Not really a question just a thought...

We moved to a new house two years ago with a water meter, so the idea was to
collect rain water to save money.

The South Staffs water website suggests to use a water butt to save money,
they don't say how much you will save though.

I have a storage tank for 1939 litres. Having a few moments today I wondered
what I might be saving by collecting rain water rather than using the hose
pipe through the water meter ..

I have 1.92m3 of possible saved water, 62p/m3 from South Staffs Water, the
cost of the storage tank was £200 and the cost of the water if it had come
out of the meter would have been £1.17, the saving was so poor I was
convinced that I had worked it all out wrong...

A typical 277 litre water butt will save 16p worth of rain water..

Morel of the story is don't buy a water butt to save money!

I do know though that my plants are better off for me using rain water on
them rather than tap water and I am doing my little for the environment.



--
For the most up to date information on police SpeedTrap equipment in the UK.
Product tests, reviews and Legal Advice.
"The UK SpeedTrap Guide"
http://www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk
"Weather Page"
http://www.btinternet.com/~swarren/

"Steve Warren @ The UK Speedtrap Guide"
wrote in :

I have a storage tank for 1939 litres. Having a few moments today I
wondered what I might be saving by collecting rain water rather than
using the hose pipe through the water meter ..

Erm....How do you get hold of a water butt?
Do people sell them?

Can I use something on the cheap?

In article , Rick McGreal
writes
"Steve Warren @ The UK Speedtrap Guide"
wrote in :

I have a storage tank for 1939 litres. Having a few moments today I
wondered what I might be saving by collecting rain water rather than
using the hose pipe through the water meter ..

Erm....How do you get hold of a water butt?
Do people sell them?

Can I use something on the cheap?

A local Nursery/Garden Centre obtained 40 Gallon Fruit Juice Barrels,
complete with taps. We have 5 joined together along the back of the
Garage.

mike

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forthcoming reunions. H.M.S.Collingwood Association Chatham May 30th - June 2nd
British Pacific Fleet Hayling Island Sept 5th - 8th
Castle Class Corvettes Assn. Isle of Wight. Oct 3rd - 6th.
R.N. Trafalgar Weekend Leamington Spa. Oct 10th - 13th. Plus many more

"Drakanthus" wrote in
:

Many local councils now provide them at a subsidised rate. We bought
ours plus four large compost bins through our local councils offer
very cheaply (delivered too). Give them a call.

Our local council gives all residents £10 off the price of any compoost
bin....but thats about it...

Alternatively you can get them from garden centres, but getting them into
a small car can be problematic. --

No worries on that score...I can borrow a trailer no probs....

Drakanthus wrote:

Erm....How do you get hold of a water butt?
Do people sell them?


Many local councils now provide them at a subsidised rate. We bought ours plus
four large compost bins through our local councils offer very cheaply (delivered
too). Give them a call. Alternatively you can get them from garden centres, but
getting them into a small car can be problematic.
--
Drakanthus.


Do they come in any other shape than round? One would have thought an
alternative shape would be more economical on space. i have seen some which
are essentially round but with a flat back so they don't protrude quite so
much space when situated next to a building. But I don't know where to get
hold of one. Why don't they marke them with a square profile?
Anita

In article , A.Malhotra
writes



Do they come in any other shape than round? One would have thought an
alternative shape would be more economical on space. i have seen some which
are essentially round but with a flat back so they don't protrude quite so
much space when situated next to a building. But I don't know where to get
hold of one. Why don't they marke them with a square profile?

They do make oblong ones, but you don't see those so often.

Round gives the greatest volume per surface area for a cylinder - ie
more water and less plastic. And it's also stronger than square, so
again you'd need more plastic thus higher cost.
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

Michael Saunby wrote:

"Warwick Dumas" wrote in message
...

...

Useful in a hosepipe ban though.


Is it? The ban is on the use of hosepipes. So using a hosepipe to empty a
water butt onto your garden would be banned too.

Check with your water company. It's certainly not banned he the
'hosepipe ban' is on hoses connected directly to the mains, not those
carrying grey wastewater.

regards
sarah

--
"Great is truth, but still greater, from a practical point of view,
is silence about truth." Aldous Huxley

Useful in a hosepipe ban though.

Is it? The ban is on the use of hosepipes. So using a hosepipe to
empty a
water butt onto your garden would be banned too.

Check with your water company. It's certainly not banned he the
'hosepipe ban' is on hoses connected directly to the mains, not those
carrying grey wastewater.

No, in most areas those are banned, too. Not hosepipes that carry
rainwater, but anything that originated in the mains. Don't ask
me why - I am not a bureaucrat.

It's dead easy to use a can or jug and put water where it's needed instead
of all over.

Mary


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

A.Malhotra wrote:

Drakanthus wrote:

Erm....How do you get hold of a water butt?
Do people sell them?


Many local councils now provide them at a subsidised rate. We bought
ours plus four large compost bins through our local councils offer very
cheaply (delivered too). Give them a call. Alternatively you can get
them from garden centres, but getting them into a small car can be
problematic. -- Drakanthus.


Do they come in any other shape than round? One would have thought an
alternative shape would be more economical on space. i have seen some which
are essentially round but with a flat back so they don't protrude quite so
much space when situated next to a building. But I don't know where to get
hold of one. Why don't they marke them with a square profile?
Anita


Drakanthus & Anita.


Have you tried the Tank Excahnge? They make em in all sorts of shapes
and sizes.. recycled containers mostly..

http://www.thetankexchange.com/

//
Jim

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...
snip

Check with your water company. It's certainly not banned he the
'hosepipe ban' is on hoses connected directly to the mains, not those
carrying grey wastewater.

No, in most areas those are banned, too. Not hosepipes that carry
rainwater, but anything that originated in the mains. Don't ask
me why - I am not a bureaucrat.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

ah, prolly 'cos the unscrupulous would be able to connect hosepipe to a tank
filled from kitchen sink grey wastewater , run the taps full pelt, &
circumvent the ban otherwise.

That'd be my guess.


cheers
Richard


--
Richard Sampson

email me at
richard at olifant d-ot co do-t uk

Nick Maclaren wrote:

In article ,
swroot wrote:
Michael Saunby wrote:
"Warwick Dumas" wrote in message
...

Useful in a hosepipe ban though.

Is it? The ban is on the use of hosepipes. So using a hosepipe to empty a
water butt onto your garden would be banned too.

Check with your water company. It's certainly not banned he the
'hosepipe ban' is on hoses connected directly to the mains, not those
carrying grey wastewater.

No, in most areas those are banned, too. Not hosepipes that carry
rainwater, but anything that originated in the mains. Don't ask
me why - I am not a bureaucrat.

I wouldn't have thought you were :-)
It is worth checking: the local water company specifically said there
was *no ban* on using the hosepipe to carry grey wastewater to the
garden. In fact they thought it was both reasonable and a good idea. The
coating of dead soap and stuff deposited in the pipe (and the scum on
the garden soil) is proof that it was used to carry wastewater rather
than clean tapwater.

regards
sarah


--
"Great is truth, but still greater, from a practical point of view,
is silence about truth." Aldous Huxley

In article , Chris Norton
writes

Whilst we are on the subject. Whats the best way of connecting them
up? I know there are connecting kits which usually run off when the
butt is full but is there a way of using the water pressure to keep
them all at the same level?

I.E. if there`s a hose pipe from the bottom of one butt to the bottom
of another butt would the pressure from one force the water up to the
same level OR would it just stop because of the pipe going out of the
butt?

It`s a long time since I did any experiments with water levels at
school and I`m damned if I can remember.

Water finds it's own level. As such you have to join them together as
low down in the butt as possible. This presents a problem if you are
doing it yourself single handed, because you have to hold the coupler (A
bit of kit from B & Q which is a hollow tube with a thread and a flange
at one end) with one hand and reach into the other butt to put the nut
on the coupling.

If you allow the overflow from one butt into the next and so on, you
have to be able to access the taps on each butt. I cannot as my butts
are lined up behind the garage and the shed backs up to these butts. I
therefore draw off water from one butt only, the level going down on all
because of the water finding it's own level. Likewise, you only need
your gutter down pipe to enter one butt.

Mike

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forthcoming reunions. H.M.S.Collingwood Association Chatham May 30th - June 2nd
British Pacific Fleet Hayling Island Sept 5th - 8th
Castle Class Corvettes Assn. Isle of Wight. Oct 3rd - 6th.
R.N. Trafalgar Weekend Leamington Spa. Oct 10th - 13th. Plus many more

"Drakanthus" wrote in message
...
Erm....How do you get hold of a water butt?
Do people sell them?

Yes, but there are so many opportunities for water containers that you don't
need to buy one. Of course as long as you are not too concerned about the
visual impact.

I have a rectangular tub about 3' square and 4'deep on the allotment, which
was given by a neighbour who didn't need it for a fish tank anymore. Then
another neighbour threw out the old guttering and downpipes from their house
when they had new, so I took that as well, fixed it to the shed and fed the
tub (no water supplied at our allotments). And there was a length left over
to start off some early peas in.

Also I have a bath provided by the local plumber, which saves me buying one
and saves him the trouble of disposing of an old one. It is fed from a
wiggly tin "roof" over the compost bins(made from old pallets). Last weekend
everything got filled! Also you could look out in skips for old iron water
tanks. People are usually not fussed about you taking stuff out of their
skips, but it might be best to ask. The possibilities are endless Also look
out at your local waste tip for suitable containers. The bigger the better,
natch.

OK, the savings in purely monetary terms are minimal, but the fun is
endless, and the satisfaction of providing your own supplies is on a par
with the smug feeling you get from growing your own. Me, I could smug for
England.

8~)) (me being smug)

Just don't buy one.
Or a compost bin
Or worms. Especially don't buy worms.
People buy worms???

Steve.

In article , Chris Norton
writes

Whilst we are on the subject. Whats the best way of connecting them
up? I know there are connecting kits which usually run off when the
butt is full but is there a way of using the water pressure to keep
them all at the same level?

I.E. if there`s a hose pipe from the bottom of one butt to the bottom
of another butt would the pressure from one force the water up to the
same level OR would it just stop because of the pipe going out of the
butt?

It`s a long time since I did any experiments with water levels at
school and I`m damned if I can remember.

You can set up a siphon going from bottom of one butt into the other.
Once you've got the siphon full of water, provided you keep both ends
under water, it will automatically keep the water levels in both the
same.

Tie a brick to each end of the siphon hose to weight it down.

You can make a direct connection through by drilling a hole low down in
the sides, but it's difficult to get a good seal

Similarly, you can fasten a short piece of hose from the tap on one to
the tap on the other, and leave both taps open, but again, difficult to
make sure the hose doesn't fall off one tap or the other.

So the siphon idea is better - in the event of failure of the siphon,
the water just doesn't flow, rather than (as in the case of the direct
low down connection) you losing all the water in both butts.
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

On Tue, 29 Apr 2003 07:32:48 +0100, Mike
wrote:

In article , Mike
writes

But, if you direct ALL of your rain water into butts and pass none of it
into the Sewers, you get a reduction on your water charges.

Have you seen my thread on saving water for a Bowls Green and Football
Pitch?

Had a meeting last night with Southern Water, Isle of Wight County
Council, Local District Councils, the Environment Agency and a few
others re water storage and flooding.

Basically if you can keep any water on your land and use it yourself,
then all bodies would be delighted, if fact one official remarked that
what he would like to see, is every house or building to have a basement
in order that Flash Floods could be 'stored'. Rather a long term project
I know, but it could certainly be used in the case I am talking about re
the Bowls Green and the Football Pitch. I will be at another meeting
tonight and will be putting that idea forward. Rainwater to the basement
and pumped as and when required.

Many tractional houses in Spain have 'cisterna's which are cavernous
cemented chambers dug into, and mostly covered by, the ground with a
circular brick 'well head' atop (with a pulley and a bucket but I
expect we would be consuming electricity with pumps).

Big problem in Iraq at the moment with no electricity to work the
pumps.

Hussein
Grow a little garden

spam block - for real addy, reverse letters of second level domain.