Hose pipe: sizes, pressure ratings and how to choose one
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A hose pipe is a flexible water hose, usually PVC reinforced with a textile layer, sold by inside diameter and length. Gardena's 19 mm (¾ inch) Classic hose bursts at 22 bar; its textile Liano Xtreme of the same size is rated to 35 bar and is meant for pumps and sprinklers.
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What a hose pipe is
A hose pipe is a flexible tube for carrying water from a tap or pump to where it is needed: a garden bed, a car, a site mixer, a tank. Most are PVC with a layer of fabric inside the wall. Gardena, the German garden-tool maker, explains on its Classic hose page that this internal textile is what lets the hose take pressure and keep its round shape instead of collapsing or ballooning.
A second build turns the layers around: a woven textile jacket outside and a thin, flexible PVC tube inside. Gardena’s Liano Xtreme hose is made this way. Both kinds are sold in rolls, by inside diameter and length.
A hose pipe is not the same as the short braided connector under a basin or toilet; that product, also called a flexi pipe, is covered on the flexi pipes page.
Hose pipe sizes
The size printed on a hose pipe is its inside diameter, given in inches or millimetres: Gardena, for example, labels its hoses 13 mm (½ inch) and 19 mm (¾ inch). The step from ½ to ¾ inch matters more than it looks. A 19 mm bore has about 2.1 times the cross-section of a 13 mm bore (our calculation: 19² ÷ 13²). It also holds more: about 0.28 litres in every metre at 19 mm against about 0.13 litres at 13 mm (our calculation, π × r² × 1 m).
Gardena positions its 19 mm Liano Xtreme hose for long, intensive watering and as ideal for connected sprinklers or pumps, so the ¾ inch size is the one to look at for that kind of hose pipe work.
PVC or textile hose
Gardena’s two 19 mm hoses show how the builds compare:
| Classic hose 19 mm, 20 m | Liano Xtreme 19 mm, 25 m | |
|---|---|---|
| Build | PVC with an internal textile layer | textile jacket over a flexible PVC tube |
| Burst pressure | 22 bar | 35 bar |
| Sun and frost | UV- and frost-protected, can stay outside | UV- and frost-protected, can stay outside |
| Weight | standard PVC | up to 50% lighter than conventional PVC hoses |
| Kinking | keeps its shape under pressure | does not kink, Gardena says |
| Warranty | 12 years, after registration | 30 years, after registration |
Source: Gardena product pages for the Classic and the Liano Xtreme. Both carry warranties only if registered with Gardena within three months of purchase.
Burst pressure and where the water goes
Burst pressure is the pressure at which a hose fails, so it is a limit, not the pressure to run it at. The figures above, 22 and 35 bar, give an idea of how much stronger one build is than the other. When a hose pipe runs from a pump, such as the Pedrollo water pumps made for gardens and orchards, compare its rating with the pump’s data sheet.
Fixed supply lines are covered on the water pipe page, and garden and outdoor taps on the taps page.
What to check when you buy
- Inside diameter. 13 mm (½ inch) for light watering, 19 mm (¾ inch) or more for sprinklers and pumps.
- Length. Rolls are sold by the metre; Gardena lists 20 m and 25 m for the hoses above.
- Build. PVC with textile reinforcement, or a textile jacket for higher pressure and less weight.
- Burst pressure. On the label or data sheet, in bar.
- Sun. A UV-protected hose if it will lie outside.
- Warranty. Whether it needs registration, and how long it runs.