We have the hose boxes that automatically reel your hose back in.

We have had the boxes with the crank for at least 5 years. We disconnect it and store it in our garden shed for the winter.

Maybe you weren't getting one that is big enough to store all the hose you have or maybe your hose is too heavy for the box. A heavy guage hose puts a lot of strain on the crank. They also make them to hold 50, 100 or 200 feet of hose, so you have to get the right size for your hose.

It's actually the connector that breaks and leaks. I tried adding one of those hose rings and that hasn't helped. The crank itself is fine. They have all been the same brand (suncrest I believe?) I have tried various hoses too, thinking maybe it was the hose that was broke.

They make commercial hose reels. Both wall mount and cart style. I also have one of the automatic hose reels. The only thing is the hose is the smaller variety. Not an issue unless you are hooking it up to the power washer. The one in the front is a cart, but I did have to reinforce the reel part with some angle iron. The other one in the back, newly purchased, is an aluminum reel with brass fittings. That reel gets a lot of sun and the plastic ones weren't holding up. It's only downfall is it reels so easy that it has a tendency to unreel at the end. So I hook the hose sprayer to the shelf on top. It's also very decorative looking since it is mounted on the deck.

Here is a link that might be useful: Liberty Garden Hose Reel

When I bring my hose out in the spreing to check for leaks, I leave it out all summer and fall. I sprawl it across my patio, to make sure it doesn't get cut when mowing the lawn. At the end of the season, I curl it up, drain out any water and store it in my shed till the next spring.

2 hoses...2 ways I do it.

Front of the House: Hose is attached to faucet and spread out neatly behind a shrub. There is plenty of room between the shrub and house where I can re-lay it out after use.

Back of the House: I have one of those hose tubs. I don't carefully re-roll the hose every time it goes back in the tub. I'm too lazy for that, but I do make sure when I "stuff" it back in the tub it's not tangled. When I pull it out, I do have to arrange it, but I'd have to arrange it whether it was perfectly rolled up or neatly stuffed.

I've learned the key to making sure my hoses are not eyesores is to get green garden hoses that blend into the environment. Years ago I bought a couple yellow hoses. Problem was no matter where they were or how I tried to camouflage them (aside from putting them in the garage after every use), they were visible from great distances and the first thing that caught my eye in my yard.

I'd take pretty pictures of my house and all I could see was a stupid yellow hose somewhere. Kind of like someone giving you the Bunny Ears when your picture gets taken.

New house, got green hoses, and even in the messiest, tangled state...or neatly rolled, I don't even see the hoses unless I'm looking at them.
Gayle