"Ed" ex@directory wrote in message
o.uk...
The first water barrel (A) on my allotment is at the top of a slight
slope and is fed by rain water gathered from the roof of my shed. I want
to put in a second barrel (B) in a direct line (no bends involved) from
the first barrel and down a slight slope. Both are fitted with taps, but I
would always prefer to drain the water from the lower barrel B as it is a
little more accessible. How best to connect these?

I have options to run a connection pipe from the upper barrel (A) to the
lower barrel (B) as follows:

1. Connect from top of barrel A to top of barrel B
2. Connect from top of barrel A to bottom of barrel B
3. Connect from bottom of barrel A to top of barrel B
4. Connect from bottom of barrel A to bottom of barrel B


Which would be the best option?


It depends whether you can put in a tap/isolator of some kind between the
two, otherwise -

1 or 2 will fill both tanks, but B will not start to fill until A is full.

3 or 4 will drain A into B and leave A empty.

Assuming the tanks can't be made level then the best way would be a
combination of either 1 or 2 and either 3 or 4, whichever is easiest, but
again a tap between the two will be needed. Then when it rains, A will fill
first, then the overflow will fill B. Then in a dry spell, you will empty B,
then open the tap to let water flow from A to B. If you only use 3 or 4, you
will need to be there to close the tap when B is full in order to fill A,
and that may be difficult in times of little rainfall.

1 is better than 2 because you won't need to seal against leakage at B. 3 is
better than 4 for the same reason.

Steve