Waterbutts

moneyistooshorttomention

Sorry for asking such a "basic" question, but I'm wondering what would happen to any "surplus" water that is set to run from the house downpipes into a waterbutt.

I had a waterbutt in my last house, and the "surplus" water (ie any further water coming down the downpipe after the waterbutt was full to capacity) would just continue down the downpipe and flow out the "heel" of downpipe at the end into the drain right underneath it.

In this house, on the other hand, the downpipes aren't beside a drainhole. The downpipes go straight down set into the ground (no downpipe "heels") and the water from the gutters just flows straight down them through underneath the ground into the house drains.

This does sound a daft question I know , but the reason I am asking is that I've been told by a local workman that I would need to put some sort of different connector on the "hosepipe" leading from downpipe to waterbutt and I'd have to physically "turn off a tap" to stop any further water from the gutters flowing into the waterbutt once its full. It's sort of being implied that water from gutters will keep trying to run into the waterbutt and the butt might "burst"/have the lid come off/etc and water from it running everywhere if I don't have some sort of "hosepipe with turn off tap" connector from downpipe to waterbutt.

I cant see it myself....but then this is a different set-up to what I had before...hence the Idiots Question I'm posing here.

Am I correct in my original assumption that I'll just have a standard waterbutt with standard (ie "hosepipe" type connection) leading from downpipe into waterbutt and "surplus" water (after waterbutt is full) will just "deal with itself" and continue heading down that downpipe into the underground drain these downpipes go into?

moneyistooshorttomention

I've found an image of what I have in mind, so ignore the firm's details, but my downpipes go into the ground in the same way this one does and the waterbutt pictured has the same (ordinary) type of "hosepipe" connection.

http://www.crocus.co.uk/product/_/harcostar-child-safe-water-butt-227-litre/classid.200980/

madjackslam

Judging by the photograph that you have linked to, once the water level in the butt goes above the entry point of the hose, water will no longer flow into the water butt. The level of water in the butt will be higher than the level of water coming out of the drain, and it will go back in and down the drain. It's a simple matter of physics isn't it?

However, make sure you have the relative levels of the various bits as shown. Some of the reviews here http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B000A63K4M seem to explain it quite well.

Ectophile

The diverter in the drainpipe should be installed below the top of the water butt, and slightly above the hose entry point of the water butt.

If that's done, then when the butt is full, water just backs up along the hose, and any more rain just carries on down the downpipe.

Delta_1984

Does the diverter need to be positioned below the height of the waterbutt to work? I was thinking of putting my waterbutt at the rear of my house, and running a hose from a diverter high up on the the downpipe at the front, and over the garage.

Delta_1984

Ignore above - obviously it will overflow when full