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How to use a watering lance

Updated: 23 October 2026

The lance is in your hand and the first bead of water is the part that matters. Most drips start at the washer, the click, the pattern dial, or a telescopic collar, and each of those is a different fix. This is how to use a watering lance on a UK garden hose: fit it before the tap is open, choose a pattern the plants can take, then look for the joint that is actually wet. Model ranks stay on the [Metal watering lance](/hub/garden-watering/metal-watering-lance) comparison. Written on 21 October 2026 from maker guidance and these review notes. It is not a pressure trial. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

The lance is in your hand and the first bead of water is the part that matters. Most drips start at the washer, the click, the pattern dial, or a telescopic collar, and each of those is a different fix.

Our top picks

Restmo Restmo 61 cm rainfall watering lance

Best overall

Restmo Restmo 61 cm rainfall watering lance
9.0/10about £29.74
View offer
Restmo Restmo 48 cm pistol watering lance

Alternative

Restmo Restmo 48 cm pistol watering lance
8.8/10about £25.99
View offer
Wash It! Wash It! 49 cm watering lance

Best value

Wash It! Wash It! 49 cm watering lance
8.8/10about £15.95
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Fit it before you open the tap
  2. 2.Pattern and flow
  3. 3.Where it weeps
  4. 4.After watering

Fit it before you open the tap

Turn the outdoor tap off before you touch the connector. WaterSafe's advice is to run stale sun-warmed hose water out with no head fitted, onto soil. Seat the rubber washer in the female click. If it is twisted or missing, the joint will bead, and tape will not replace it. Push the male end home until it clicks, then tug. If the male click will not enter, stop. Forcing a nut that says GHT onto a BSP tap is not tightening. The Fanhao box includes two spare O-rings and a male quick connector, which is the part to swap before you blame the shaft. If the click will not seat at all, the thread words are on the metal watering lance buying guide. Only then open the tap a quarter turn. You want a controllable trickle, not a jet into the beds.

Pattern and flow

Start on shower, mist, or the rainfall face, not on jet. Hozelock's basket guidance is rose rather than jet, aimed at the compost. The 61 cm Restmo has no dial: the 585-hole face is the soft setting. The Wash It! review that matters says the shower is the useful pattern and the others disperse poorly. If compost leaves the surface, you are too close or too far toward jet. A lock or a thumb valve is so you can rest your hand, not so the hose runs while you answer the door. WaterSafe wants a self-closing control because a hose left underwater can pull garden water back toward the supply. Close a lock before you set the lance down, then glance at the click. Basket compost has its own steps on the watering lance for hanging baskets page.
Restmo Restmo 61 cm rainfall watering lance

Testsieger

Restmo Restmo 61 cm rainfall watering lance
9.0/10about £29.74
View offer

Where it weeps

Find the first bead and stay there. If water sits at the tap tail, the washer in the tap connector is the usual cause, and a washer-sealed joint is not a PTFE job. Hozelock's maintenance page tells you to replace perished O-rings. If the bead is at the lance click, reseat it, tug, and only then look at a spare O-ring such as the pair in the Fanhao box. A wet pattern dial is a different joint. On the 48 cm Restmo, a rotating head leaked after about three months, and pin jets clog. More tap pressure does not clear a blocked pin. A wet telescopic collar is the sliding joint. The telescopic Restmo weeps when the length is changed, and the Aoowu's UK review says the tube extends once the water is on. Do not keep watering with a shaft that is growing. A lance that will not turn off is a return. If the leak is inside a wall, that is a plumber, not another washer.

After watering

Shut the lance first, then the tap, so the hose is not left charged. Drain the lance if you can tip it. Hozelock's maintenance advice is to bring guns and lances indoors before frost, since trapped water splits them. An aluminium tube still contains a valve and O-rings. Leave the click undone so the washer can dry, and do not park the head in a water butt. If the head, the collar, or the shut-off has failed inside the first weeks, use the return route. The best metal watering lance page is where to look if this one is going back and you need a different shape.

Common questions

Which pattern should I start on?
Start on shower, mist, or the 585-hole rose, aimed at the compost. Hozelock's basket note is rose rather than jet. On a multi-pattern Restmo, leave jet until you know the click will stay on. If compost moves, step back or change pattern.
What order do I connect a lance?
Tap off, washer seated, click home, tug, then a small turn of the tap on a shower or rose. Run stale hose water out before the head goes on if the hose has been sitting in the sun. Stop the flow at the lance and check the click still holds. Open the tap fully only after that bead is absent.
Why is water coming from the dial?
On the 48 cm Restmo, reviews include a rotating head that leaked after about three months. That is the dial joint, not a loose hose tail. Clogged pin jets are a separate complaint and are not fixed by more pressure. If it is still inside the return window, send it back rather than forcing the head.
Why does a telescopic shaft grow or weep when I slide it?
The telescopic Restmo leaks at the arm when the length changes, in the reviews, and one unit's tubes blew apart after a plastic valve piece broke. A UK review of the Aoowu says the tube extends under pressure however tight the joints are. Shut the tap. A collar that will not hold the length is not solved by watering harder.
What do I do if it will not turn off?
Turn the outdoor tap off and stop using the lance. One 61 cm Restmo review describes a unit that would not shut off after three months. That is a return, not a reason to lock the lever open. If you cannot isolate the tap, get a plumber rather than leaving the hose charged.

Related pages

Metal vs plastic watering lance

Metal watering lance

Best metal watering lance for pots, paths and beds

Metal watering lance buying guide: length, then fit

Watering lance for hanging baskets: a rose, not jet

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest, plus the amazon.co.uk prices, stars and review counts captured for these ten listings. The digest prices were not a live check on 21 October 2026. Last reviewed 22 October 2026.

  1. Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999, Schedule 2 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  2. WaterSafe, hosepipe backflow (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  3. Ofwat, temporary use bans (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  4. Water Industry Act 1991, section 76, via the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  5. Hozelock, how to measure your tap (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  6. Hozelock, hanging baskets (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  7. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  8. Access Irrigation, Dramm lengths (retrieved 21 October 2026)