Best Value Water Butts? (merged)

olibearhorse

I got mine from Severn Trent, a spacesava with diverter kit, came within a month and was about £35 I think. Really happy with it but looks like you can get it cheaper than I did!

Happy 'butting' when you do get it, it's nearly as exciting as composting!:rotfl:

Sagar_Fuzz

Thanks Odyssey - Tesco Direct prices ARE great, but they all seem to be out of stock! I think I'll keep trying, nothing like saving a fiver!

I wish I had room for a composter. Never mind, a rain butt is a good start...

Kay_Peel

I'd like a water butt but I'm put off by the need for DIY to fit the rain diverter. Looking at the instructions I've seen it involves cutting a section out of a plastic down-pipe with a hacksaw (which I haven't got) and then fitting more brackets to the wall (because the downpipe is weakened by a section being taken out).

Is there an alternative that doesn't involve me having to shell out for new tools, brackets, drill bits and all that palaver?

Kay

scbk

re: slow delivery of water butts, last year due to the very hot weather and lack of water, there was a nationwide shortage of water butts!! It also had a knock on effect as the factories/materials used to make the butts also make wheelie bins and composters. The big boys like B&Q/homebase/Wickes/Focus were top of the supply list but a lot of the smaller retailers/independants were left high and dry (excuse the pun)

olibearhorse

Kay_Peel wrote: »

I'd like a water butt but I'm put off by the need for DIY to fit the rain diverter. Looking at the instructions I've seen it involves cutting a section out of a plastic down-pipe with a hacksaw (which I haven't got) and then fitting more brackets to the wall (because the downpipe is weakened by a section being taken out).

Is there an alternative that doesn't involve me having to shell out for new tools, brackets, drill bits and all that palaver?

Kay

I sympathise with you - I had the same worry except that I have an extremely useful step dad! Is there noone who can help you? It doesn't take long.

Poppycat

I ordered one via Yorkshire water 2 weeks ago, they said delivery is 28 days, also have a composter coming.

I did hear on radio last year that water butts were delayed as long as 6 months due to supply and demand. Hope it isnt the case this year, I am trying to save money since moving house in Feb my utility bills are a lot more and I now have a dreaded water meter

Solomon_Broad

Kay_Peel wrote: »

I'd like a water butt but I'm put off by the need for DIY to fit the rain diverter. Looking at the instructions I've seen it involves cutting a section out of a plastic down-pipe with a hacksaw (which I haven't got) and then fitting more brackets to the wall (because the downpipe is weakened by a section being taken out).

Is there an alternative that doesn't involve me having to shell out for new tools, brackets, drill bits and all that palaver?

Kay

Not really. You'll need to cut the downpipe at some point to get the water out of it. You could cut the base of the downpipe off, and put it directly into the water butt, and then put an overflow out of the water butt into the drain, but that's also going to be a hassle.

Fitting the diverter is actually quite simple. I got one from Wickes, and all I had to do was cut a slice through the downpipe, with a saw (Wickes sell junior hacksaws for about 99p, which is what I used), lift the downpipe up slightly (about 2"), put the diverter in place, then put the downpipe back where it was. I never bothered with brackets or anything like that. Took about 10 minutes to fit, on my own.

Odyssey

Odyssey wrote: »

Tesco Direct have quite good prices. I have ordered a 175L butt with lid, tap and diverter kit for £15.96 (price on site is £20.96 and I used a £5 discount code).Delivery is about £4 or you can often choose to collect from a Tesco store for free. Only problem is that they go out of stock quite quickly so you need to keep checking website.
I'm due to collect mine tonight so will let you know what the quality is like when I get home.

I got my water butt from Tesco last night. It seems as good a quality as you see in B&Q and places. One thing I didn't think about was the fact that I have square drainpipes and the diverter kit that comes with the butt is round. It does mention square pipes but doesn't give you instructions on how to connect them. Will see how it goes tonight!!
Overall very pleased with my £16 water butt especially as I only ordered it on Saturday and it was ready for collection yesterday! :j

afro_2

Do water butts make financial sense?

1000 litres of water cost approximatley £1 on a meter, maybe more.
Get a £16 butt from tesco that holds 175 litres
You'd need to save 16,000 litres to break even - that's 91 full butts of water.

Over several years I guess it would work out!

scubaleopard

Hi We went to our local recycling/waste disposal site and picked 1 up for a fiver.Hope this helps