Gardening is a fantastic hobby that brings many people a sense of peace and satisfaction. Although it can be a muddy pastime, nothing beats the feeling of watching your hard efforts pay off during the springtime. However, to allow your plants and lawn to thrive in the right conditions, you need to have the right tools and equipment at your disposal. One of the most important items in any gardener’s repertoire is a garden hose, and having the correct garden hose adapters and hose connectors in your toolkit.
This comprehensive guide will deliver you all the basic information that you need to choose the right garden hose adapter for your needs so you can connect your garden hose to your outdoor faucet, sink or hose accessory. This guide will also help you understand how to use your garden hose connector and attach hose accessories so you can buy and use your hose adapters with confidence.
Garden Hose Terms: Tap Vs Faucet Debate!
First things first, let’s go over a few terms to make sure the rest of this guide makes sense.
In the US or Canada, you may be familiar with the concept of an outdoor faucet. A faucet is a nozzle that allows you to get water outside. You can use a garden hose adapter to connect your hose to your water system via the outdoor faucet. An outdoor faucet is also sometimes called a bib, hose bib, spigot, or bib cock.
However, in the UK and other parts of the world, the part of the sink or basin or outdoor shower that provides the way is known as the tap.
What is a garden hose adapter?
A garden hose adapter is a fitting used to connect different types of garden hoses to your main water faucet or connect your hose pipe to various hose accessories, such as sprinklers or garden extenders.
You can use a hose adapter to help ensure a secure and leak-free connection between your garden hose and the faucet or between your garden hose and the accessory you wish to use.
Confusingly, there are many different types of garden hose adapters available, including standard garden hose adapters, quick-connect adapters, and specialized adapters for specific types of accessories.
In order to choose the right adapter, you will need to determine which accessory you wish to connect and the size of your hose. By using the appropriate garden hose adapter, you can ensure that your garden hose and accessories function properly, providing you with a more efficient and less-stressful gardening experience. Plus, you also eliminate the risk of your accessories falling off mind use or leaking and spraying you with water, which is never a fun experience.
Are garden hose connectors universal?
Frustratingly, garden hose connectors are not universal, meaning they are not interchangeable with every type of hose or accessory. Therefore, you need to purchase the correct connector depending on the size of your hose and the type of accessory you need to attach.
For example, a 1 inch garden hose adapter will not fit every size hose and you may need additional connectors for multiple nozzles or accessories.
Matching your hose and accessory to the correct fittings is important to ensure a secure connection. While some ‘almost universal’ garden hose connectors are available, they may not be suitable for every purpose. So it’s best to check the specifications of the connector before purchasing to ensure compatibility.
Different Types of Hose Connectors, Fitting and Quick Connector
The most common hose connectors you may wish to add to you gardening toolkit include:
- Standard garden hose connectors are the most basic type of connector, designed for connecting hoses of the same size together.
- Hose Quick Connect connectors allow for easy and quick connection and disconnection of hoses and accessories. This is the most popular type of garden hose adapter.
- Y-connectors connect two hoses to a single tap or faucet, allowing you to use the same faucet for more than one activity simultaneously.
- Hose menders may be used to repair damaged hoses, so you don’t need to repurchase an entirely new hose if you experience a leak.
- Specialized connectors are designed for specific types of accessories, such as sprinklers, pressure washers or misting nozzles.
| Connector/Adapter | Description | Sizes Available |
|---|---|---|
| Hose Connector | Connects two sections of hose end-to-end | 3/4″ GHT, 1/2″ GHT, 5/8″ GHT |
| Hose Coupler | Connects two hoses of the same diameter together | 3/4″ GHT, 1/2″ GHT, 5/8″ GHT |
| Hose Elbow | Changes the direction of the hose connection | 3/4″ GHT, 1/2″ GHT, 5/8″ GHT |
| Hose Y-Connector | Splits the flow of water from one hose into two | 3/4″ GHT, 1/2″ GHT, 5/8″ GHT |
| Hose Swivel | Allows for smooth hose movement without twisting | 3/4″ GHT, 1/2″ GHT, 5/8″ GHT |
| GHT to NPT Adaptor | Converts Garden Hose Thread to National Pipe Thread | 3/4″ GHT to 3/4″ NPT, 1/2″ GHT to 1/2″ NPT, 5/8″ GHT to 3/4″ NPT |
| NPT to GHT Adaptor | Converts National Pipe Thread to Garden Hose Thread | 3/4″ NPT to 3/4″ GHT, 1/2″ NPT to 1/2″ GHT |
| Male Hose Connector | Has a threaded end that connects to a female connector or faucet | 3/4″ GHT, 1/2″ GHT, 5/8″ GHT |
| Female Hose Connector | Has a threaded socket that connects to a male connector or nozzle | 3/4″ GHT, 1/2″ GHT, 5/8″ GHT |
| Male-to-Male Hose Connector | Connects two male connectors together | 3/4″ GHT, 1/2″ GHT, 5/8″ GHT |
| Female-to-Female Hose Connector | Connects two female connectors together | 3/4″ GHT, 1/2″ GHT, 5/8″ GHT |
Take into account connectors can be made of metal or PVC brass is the most common. Brass will give you the best pricing to durability.
How to Choose a Hose Connector
There a number of things to consider before buying a hose connector and fittings including the hose type and size, the type of end already in your system and the design or aesthetic your desire.
What size adapter do I need for a garden hose?
Hose sizes can range between ½ inch (13 mm), ¾ inch (19 mm), and 1 inch (25 mm), measured by the inside diameter. Most often, garden hoses in the US are ⅝ inch (15.8mm) in diameter.
You need to ignore the outer layers of the hose when measuring your garden hose fittings, as the thread size is only the internal diameter of the pipe or hose. Therefore, a ½ inch (13mm) thread may have an external diameter of 21mm.
You will need to check the package details of the adapter to see what size hose the adapter in question will fit. You can also use a ruler or tape measure to calculate the diameter (width) of your hose.
Female Vs Male Hose Adapters Explained
The terms female and male hose adapters describe the type of threaded connections on hosepipe fittings.
A female hose adapter has an internally threaded opening, while a male hose adapter has an externally threaded stem. Essentially a female or internal thread fitting will have the screw ridges inside the connector, while a male or external thread fitting will have the screw ridges outside the connector.
You will need to ensure you know whether you need a female or male version before purchasing your adapter to ensure compatibility.
Most commonly, you would use a female hose adapter with a male nozzle, and you would use a male hose adapter with a female faucet connection.
How to connect male to female hose ends
If you have your garden hose adapter ready to go with one male and one female connector, providing you have measured the correct size fittings, you can simply twist the female connector onto the naked end of your hose, then twist the male connector onto the accessory. Then you just need to align and twist the male and female connectors together to form a secure connection between your hose and accessory or tap.
You can connect your hose to the outdoor faucet (outdoor tap) by adding a female connector to the end of your hose before attempting to screw the hose to the male connector on the faucet.
If possible try to join a female to a male connector.
How to connect female to female hose ends
Although connecting a female to female ends is a less common way to connect a hose to a faucet or accessory, it can be done. This is most commonly used when connecting two hose pipes together.
If your hose and accessory or faucet both have female ends, you can use a female to female garden hose adapter (also known as a double male connector) to link these parts together.
How to connect male to male hose ends
Similar to connecting two female ends, you can use a special garden hose adapter to connect male to male ends.
For example, if you wish to connect a hose with a male end to an accessory with a male end, you can use a male to male garden hose adapter (also known as a double female connector) to connect these female ends. Fortunately, these connectors are only around $10.
How do you adapt a garden hose to a faucet?
After measuring your hose and tap size and ordering the corresponding outdoor faucet connector, you will need to connect all the pieces to use your hose in the garden to water your plants and grass.
Most outdoor faucet connectors (outdoor tap connectors) will require you to screw the threaded outdoor tap connector to the tap, and then attach your hose end connector to the garden hose. Then once each component has the attachments secured, you can screw the connectors together to form a seal.
How to Attach a Garden Hose to an Indoor Sink
Another common place to use a connector is between a garden hose and a kitchen or bathroom sink.
You will need to use a specific indoor faucet (indoor tap) hose adapter for the connecting your hose to your sink. You will also need to ensure you check which type of sink faucet your home has so you can order the correct garden hose adapter for your sink.
The easiest way to attach a hose to a water source from an indoor sink is using a water bandit. This product is a hose-to-sink faucet adapter which uses a male water connector with a flexible sleeve which can be fitted to round the majority of sink faucets. However, always check that the garden hose adapter will fit your sink’s shape and style.
FAQ
How many mm is a standard garden hose?
Most garden hoses in the US are ⅝ inch (15.8mm) in diameter total. However, you may need to use a tape measure to work out the diameter of the internal hose so you can purchase the correct hosepipe fitting. Easy to page share inch to mm conversion chart for garden hoses.
| Inches | MM (Millimeter) |
| 1/2 Inch | 12.7 mm |
| 3/4 Inch | 19.05 mm |
| 5/8 Inch | 15.88 mm |
| 3/8 Inch | 9.53 |
How can I increase the water pressure in my garden hose?
Now you have found the most suitable garden hose adapter, you may be wondering how to increase the water pressure in the hose to save you time when watering your plants.
Firstly, check your garden hose for any damage or twists, as even minor leaks or kinks in the hose can reduce the water pressure. It’s also wise to check any attachments you use on your hose, as they can become blocked with general dirt and grime. Shower head hose attachments are especially prone to this sediment build-up, so be sure to clean the attachments if needed. You should also check the water source and confirm that your home water pressure is adequate before buying additional garden hose adapter or tools to increase the pressure.
Next, you could try using a high-pressure attachment to boost the power of the water entering your hose. We talk about hose nozzle pressure in our PSI article here.
Finally, you may wish to consult a local plumber to check everything and discuss adding a water pump or changing your water system to increase the water pressure.
Why does my garden hose connector keep popping off?
If you are having trouble with your existing garden hose connector you may have bought the wrong size fitting or you may not have screwed the fitting onto the hose or accessory correctly. If the adapter is incorrectly fitting your hose, it will pop off when the force of the water causes stress within the hose. If you are using a quick connector make sure if is sliding up to lock in place once on.
Water Hose PVC Adapters
We have had some questions about connecting a PVC adapter. There are adapter made of PVC used to connect to PVC pipe, these are usually glued on though. Typical use here is for in ground sprinkler water inlet. PVC hose is also a thing but they lack flexibility and are known to break in colder climates. If you are working with a standard hose brass hose fittings is a better option and is available in quantity in most hardware store near you. Use PVC if your laying PVC in ground irrigation.
Summary
In conclusion, garden hose adapters and connectors play a crucial role in ensuring effective watering so you can cultivate a beautiful, vibrant garden in your backyard. By choosing the right accessory, you can enjoy a seamless watering experience and maintain a healthy garden.
We hope this complete guide has been helped you understand the different hose connector types of garden hose fittings and informed you on which hose connector you need to buy for your gardening toolkit.
