

[Ronnie Bryce]

Johnny, Nwh, does the waterworks have a snag detection cut out?

[zesty]

I think electric reels are brilliant, I’m 30, yet I love mine, nothing to do with fitness, purely ease of use and speed.

I’m all about making work as easy as possible, so I can save energy and time for the things I love.

Daz, its a case of long term prevention, make it as easy as possible now, and keep the body in good nick for many many years. I agree it’s not hard to manually reel in the hose, but when doing it for years on end when you don’t actually need to is pointless really, but each to there own...

[dazmond]

if i start having problems then ill get an electric reel but no sign yet...

[p1w1]

Johnny, Nwh, does the waterworks have a snag detection cut out?

No, but i've never found it a problem if the hose snags the reel won't have the torque to keep winding in,  just let go of the button it's pretty instant. I did a review of the water works reel a year ago if it helps http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=206634.msg1830108#msg1830108 . It's still going strong and works the same as it did then. This was before grippatank and pure freedom brought their versions out.
if you do a search marc m did a quick video on the pure freedom one.

[p1w1]

if i start having problems then ill get an electric reel but no sign yet...

ever heard the phrase "prevention is better than cure" 

[NWH]

That anti snag option with have it stopping and starting left right and centre even when the hose is cooled up it will stop,in the real window cleaning world the hose won’t be all laid out perfect so it’ll be stop starting all the time. With the waterworks reel you get to know how to use it if you think it’s likely to snag you ease it in if you can see or know there’s no obstacles you can go flat out. No doubt it allows you to do more work with an electric reel I’ve said so many times the hardest part of the job is the manual reeling in,if you are like me and use almost half or more hose each job it’s a must have,if your like Daz and have tin pot houses don’t worry about it 😂. Seriously though a must have WFP item to have it saves loads of energy.

[robbo333]

Ronnie

Can I suggest you also try pole hose on your main reel.

I had tennis elbow, about 6 years ago, and it became very painful, so I lightened everything; poles, brushes and hose.
I have used Gardiners reinforced pole hose (about 60m) on my main reel for the last 5 years and it is great. Very light to use, very light to pull round the house, very light to reel in, it's yellow and it lays flat.  No loss in pressure and my surflo pump has been fine.

I know Gardiners don't warranty it for that use, but mine has been fine and I shall be replacing it soon, with the same again.

It's made a big difference for me and for the price, it's got to be worth a punt.

[brianbarber]

I was about to order one, felt reel was hard work.
 Don't know what  made me think of it, gave it some wd40, jeez what a difference.
 Carrying on nowmwith the manual
Another imprivemt if you mount in van but off the floor , higher it is less bending which results in not having to stoop in to rear of van.

Mr B