FloPlast MS1 Miniflo Half-Shed Water Butt Guttering Pack Black

Product Information

For me it’s worth it because the allotment is my main hobby. The generator is also an insurance policy for power cuts at home. The position also needs to be near enough the water source, normally a guttering downpipe against a wall, to connect up the water diverter from the downpipe to the water butt. Follow the instructions which come with the water diverter to connect it up. APPEARANCE To use a water butt many situations will involve filling up a watering can from its tap. Because the taps are low down you will need to raise water butt high enough to get a watering can under the tap. The obvious option is to buy the “optional” stand for the model you choose. The sturdy rainwater collection system withstood the very strong winds and heavy weather during initial product testing in winter 2011/12.

I have the same problem with my allotment, I have no shed. But I do have a source of water, a stream. I decided to invest in a petrol generator and a water pump. That allows me to pump water from the stream to the many water butts on my allotment. Probably unlikely in your case but if you can collect water in one or more water butts near your house and then pump it via a hose to your garden, that would work. But there is a significant initial investment cost.Plants in grow bags, containers and hanging baskets have much higher requirements for hand watering. This is because the plant foliage will disperse the water away from the compost in the container reducing the effect of natural rain water to surprisingly little. Step 6: Taking into account the amount of piping needed to reach your butt, mark off the correct length with a pencil, remove the pipe and trim to size. If none of the options are suitable, ensure your downspout extends around a metre out from the shed when you’ve finished installing the guttering to prevent surface water pooling. Step 2: Identify the direction of the fall Installing a connector kit or a water diverter can involve drilling a hole into the water butt if there isn’t one already present or they are different sizes. This is not a problem for the average diy person however it can be avoided altogether if you start off with a water butt from a major supplier and then buy one of the same brand later.

The instructions below are for installing guttering on a pent shed… things get slightly more complicated (and expensive) if you’ve got an apex roof, where you’ll need to install guttering on three sides for maximum water channeling efficiency. The other principal variable which affects the water capacity required, is the size of the area where water is collected from, as described in the next section. WATER COLLECTION IN THE GARDEN OR ALLOTMENT Below are a couple of estimates of water requirements to give you some idea of the water butt size you may require. They are estimates only; temperature, other weather conditions and the size of plants may alter water requirements significantly. The estimates are made assuming hand-watering is required only during warm, dry weather typically occurring in an average UK summer: If it is covered then the problem must be the water going into the water butt. If lots of leaves are going into the butt with the water, they will begin to decompose and make the water smell. What you need to do is place some from of mesh at the top of the downpipe from the shed roof to stop the leaves getting into the water butt.In some cases, there are no nearby established drain systems, in which case you’ll be looking to either direct your rainwater into a water butt or alternatively drain onto ground that is sloping away from the shed and any nearby buildings.

QUESTION: How long can water stay in a butt? Does it not get stagnant and smelly in time? I’m thinking of the times when there is plenty of rainfall, so no watering will need to be done. I definitely need to install several butts as we have a private water supply and watering in our new large polytunnel and outdoor vegetable area puts a huge drain on water needed for the 2 houses and 8 occupants in times of drought! And now that you know how to install guttering on a shed, you’re well prepared to take on the task! ANSWER: Not that I know of. Any water collection system needs a surface to collect water, a roof or even a tarpaulin. That surface must be higher than the water butt.

The smallest water butts sold have a capacity of 100 litres; the largest ones are generally in the range 1,500 to 2,000 litres. The larger tanks can be as high as 200cm / 80in with a base 120cm / 48in. The smaller tanks are typically 130cm high (including stand) and 35cm / 14in wide. As standard 75mm mini guttering is used, extending the length is straightforward (we sell spare parts) or for really long sheds you could even utilise two Rainsaver gutter kits to fill two butts at the same time.

Grow Bag with two tomato plants– approximately 3 litres / 5.5 pints per day in warm weather. Assume in the region of 200 litres during the growing period. COST– many households now have water meters and this means you are paying for any water you use in your garden. Rainwater from a water butt is free and that can only bring a smile to the face of most gardeners.For the diverter to work properly, it is important to fit it at the correct height. This is lower than the top of the water butt, but higher than the inlet into the butt itself, to ensure that there is downward fall from the diverter to the butt. After a few heavy rain showers, the guttering proved its capability, filling two two hundred litre water butts within a month. PLANTS PREFER RAINWATER– all plants benefit from natural rainwater compared to water from your taps. Tap water is a new source of water as far as plants are concerned, they have evolved over thousands of years on rain water. Some plants in particular, such as blueberries, will not grow successfully if watered repeatedly with water from your taps. You can then add further water butts / connectors etc. using the pre-drilled holes. If you drill a hole into a water butt incorrectly it can be repaired with silicon sealant but the join will never be totally reliable. SETTING UP A WATER BUTT