"Ed" ex@directory wrote in message
o.uk...
On 31/03/10 19:50, shazzbat wrote:

"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



Two things: Firstly, both tanks are already fitted with taps at the
bottom. Secondly, the difference in levels between the tops of the two
tanks is only about 1 foot, so I could easily raise the level of the lower
tank by standing on some breeze blocks so that they were about the same.


Ah, well, that makes it a no-brainer. Raise B to the same level as A, or as
near as poss, and use option 4. Connect the bottom of B to the bottom of A,
then both tanks will fill and both will be available by using the tap on B.
If you can connect the tap on A to the bottom of B that's an extra
refinement which will allow you to empty just B and keep A full. Of course
the design of the tap may not allow this, in which case just connect the two
without a tap.

Steve