How garden hoses are made

A garden hose is a plastic tube wrapped in woven thread and then covered in a second layer of plastic.

stations: 6
things upstream: 48
raw sources: 18
steps from the ground: 7

The short version

PVC granules are melted in an extruder and pushed through a die that shapes the inner tube. As the tube leaves the die, a braiding machine weaves polyester or nylon yarn over it, and a second extruder coats the braid with an outer layer. The hose is cooled and sized, printed and coiled, and brass or plastic couplings are fitted.

Dry the PVC granules

Granules of PVC compound are fed from silos. They must be dry, so they are sometimes pre-dried for an hour or two.

Goes in
PVC
Melt and extrude the tube

Twin screws push the granules through heated zones until they melt into a thick, even liquid. A die shapes it into the hollow inner tube, which sets the bore of the hose.
Braid yarn over the tube

Right after the die, a braider weaves yarn in crossing spirals around the tube. The reinforcement is polyester or nylon thread, and it lets the hose take pressure without ballooning.

Goes in
Polyester
Extrude the outer cover

A second extruder wraps a layer of plastic over the braid. The cover has to bond with the tube through the gaps in the thread.

Goes in
PVC
Cool and size

The hose is drawn through a vacuum sizing tank or water bath that hardens it and holds its outside diameter constant. Gradual cooling prevents stress and distortion.
Print, cut and fit couplings

The hose is marked with its brand, cut or coiled, and a male and female coupling are fitted to the ends. Better hoses have couplings machined from brass.

Goes in
Brass

End of the lineGarden hose

Worth repeating

Soaker hoses leak all along their length, either through many small holes or through a porous material such as sintered rubber particles.
The threads on a hose end are not tapered, so a small rubber washer in the female end, not the threads, makes the seal.
Hoses for drinking water use polymers tested not to leach plasticizers called phthalates into the water.