I'm going to not have to worry about this til spring now. But I have 3 options that I can consider... 1) I bought this a while back. Since it's going to go more or less by the evergreen in the corner next to where the deck starts, it could blend in better than the next option below. I only wish this had some type of a hose winder, pain to try and put it back each time with my length of hose. http://www.amazon.com/Yard-Butler-HCF-3-Standing-Garden/dp/B000CZ2XRQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321707766&sr=8-1 2) Hose box - bulkier than above, beige color, but winds up easily, sit sprayer on top 3) Use neither of the above in that location. Why I didn't think of this before, maybe my mind is going worse than I think it already has. Take the longest hose I have and hook it to the faucet on the right side of the house, which is right behind the lattice that's now up under the deck. I had one put in, right to the left of the door to the crawl space in the pic posted on Nov 11th, bascially to the very left of that picture. I think the hose I have could be used almost all the way around the house if there. Can't remember the length, but it's pretty long. Will measure it and see if it's a possibility that could work. That way, no need to wrap up more than 1 hose and it would be hidden and not be an issue. Here's hoping!!! I can keep a smaller hose on the first option just long enough to do the very front of the house, in which case, it's length would be a breeze to wrap up after use. Thank you all for racking your brains with me! On to the next problem....

Ah Bless you too Sandy, you don't even need to make a do-nut out of a piece of EPDM liner, if you want to protect that clamp screw from rusting out. Buy a roll of self sealing rubber tape from the plumbing or electrical depts, in either Home Depot or Lowes, Etc. It is sold some places as "Magic Tape", or leak fixing tape. It is actually self amalgamating tape, which means, when you apply it, stretching it, as you tape it on, it seals to it's self. Once applied it will seal out any moisture. Or in, in the case of mending a cracked/punctured pipe, it will stop any moisture from leaking out. Yes you are correct ordinary tin solder will not stick to stainless steel. Silver solder will, but it is much more expensive and you require greater heat to melt it. That is over kill anyway. If you use a good quality hose clamp it should not loosen off. Take care, [by the way you have mail] LOL "Horton"

Hi...wanted to see if I could provide some clarification on the 60' hose question from the Vacuflo point of view. The key to the performance on the Hide-a-Hose is airflow at the end of the hose. You want to be satisfied that the turbine based (TurboCat) powerhead has enough airflow to spin properly. High sealed vacuum will compensate for the long hose runs and is therefore a greater indicator of performance versus Airwatts in this specific application. The MaxAir power unit was designed specifically with Hide a Hose in mind. All power units will lose airflow as length of the hose increases. Generally speaking, it is not unusual to have performance decreases 2-3% going from 30-40' and also when going from 40-50'. That is why it s a recommended practice when installing Hide a Hose is to oversize the power unit based on length of hose. When you increase the length of hose from 50' to 60', the performance can decrease as much as 22%...just with those extra 10'...regardless of the power unit size. During our testing, the Max Air maintained the HIGHEST level of airflow at each length tested (30, 40, 50 an 60') and was the ONLY power unit that maintained adequate airflow to operate a turbine at 60'hose length. My hesitance to recommend usage for ANY power unit at a 60' length is due in large to the greater performance decrease that occurs over 50'. Will it work? Yes. Do I think it is a compromise to the best functioning system? Yes. I think it is best to look at your overall application before evaluating. If you have no carpet in your house and can more economically afford one 60' hose, then I am more comfortable with that situation than one that would require turbine use. I hope this helps. Lastly....regarding the hose sock getting dirty... I have had really good success with placing an entire hose assembly, sock and all, in the washing machine with some old towels to clean it. It washes up quite nicely. Simply lay it flat to dry, in the sun preferably.

The first one I had was Ricar when the house was being built. They came out about 4 times. It would work when they left, but still never enough power. Then I would have trouble with the hoses not going in or coming out. Then I got electrolux to come out and they put in all new ports or outlets, and new hoses. Still not enough power and the same with the hose problems. They did do a few things in the attic with the pipes. Now I have Drainvac which is the high powered unit I got the electrician to install. Great suction power but hoses still get stuff in the pipes. If I only had clear pipes I could see where the blockage is. We have a call into the head people at the original company that installed the pipes. It was a Hide A Hose system. We are hoping they will recommend someone who really knows how the install and service them. I have almost 9k in this system now and still not happy. My sister built a new house the same time and did not want it. She has a rainbow somebody gave her. She is laughing all the time about what I am going thru. I never had any trouble before until I got Hide a Hose.