No reason or appropriate place for teflon tape in a garden hose connection. Use a fresh washer or O-ring and tighten finger tight, just until it stops leaking. If you're breaking off the metal fixture you're cranking way too hard on it.

Can we, please, get off the tangent of whether or not Teflon tape should be used, and back to the topic of picking the best manifold for garden hoses? Thank you!

If you didn't use the tape and over-tighten, then the Home Depot one would probably be good enough.
But this one looks like it might be just one piece of brass. You could try it out:
Solid brass

I found the best manifold is the exact one you used. Sorry you're having such difficulty doing a simple task.

Roof35, have you tried more than one? Because if not, then your earlier off-topic post and the inflammatory tone aren't offset but the helpfulness of your response...

Greg_2015, thank you. One of the two products at the link you gave (the all-brass one) seems like just what I need.

Wow doofus, nothing like shooting the messenger. You may want to hire a plumber since you appear to be in over your head on this project.

Plumbers use Teflon tape. Because quality connection should not leak. Not even a little bit. Ever.

I now have the implicit confirmation, that your recommendation for the best manifold comes from an experience with exactly one. Such recommendations are obviously useless -- if a set contains only one item, that item is both "the best" and "the worst" at the same time -- and "messengers" insisting on their importance in such circumstances should, indeed, be persecuted.

You entered this discussion not with an intent to help answer the question asked, but in order to pursue this off-topic line. I would, that you don't do such a thing again, but maintain no illusion, that this spanking will change your ways. I therefor request that you simply ignore any future questions by me -- as I intend to ignore your answers.

Teflon tape and thread sealant are used when the THREADS are creating the seal. Like pipe thread (NPT).

Garden hose connections are sealed by the WASHER not the threads. You can use an entire spool of Teflon tape or a whole can of thread sealant and a garden hose connection will still leak if the washer is not doing it's job. Sometimes a good seal can not be made with a standard hose washer due to variances in thread length on imported products. When that occurs a super washer that resembles an o-ring or a thicker than standard hose washer will do the job.

Most people just clamp down with channel locks, it still leaks, and then
they can't get the assembly apart so they post on self help forums and
ignore the answers.

doofus,

Every single person who answered your post, told you not to use Teflon tape.
For some reason you decided to argue you don't like that answer.

Do yourself a favor and don't ask questions if you don't like the answers. Good grief!

doofus-

We're happy to provide advice, but, when you don't want to hear it and insult people trying to help, there's not much of an incentive to try to keep assisting you. If you're using teflon tape, it may be contributing to the problem. Can you just accept that without getting annoyed?

Maybe, I'm using too much (or the wrong kind) of Teflon-tape -- not sure...

Talking about teflon tape is not off topic. YOU are the one that brought it up in your original post. The tape is most likely why you keep having a problem.
Plumbers use tape when it's appropriate. In this case, it isn't appropriate and NO plumber would use it here.
Just because you don't like the answer, it doesn't mean that it's the wrong answer.

C'mon guys-- don't feed the troll.

--Hello, I'm here for an argument

-- No you're not

...

> Talking about teflon tape is not off topic.

It is off-topic. As I wrote, the problem with some manifolds is that unscrewing the hose has a good chance of unscrewing the manifold's own connector instead. The connector is then stuck in the hose and, being perfectly round and smooth, can not be removed.

That the usage of tape, maybe, increases that chance is not important -- the danger is still there with or without tape. I asked for a pointer to a manifold, where this would not be a problem at all, and the sole useful answer came from you (thank you).

Now, yes, it would be Ok to mention the use of tape in passing -- but dwelling only on it is firmly in the off-topic category.

> Just because you don't like the answer, it doesn't mean that it's the wrong answer.

That maxim is perfectly true, but does not apply. My objection to most of the responses (the first two, primarily) above is not due to some superficial "dislike", but is explained simply by their missing an answer to the question asked.

Ok...good luck on figuring this out by yourself.

@ doofus,

A classic case of do-it-yourself being screw-it yourself.

By incorrectly using Teflon tape you are LOCKING the hose to the male manifold nipple. When you try to remove the hose the hose from the manifold the male nipple would rather unscrew from the manifold because it is not tightened as much as you tightened the female hose end onto it.

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make them THINK.