Got Snow? Ames True Temper Telescoping Roof Rake to the Rescue!

Ever since I've had my conservatory, when winter comes, snow on the roof skylights has been a problem. Because the quality of winter light is lower, that light is even more important for my plants housed inside, in spite of most of them being somewhat dormant at the 50°F we keep it in there.

Snow on the roof, the sun can't melt it...

Snow is a good insulator, but
it blocks the light.

Anything that blocks light isn't a good thing, so when Ames Tools invited me to try some of their tools, I immediately chose their telescoping roof rake - part of their True Temper line - as one of them.

I received it last summer, but of course snow on the skylights isn't a problem then, but now it's January and the weather we're having had me searching the garage for that roof rake. It was easily found, just as easily assembled, and I got out there and used it.

I didn't need to extend the roof rake to its maximum length in order to remove
the snow from the skylights.

The angle at the far end of the pole is crucial for its ease of use, allowing you to be fairly close to the roof while using it. It's made of aluminum, making it pretty lightweight, and the pole's unique elliptical shape makes it 50% stronger than traditional round-handled versions.

That's better!

It didn't take me long to scrape the snow off the skylights, which then allowed more of that valuable light to shine in on all the plants. We had gotten some freezing rain before the snow came, so there was still some ice left on the windows, but the roof rake made short work of the snow. This was exactly what we needed.

It has push-buttons that make extending the pole all the way to its maximum length of 17 feet very easy to do, but it has a collapsible length of just six feet, making it better for storage. The 24" blade is made of temperature resistant polycarbonate.

One of the things I like about the Ames company is their attention to detail and to their customers. I visited their headquarters in Camp Hill, Penn., last spring and soon found out why they've been in business since 1774 - before the United States WAS the United States! I've promised to share details of that visit with you and I will - soon.

The telescoping roof rake is widely available at independent home improvement centers as well as the major outlets, with a selling price of around $49.95.

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Ames Tools provided me with the telescoping roof rake in order for me to try it out and give my honest opinion. This blog post expresses my own opinion on their product and no other compensation was given.

Ames NeverLeak™ Hose Reels: A Review

Since I discovered Ames Tools earlier this year and got to see firsthand how some of them are made and what the company's philosophies are towards their products and their customers, I've become a big fan. I have to tell you when they first contacted me about trying out some of their products, I was hesitant. But I'm very glad I decided to go ahead, because they've become some of my favorite garden tools and products ever.

When I visited their headquarters in Camp Hill, Penn., in April, one of the products that caught my attention was a hose reel that was actually attractive (as far as hose reels go) and had a guide on it that helped the hose wind up evenly on the reel when you wound it up. I was pretty excited when they sent one to me to try.

The basic info on the Ames Neverleak™ Hose Reel and Cabinet is this:

• NeverLeak™ aluminum water system, which resists cross threading, stands up to cold temperatures, and is 8X stronger than typical plastic water systems
• Features the Auto-Track® system that quickly and automatically distributes the hose along the reel during rewinding
• Holds up to 150' of hose
• Includes leader hose
• 20" x 23½" x 21"
• 2-year warranty

The cabinet is made of metal, painted black, and is heavy enough to stay put when you're reeling in the hose. We have heavy rubber hoses that we use in most locations of our yard and sometimes it feels like I'm wresting big rubber snakes when I'm trying to hang the hoses on a hanger. I just could NOT believe how easily the hose reel wound that thing up.

Watch:

YouTube video

I also got a chance to try out the Ames NeverLeak™ Poly Wall Mount Hose Reel with Manual Hose Guide.  For comparison, here are its features:

• Fully assembled design; just take it out of the box and mount to the wall
• Features Ames NeverLeak® aluminum water system, which resists cross threading, stands up to cold temperatures and is 8 times stronger than typical plastic water systems
• Includes a manual hose guide to keep hands clean, and accessory tray and easy-spin grip for added convenience
• Capacity ranges from 50’ to 225' of 5/8" hose
• 17½" x 23" x 17" 
• 2-year warranty

The two major differences between the free-standing one and the wall mounted one are that the wall-mounted one isn't entirely enclosed, so it isn't as attractive, and it doesn't have the Auto-Track® system. There's a hose guide, but you have to guide it manually as you reel the hose in.  A  knob on top of the guide makes it easy to hold onto and move back and forth as needed, but the other hose reel is definitely easier. Of course, there's a difference in cost too, with the cabinet style selling for $119 at Lowe's and the wall mount version for $39.98.

Time will tell how they hold up over the years, and though I prefer the cabinet hose reel that I demo'ed in the video, each one does a nice job of reeling the hose in and each is appropriate for the place where we're using it. (Cabinet version, outside. Wall mounted one, inside the garage.) What I really like is that now we don't have to wrestle the hoses to put them away, so we actually PUT THEM AWAY.  :-)

For more information on all the hose reels that Ames has to offer, check their website.

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Ames Tools provided me with both hose reels to try out for the purpose of this review. As always, the thoughts expressed here are my own.

Something Old, Something New, Shovels For Me, A Review For You

We've had this shovel for nearly 40 years.

When my husband and I first were married, we started accumulating things that one needs when setting up a proper household. A key to the front door.  A large garbage can.  A shovel.  The shovel wasn't on my list of necessary things, because my husband was the gardener of the family back then.

As is the case with many couples starting out, not everything you get is brand new. Family members are happy to hand down those things that they have to spare, and our first shovel came from my parents. (I think. It's hard to remember details that are 39 years old.) That shovel has gotten a lot of years of use and it shows it. But it still works, even if the tip is a little worn.

Times change though, and we now both know that a shovel is a necessary member in the tool shed.  I'm just as likely to use one as Romie.

So when Ames Tools contacted me earlier this year to see if I might be interested in learning more about their products, I thought about shovels. We sure could use a new one and they were happy to send a couple of them out for us to try.  In fact, I got to take a trip to Camp Hill, Penn., in April to actually see their shovels and other tools being made.

That's a story for another day, but let me just say this - I love this company. They've got an incredible history. Their tools "built America," and that's no kidding.  Ames was a company before the United States was the United States. Established in 1774, they're still going strong today.  That speaks volumes, doesn't it?

These are just a very few of the tools that the Ames company makes.

But about those shovels...

Ames Tools makes more shovels (and other tools) than you can imagine. Round point shovels, border spades, transfer shovels, floral shovels, drain spades, snow shovels, even a rice shovel. Not only that, they make them in varying levels of quality.  That's not to say they aren't all great shovels, but it depends on how much you're going to use it and how much you want to spend. Ames has a shovel for every use and budget.

Jim Maffei, Director of Marketing and
New Product Development at Ames

We wanted a good basic digging shovel and we needed something that would handle our clay soil as well as our old one shown above did.  Remember that shovel (not an Ames) with the zig-zag cutting edge that came out a few years ago?  We broke it. We broke the BLADE. That's how tough our soil can be.

As I looked through the Ames catalog, trying to figure out which shovel would work best for us, I got it narrowed down to four different ones, but I was still indecisive about whether I wanted the ash-handled round point, or the heavy duty professional fiberglass one. I needed help choosing.

So, I got on the phone one day with Jim Maffei, Director of Marketing and New Product Development for Ames, and we talked shovels. Since Ames was sending me the shovel(s) of my choice, cost wasn't really a factor for me. But there are all kinds of things that enter into why people choose the shovels they do and at first, I didn't choose one based solely on function.

I decided it was either going to be the Ames Long Wood Handle Round Point Shovel or the Razor-back Long Handle Super Socket Round Point Shovel. Razor-back is one of the professional lines of tools that Ames manufactures and they're now making these available to the general public, for those who want something a little heavier duty.

While this has nothing to do with function, I like my tools to look attractive.  The modern vintage look of the Ames wooden-handled shovel appealed to me a great deal, as well as the fact that it's made entirely in the U.S.  On the other hand, the Razor-back's signature color is red. I'll choose red for just about anything.

But it doesn't really matter how a shovel looks if doesn't perform well.  So my husband and I put both shovels to the test. We had several garden tasks this spring that were good for giving both shovels a workout.  We needed to remove shrubs, plant a tree, and of course, plant new perennials.You can use pretty much any shovel to plant most perennials, but when it comes to digging a hole to plant a tree or shrub and especially when you're removing either of these, you need something that's tough enough for the job.

Here's what I thought about each of these shovels:

 Ames Long Wood Handle Round Point Shovel

• I loved the feel of the wooden handle (ash) and I felt like it had some flex to it, but when I applied some pretty heavy leverage, I heard a crack. Nothing appeared to be broken though and I kept on using it quite a bit after that. Minor creaking sounds, but no problems. 
• The step feature on this shovel is sufficient for really standing on it to get more power behind your digging. I don't think I'd buy a shovel without the step for the kind of digging we do around here. (I like to jump on my shovels. Clay, you know.)
• The grip is a bit cushioned and I like the feel of it.  It also helps prevent a gloved hand from slipping.
• 60.5" long, weighs about 4.5 pounds.
• Nice weight - not too heavy and not too light.
• It's got an attractive modern retro look to it, as do other tools in this line.
• Has a 15-year warranty.  
• $14.97 at Home Depot.

Razor-back Long Handle Super Socket Round Point Shovel

• This one has a fiberglass handle and I expected that to make it a little more lightweight, but it was just the opposite. The tempered steel blade is a bit heavier, so that contributes to the extra weight. It wasn't so much heavier though that I would prefer the other shovel because of it.
• The step on this shovel is wider and since there are times when I use both feet at once when putting my weight into digging, I'd choose the wider step.
• This one also has a comfortable grip.
• 62.25" long, weighs about 5.25 pounds.
• Has the feel of a heavy duty tool that it is.
• Has a lifetime warranty.
• $25.97 at Home Depot.

So which shovel did I like better? That's really a hard choice to make. They both work well, and I don't think you could go wrong with either one. The only difference might be that over time, with use factors being equal, the Razor-back could hold up better and/or longer. Both wood and fiberglass can break, although the fiberglass is less likely to do so. And while I really like the wooden-handled Ames shovel a lot, if I absolutely were forced to choose, I'd have to pick the Razor-back. It just feels like a better shovel and I had a little more confidence in it when I was applying leverage. I would have no problem paying the extra eleven dollars for the Razor-back.
 
Interestingly, as I got ready to do my review, I looked a little closer at Old Faithful and what do you know...

 

I sent these photos to Ames to see if they could determine a general time period for when this shovel might have been made. Here was their response:

“The solid socket Featherlite shovels with the shock bands were made in Parkersburg, WV, during the '60s to mid-'70s.  We discontinued shock band production and use.” - Dave Combs, a 30+ year employee of Ames

That fit, since Romie and I got married in 1975. We also have an old drain spade that's made by TrueTemper (a division of Ames) that they identified as being about that age, too.

It seems that we've always been an Ames family.  :-)

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Ames Tools sent both shovels to me free of charge so that I could try them out and compare the two of them. I have shared my experience and given my honest opinion of them. No monetary compensation has been given to me for the purposes of reviewing these products.