Melnor XT452 XT Metal Nozzle, Multi-Pattern, Heavyweight Thumb Control

I had raised garden beds built in May and I knew I would need a good hose for watering. I bought this because my old squeeze trigger nozzle would wear out my hand when I bathed the dog or watered my orange tree. Plus the plastic had started to crumble and the dog got it once. I like the thumb trigger on this because it’s not as bulky as a lot of the fireman hose types. I like that I can set an amount of pressure and just move around. I feel like the fireman hoses that use a whole handle bar for the water require 2 hands while this one can easily be operated with one hand. I’m thinking of buying one for my dad who only has the use of one arm. I’ve played around with all the different spray types. I use the shower setting for watering the garden and bathing the dogs. The jet is really good for watering the orange tree. My hose is not long enough because I buy cheap ones because the dog has gotten ahold of like 3 nice hoses. The jet makes it so I can reach the tree even if my hose doesn’t. I also like to flip the switch all the way to on and I can leave it to fill the dog’s kiddie pool without having to remove the sprayer. It’s quite heavy but not cumbersome. Just heavy enough to feel like it’s really solid. I’ve left it on my hose hanger in direct sunlight in Texas summer for 2 months now and there doesn’t seem to be any fading or weakening of the plastic. I used thread tape when I put the nozzle on my hose and it just recent started to leak from where it attaches but I’m not sure if that’s coming from my cheap hose and not a fault of this product.

This Melnor garden nozzle is fantastic. It's thumb control makes for easy adjustment of water flow. It has a comfortable feel and several different spray patterns.

I find the quick connect feature of many nozzles today to be rather difficult, needing quite a bit of force to connect. I just screwed this nozzle on the hose, but it required an O ring, not included, to prevent leaking at the connection. Wish it had been included, or at least mentioned in the product review. Other than that it seems sturdy and I have found this to be a good brand in the past.

Out of the package, this feels really solid and well made. I hooked it up to the hose and nothing came out. I twisted the dial, and regardless of which setting it was on, nothing would come out. So now I have a hose full of water and fully pressurized and no way of relieving that pressure other than unscrewing the sprayer and getting soaked in the process. I took the filter out to make sure there wasn't some sort of plug in the way. Everything looked clear. I took the dial selector off and the piece behind it so I could see into the sprayer. The internal ball valve looked and operated correctly using the thumb lever. I looked into the handle portion and there was a rubber plug completely blocking the flow of water (1st pic). I tried to remove it with a screwdriver and dental pick and it wouldn't budge. I wound up drilling it out. Hooked it up to the hose again and water came through really weakly. It also started leaking from the handle where the rubber meets the metal (2nd pic). These seem solid and well made, so I'm pretty disappointed....

An essential tool in my gardens. Holds up well to the elements and does not break under normal use.

UPDATE 6/2023 - I have had several of these. They are great at first, but then apparently the screw holding the nozzle loosens or the o-ring fails and they all leaked badly between the rotating nozzle and the case. Melnor Customer support has been excellent, but there is a design flaw. They do have a new model XT455. Because the support has been so great and the nozzles are well designed with that one exception, I'm going to give the new model a try.I've tried every sprayer that remotely looks like it will hold up and without a handle that looks like it will snag on things when rolling up the hose. I had several very expensive plastic sprayers that worked well for a year and the would refuse to shut off - Gave up on them. This is looking to be a good sprayer. It has some weight to it, but my petite wife likes it. It seems exceedingly well built and has great spray selections. And it is 25% the cost of the plastic sprayers - I bought two of these and am very happy with my purchase...UPDATE- I really like the sprayers and a huge applause to Melnor for standing behind their products. There is an issue with the thumb trigger breaking and water dripping from the sprayer nozzle. These issues appeared after a year or so of use. Despite these two problems, the sprayers have outlasted their competitors. I sent Melnor pictures of the problem and they very quickly sent me a new sprayer. I will continue to choose Melnor for their quality products and support.

well known brand works as intended

This nozel is heavy duty! I was constantly replacing this plastic nozels found in garden stores and am so happy to have this one. It's definitely heavier than plastic ones. It has several spray patterns and they all work equally well in terms of great flow. This will last for years and is well worth the money. I highly recommend this product!