After YEARS of manually reeling up the vacuum hose and thinking it was no big deal and just a part of the job, I realized it was a lot of work. Think about how much extra energy it takes, after you just finished a big job, to manually crank that hose back in when you could just push a button. Like you I thought an electric reel was a luxury I couldn’t justify. I already had a hose reel and a new electric one was over $1400 plus shipping. So I decided to invent a kit to convert my vacuum hose reel from manual to electric. WHAT A DIFFERENCE it has made!! I am telling you, once you have an electric reel you will NEVER want to be without one! Now it is affordable and no longer just a luxury. If this is something you are interested in check it out at www.tntcpt.com/shop