Water Butt Query

Hi,

The only place I can put a water but is across the far side of the footpath around the house.

The hose from the downpipe, to the water butt, would therefore have to go under the path and back up the water butt.

How far up the downpipe would the hose have to be connected, in order for the water to have sufficient gravitational fall to reach the water butt?

Thank you.

 

I don't know the correct physics, but my suggestion would be:

The higher the better

If the pipe goes into the water butt, and then points downwards, it [the hose] will syphon [from the downpipe] when full, this will increase the volume that can be "sucked" from the downpipe.

Larger diameter "hose" will have less friction than small diameter. 3/4" is significantly better than 1/2"

 

The hose would have to be connected to the downpipe at a point no lower than the top of the water butt. Water will always find its own level - obviously the higher you can connect to the downpipe the better - it will give you more force. Or if the water butt is situated in a part of the garden which is lower than the area where the downpipe is this will also increase the pressure

 

I would suggest you take a spur off the downpipe across to the butt with 4" downpipe (if this is at all possible) with a small diameter hose the water may back up and overflow causing puddling on footpaths.

Filling the butt using the method you describe, the water would have to overcome the pressure of the water. A snap of the area would be a great help. Cheers, Tony.

 

Dunno about pipework with as narrow a bore as hosepipe, but for larger, smooth bored pipes the rule of thumb was 1m fall in 40m for 100mm/4" dia, 1m in 60m for 150mm/6" dia, which would make it 1m in 10m for 25mm/1" pipe, and perhaps more if you're using spiral pipe such as supplied with downpipe interceptors - don't reduce the diameter when/if extending and connect to the butt at high level.

 

I'm having real trouble tying to understand what you are trying to do here bower.

I mean, how do you fix a hose to a downpipe?
This hose then has to run under the path?

I'm obviously missing something.

 

There are plug-in gadgets that will fit in-line with a downpipe that divert water toa water butt (as I'm sure you know ) some of which "divert" using a hosepipe connector, rather than something more the size of the downpipe itself. I assume that is what bower39 is planning to use.

The ones I've seen advertised suggest that you can run the hose to your vegetable patch and the like, but I personally think that the friction will be too great to get more than a trickle. But its a fair idea for under-a-path to get to the Butt, although if it won't allow enough water through the pipe then most will be lost as spill-over past the diverter

 

Generally I think of them being like this (with short, large-diameter, pipes connecting the Butt)



but the hose connection ones look like this:

 

Have you considered crossing to the Butt ABOVE head height.
You could have a slight run off and go vertical into the Butt. You would need a rigid pipe across to withstand environmental effects (winds etc)

 

Just a guess but I would of thought the diverter will think the butt is full and switch because of the back pressure from the fall and rise of the small bore pipe.