Water shortage!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[nick the grief]

Thats not going to me easy Andrew due to the slow rate that water will come out of the tap compared with the rate of fill at the top.

Most commercial butts have to knock out blanks at the top and it would be easier to use on of these as you can have about a 1" outlet then. Using gravity will be difficult if you use the tap at the bottom as it would just drain butt 1.

If you use the top exit it will work like water in a hosepipe & should equalise in height.

[andrewo]

Don't understand, my butts are situated 15' apart and can't be put next to each other. I don't mind the slow rate it will come out at, as long as I can fill butt 2 when butt 1 is full. Ican then turn the water sava on to allow water to fill it up again.

[nick the grief]

If you use the tap at the bottom you won't get the pressure or flow to push the water up & over the top of butt No2 unless it is lower than the 1st butt, then it will act as a syphon & just empty butt 1 & over flow.

If you conect to the top of the butt (you can get fitting that will screw in this it can be left "open" all the time) the height or level of water in the two butts will be equalised. You can connect the two butts with piping or flexible hose on whatever you want.

[Jaxom]

Following Bob Flowerdew’s idea, if you join the two butts up with a hose that goes in the top of each butt with the ends of the hose laying on the bottom of each butt then the water in both butts will always be the same. If you take water out of either butt number one or two then the water level will flow from one to the other and equalise. If you were to put a tap at the bottom of one of these butts then it would still work. The hose joining the two butts is always full of water. I don't know how to explain the physics of this but it is correct. You could have ten butts all joined together with hose but each spaced 30 foot apart and it would still work.
Jax

[bramble]

Did anyone see Monty Dons programme a couple of weeks ago about allotments. There was one man on that programme who gardened without ever watering his plants. He said if you leave plants to their own devices they will put down longer roots until they find moisture themselves. Am not saying it works but just thought I would mention it.

[Jaxom]

There is also that saying about a minute weeding being worth an hour watering or something like that? If there are no weeds to compete for water and the crust of the earth has been broken then all dew and rain will get to the roots. Digging in shredded newspaper when digging would also incorporate a sponge like material bellow the surface to absorb water for a reservoir at the root level.
Jax

[nick the grief]

I think you and me are trying to descrbe the same layout Jax, I know exactly what I want to say but can't find a way of getting on the screen!! They say a picture paints a 100 words so Maybe I'll do that!

[Shortie]

It pays to be nosey

Yeeaaaa!!! It pays to be nosey...

I've just found a dumped water butt in my back alley. Not there any longer though

Only thing is it's missing a tap and lid.

I'm sure I can make a stand and lid, but any ideas where I can get a cheap tap from? I've seen a few places advertise them but they're all £7-8..?

[nick the grief]

Try a garden certre Shortie, I'm sure I didn't pay that much for my tap. Or Countrywide stores don't know if they cover London area though

[Shortie]

Just Ebayed it, and you can get them for abotu £3-4 postage included, cheers