I've just purchased a water butt, and need to find a way of getting the
rainwater from my house's roof flowing into it. One way, would be to fork
out £9 or so for a few ounces of plastic - i.e., a diverter.

Does anyone know of a cheaper but equally/more effective way? Is there a
way that doesn't require cutting all the way through one's downpipe?

I'm not even sure how effective those diverters are, anyway. What happens
when the butt is full up? Does the diverter keep sending rainwater to the
butt?

Thanks for any tips...

Al

On 17 Mar 2012 17:35:23 GMT, "AL_n" wrote:


I've just purchased a water butt, and need to find a way of getting the
rainwater from my house's roof flowing into it. One way, would be to fork
out £9 or so for a few ounces of plastic - i.e., a diverter.

Does anyone know of a cheaper but equally/more effective way? Is there a
way that doesn't require cutting all the way through one's downpipe?

I'm not even sure how effective those diverters are, anyway. What happens
when the butt is full up? Does the diverter keep sending rainwater to the
butt?

Thanks for any tips...

Al
I have two on the conservatory gutters. They work until the pipes
between the divertor and the water butt clogs up - there's a fair
amount of solid material that come down the downpipe. Mine aren't
clever enough, the butts just overflow into the soakaways once they
are full. I suppose I could add more containers and interlink them
but that would only delay the inevitable.

Regards
JonH

"AL_n" wrote in message
...

I've just purchased a water butt, and need to find a way of getting the
rainwater from my house's roof flowing into it. One way, would be to fork
out £9 or so for a few ounces of plastic - i.e., a diverter.

Does anyone know of a cheaper but equally/more effective way? Is there a
way that doesn't require cutting all the way through one's downpipe?

I'm not even sure how effective those diverters are, anyway. What happens
when the butt is full up? Does the diverter keep sending rainwater to the
butt?

Thanks for any tips...

Al

Cut the pipe so the water goes in the butt then pipe the overflow so that
goes where the water was going, probably end up costing much the same as a
diverter as you can only seem to get whole lengths of pipe, but the fittings
are not too expensive.


--
Charlie, Gardening in Cornwall
Holders of National Collections of Clematis viticella
and Lapageria rosea cvs
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk

"Charlie Pridham" wrote in
:

Cut the pipe so the water goes in the butt then pipe the overflow so
that goes where the water was going, probably end up costing much the
same as a diverter as you can only seem to get whole lengths of pipe,
but the fittings are not too expensive.

Hi Charlie,
Thanks. That's a good idea about using the overflow to channel excess water
to where it would have gone without the mods.

Can you calarify what you meant by "cutting the pipe so the water goes in
the butt"? Do you mean have the house's downpipe going straight into the
water butt?

I have various bits of downpupe and other fittings left over from when I
replaced all the guttering last summer.

Al

wrote in news:3bj9m75jr3c2lbsuhkv5haa7u20q45p261@
4ax.com:

there's a fair
amount of solid material that come down the downpipe.

I saw a diverter today (at B&Q) with some kind of filtering system but the
price was about £16 or so. I thought "I bet I can jerry-rig something just
as effective, using scraps of this, that and the other.."

Al

In article ,
says...

I've just purchased a water butt, and need to find a way of getting the
rainwater from my house's roof flowing into it. One way, would be to fork
out £9 or so for a few ounces of plastic - i.e., a diverter.

Does anyone know of a cheaper but equally/more effective way? Is there a
way that doesn't require cutting all the way through one's downpipe?

I'm not even sure how effective those diverters are, anyway.

The one we had worked fine.

What happens
when the butt is full up? Does the diverter keep sending rainwater to the
butt?

No, once it reaches full it diverts back into the downpipe, saving you a
flood around the waterbutt. That alone makes the cost worthwhile IME.

Janet

In article ,
says...

wrote in news:3bj9m75jr3c2lbsuhkv5haa7u20q45p261@
4ax.com:

there's a fair
amount of solid material that come down the downpipe.

I saw a diverter today (at B&Q) with some kind of filtering system but the
price was about £16 or so. I thought "I bet I can jerry-rig something just
as effective, using scraps of this, that and the other.."

Ours came off a low roof and we just fitted a filter at the gutter top
end before the water enetered the downpipe. IIRC the filter was a plastic
dish scrubbing pad.

Janet

In message , AL_n
writes

I've just purchased a water butt, and need to find a way of getting the
rainwater from my house's roof flowing into it. One way, would be to fork
out £9 or so for a few ounces of plastic - i.e., a diverter.

Does anyone know of a cheaper but equally/more effective way? Is there a
way that doesn't require cutting all the way through one's downpipe?

I'm not even sure how effective those diverters are, anyway. What happens
when the butt is full up? Does the diverter keep sending rainwater to the
butt?

Thanks for any tips...

Al
I they are set up correctly, and it is pretty precise, when the butt is
full the water then carries on down the drain pipe.
--
hugh

In message ,
writes
On 17 Mar 2012 17:35:23 GMT, "AL_n" wrote:


I've just purchased a water butt, and need to find a way of getting the
rainwater from my house's roof flowing into it. One way, would be to fork
out £9 or so for a few ounces of plastic - i.e., a diverter.

Does anyone know of a cheaper but equally/more effective way? Is there a
way that doesn't require cutting all the way through one's downpipe?

I'm not even sure how effective those diverters are, anyway. What happens
when the butt is full up? Does the diverter keep sending rainwater to the
butt?

Thanks for any tips...

Al
I have two on the conservatory gutters. They work until the pipes
between the divertor and the water butt clogs up - there's a fair
amount of solid material that come down the downpipe.

I clean mine out once a year - takes two minutes. Just disconnect the
pipe at the diverter end and lower the end. All the crud runs out.
Mine aren't
clever enough, the butts just overflow into the soakaways once they
are full. I suppose I could add more con

tainers and interlink them
but that would only delay the inevitable.

Regards
JonH
--
hugh

On Sat, 17 Mar 2012 20:09:29 +0000, hugh ] wrote:

In message ,
writes
On 17 Mar 2012 17:35:23 GMT, "AL_n" wrote:


I've just purchased a water butt, and need to find a way of getting the
rainwater from my house's roof flowing into it. One way, would be to fork
out £9 or so for a few ounces of plastic - i.e., a diverter.

Does anyone know of a cheaper but equally/more effective way? Is there a
way that doesn't require cutting all the way through one's downpipe?

I'm not even sure how effective those diverters are, anyway. What happens
when the butt is full up? Does the diverter keep sending rainwater to the
butt?

Thanks for any tips...

Al
I have two on the conservatory gutters. They work until the pipes
between the divertor and the water butt clogs up - there's a fair
amount of solid material that come down the downpipe.

I clean mine out once a year - takes two minutes. Just disconnect the
pipe at the diverter end and lower the end. All the crud runs out.

I practice what is know in the Services as 'On Condition Maintenance'.
If they block, I'll deal with them then. AKA if it works, don't mess
with it.


Mine aren't
clever enough, the butts just overflow into the soakaways once they
are full. I suppose I could add more con

tainers and interlink them
but that would only delay the inevitable.

Regards
JonH

On 17/03/2012 20:06, hugh wrote:
In , AL_n
writes

I've just purchased a water butt, and need to find a way of getting the
rainwater from my house's roof flowing into it. One way, would be to fork
out £9 or so for a few ounces of plastic - i.e., a diverter.

Does anyone know of a cheaper but equally/more effective way? Is there a
way that doesn't require cutting all the way through one's downpipe?

I'm not even sure how effective those diverters are, anyway. What happens
when the butt is full up? Does the diverter keep sending rainwater to the
butt?

Thanks for any tips...

Al
I they are set up correctly, and it is pretty precise, when the butt is
full the water then carries on down the drain pipe.

It is a matter of levels and water finding its own level. The diverter
is put in the downpipe at the height at which the butt is full. They are
almost maintenance free, just clear out the pipe and diverter once a
year. I found the one my dad fitted was blocked eighteen months after he
died: the water was running down the outside of the downpipe. Also check
that the connecting hose isn't pushed off by the water in it freezing as
ours did the winter before last.
--
Phil Cook

On 17/03/2012 17:35, AL_n wrote:
I've just purchased a water butt, and need to find a way of getting the
rainwater from my house's roof flowing into it. One way, would be to fork
out £9 or so for a few ounces of plastic - i.e., a diverter.

Does anyone know of a cheaper but equally/more effective way? Is there a
way that doesn't require cutting all the way through one's downpipe?

The diverters *are* the easiest way of doing it. Designed for the job.

I'm not even sure how effective those diverters are, anyway. What happens
when the butt is full up? Does the diverter keep sending rainwater to the
butt?

Not if you install it correctly according to the instructions. The
excess water goes on down the drain once the water but is full.

You have to clear them of dead leaves periodically in autumn too.

Thanks for any tips...

Al


--
Regards,
Martin Brown

hugh ] wrote in :

I they are set up correctly, and it is pretty precise, when the butt is
full the water then carries on down the drain pipe.


How much of the water flowing down the guttering downpipe gets diverted
into the butt? Is it 100% ...or a lesser amount?

There seem to be a number of different designs available. Can anyone
recommend one (for a 68mm round downpipe) that diverts close to 100% of the
water?

Thanks,

Al