Guttering for Water Butt

[cuffbertt]

I'm looking to put a 1000L IBC in the garden to collect rainwater for the plants. The down pipe for my house roof gutter is too far away on the side of the house, so I'm thinking of using the roof of a small outbuilding. I've done the maths and it should provide enough water for me, however, it doesn't have any guttering. The roof felt just bends over the corner of the building, and there is no "overhang" for me to put guttering under.

Any ideas on what I can do here? From what Google tells me, there is meant to be a "drip edge' installed under the felt so that it extends out slightly to stop the water dribbling down the walls...

[bario1]

Where does the water escape currently when it rains??

[nickdub]

as long as the heights aren't too far different, you could put a small water butt where the down-pipe from the large roof you mention comes down, then use garden hose to connect this butt to your 1000 L tank. The hose will show you where the level is when connected an full of water, and with luck most of it can be buried.

[Potstubsdustbins]

In your case 'the drip edge' is actually formed by the Upvc cladding the bottom edge of which is slightly angled out ward.

[cuffbertt]

Where does the water escape currently when it rains??

Currently it pours off the end of the roof and onto the concrete floor below. Had to move my potatoes out from the wall as they were getting soaked when it rained!

as long as the heights aren't too far different, you could put a small water butt where the down-pipe from the large roof you mention comes down, then use garden hose to connect this butt to your 1000 L tank. The hose will show you where the level is when connected an full of water, and with luck most of it can be buried.

This sounds interesting! We were actually on about putting a butt at the side of the house anyway for washing the cars etc. The butt and the IBC would be at the same level, but I would have to go up and over the outbuilding in order to get there (it's attached to the back of the house so our garden is totally closed in), and I'm not sure that would work?

I could divert the water from the down pipe higher up the wall so that a small hose goes along the side of the wall and over the outbuilding, then down into the IBC. I figured this might be a bad idea though, as once the IBC was full the hose pipe would fill up and then possibly split if it freezes?

In your case 'the drip edge' is actually formed by the Upvc cladding the bottom edge of which is slightly angled out ward.

Ahh ok, that makes sense. It might just be as simple as putting guttering under the pvc then?

[veggiechicken]

Currently it pours off the end of the roof and onto the concrete floor below. Had to move my potatoes out from the wall as they were getting soaked when it rained!

Sounds like you need guttering there, right place or not!

[nickdub]

This sounds interesting! We were actually on about putting a butt at the side of the house anyway for washing the cars etc. The butt and the IBC would be at the same level, but I would have to go up and over the outbuilding in order to get there (it's attached to the back of the house so our garden is totally closed in), and I'm not sure that would work?

You certainly could do it from what you describe - the water pipe will work going up, down, around etc as long as there are no leaks and no joins, the siphon effect will draw water to the lowest end.

Of course whether this is the best solution for you depends on what other options you have. Also as already mentioned, if you do go up and over something the likelihood is you'd have to disconnect one end in the winter and drain the pipe to avoid the risk of splits due to freezing.

[4Shoes]

You get self adhesive water collection systems for polytunnels that may be of use. Not sure if they would allow for the volume of water to fill an IBC.

[cuffbertt]

You certainly could do it from what you describe - the water pipe will work going up, down, around etc as long as there are no leaks and no joins, the siphon effect will draw water to the lowest end.

Of course whether this is the best solution for you depends on what other options you have. Also as already mentioned, if you do go up and over something the likelihood is you'd have to disconnect one end in the winter and drain the pipe to avoid the risk of splits due to freezing.

I wonder if I could put an inline valve after the water diverter before the hose pipe that leads over the building and into the IBC? That way when the weather turns cold I can turn the valve off and let the pipe drain out. Then when the last frost has been and gone I can turn it back on and let the tank fill up again.

[nickdub]

I'm not familiar with the inner layouts of water diverters, so can't help you on that. Being a bodger at heart, I'd probably just disconnect the pipe and put a bung of some sort, like a cut down wine cork in the diverter outlet. Be aware that refilling a siphon hose after draining can be a bit off PIA if it has lots of ups and downs in it, because of the potential airlocks. I usually just use a garden hose connected to the mains so I can pressure refill one if I need to for some reason.
Also you need to leave the outlet end of your siphon movable so you can adjust the height until you have this end submerged in a water tank - its virtually impossible to get the height absolutely right first try up. Then you can raise or lower the tank you are filling a bit either way, until its working how you want it to.