Not very practical in design ideas but i wondered if there was a way I
could attach some sort of hose to the tap on my very large waterbutt and
lead it into the greenhouse via the bottom vents on the glass and then
perhaps put a stopper or some sort of tap on the end.
If I could then get the siphon to work i thought I could fill up my
watering cans from the barrel quicker than at present coming out of the
greenhouse and going round to the back where the butts are located.
So I'd need an idea of how to attach the hose to the tap and another to
have a stop of some sort at the other end - oh and a way to start the
siphon as presumably as the rain barrel is so tall and the water higher
than the watering can the water will flow out okay?


Answer eagerly awaited!!
Janet
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

"Janet Tweedy" wrote in message
...
Not very practical in design ideas but i wondered if there was a way I
could attach some sort of hose to the tap on my very large waterbutt and
lead it into the greenhouse via the bottom vents on the glass and then
perhaps put a stopper or some sort of tap on the end.
If I could then get the siphon to work i thought I could fill up my
watering cans from the barrel quicker than at present coming out of the
greenhouse and going round to the back where the butts are located.
So I'd need an idea of how to attach the hose to the tap and another to
have a stop of some sort at the other end - oh and a way to start the
siphon as presumably as the rain barrel is so tall and the water higher
than the watering can the water will flow out okay?


Answer eagerly awaited!!
Janet
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

I hope I can explain what I would do in this case if it is possible.

Your very large water but is outside. Yes?

Could you put a water but INSIDE so that the top is "almost" level with the
but outside? Yes?

Join the two together as low as possible, water entering the one outside,
when it reaches the joint to the one inside, will pour in until the water
inside is equal to the water outside, then, continue to fill.

Water can be drawn off in the normal way from either butt until the level
goes down to the joining section, you will then empty the inside one, the
outside one remaining at the joining pipe until water is drawn off the
outside but.

Hope that makes sense.

Just remember ""Water finds its own level"" We used lengths of hose with a
clear tube each end and water in the pipe, to get the levels on ships on the
stocks or the twisting moment when one hull was higher on a passenger
catamaran

Mike

--

....................................

I'm an Angel, honest ! The horns are there just to keep the halo straight.

....................................

On Wed, 18 Apr 2012 20:04:53 +0100, Janet Tweedy
wrote:

Not very practical in design ideas but i wondered if there was a way I
could attach some sort of hose to the tap on my very large waterbutt and
lead it into the greenhouse via the bottom vents on the glass and then
perhaps put a stopper or some sort of tap on the end.
If I could then get the siphon to work i thought I could fill up my
watering cans from the barrel quicker than at present coming out of the
greenhouse and going round to the back where the butts are located.
So I'd need an idea of how to attach the hose to the tap and another to
have a stop of some sort at the other end - oh and a way to start the
siphon as presumably as the rain barrel is so tall and the water higher
than the watering can the water will flow out okay?


Answer eagerly awaited!!
Janet

To start with, a lot depends not only on how much head you have in
your butt but also how wide your butt is. Even if the water level is
above the outlet level, the rate at which your butt fills a watering
can may be very slow. To elaborate, last house had a massive cold tank
in the roof. That fed hot tank plus shower head in bathroom. Shower
pressure was crap until I put a second massive cold tank in the roof.
There was plenty of head of course but the added surface area on the
now two tanks of water increased the pressure to both the hot tank
and direct to shower head. There is a more technical explanation
involving physics but I've forgotten all that stuff.

Jumping to the siphon bit at the end if the water level in your butt
is higher than the can level then you won't need to suck the water
from your butt, it will at least flow, if slowly.

Attaching hose to tap should be relatively straightforward as long as
hose is just a bit wider than the tap. You could try a circlip to
clamp a short bit of hose to the tap and have one of those pushfit
female hozelock things at the other. Then a double male hozelock
connector allows you to attach a hose to the short hose when you need
it or leave the short length hanging when you want to use other
methods to draw from your butt.

But you may be happier, at least in the longer term, if you invest in
a butt pump.

Alternatively buy another watering can. Then one can fill below your
butt while you empty the other one in the greenhouse.

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling from the asylum formerly known as the
dry end of Swansea Bay.

Janet Tweedy wrote:
Not very practical in design ideas but i wondered if there was a way I
could attach some sort of hose to the tap on my very large waterbutt and
lead it into the greenhouse via the bottom vents on the glass and then
perhaps put a stopper or some sort of tap on the end.
If I could then get the siphon to work i thought I could fill up my
watering cans from the barrel quicker than at present coming out of the
greenhouse and going round to the back where the butts are located.
So I'd need an idea of how to attach the hose to the tap and another to
have a stop of some sort at the other end - oh and a way to start the
siphon as presumably as the rain barrel is so tall and the water higher
than the watering can the water will flow out okay?


Answer eagerly awaited!!
Janet

Well it depends on the relative levels of the butt and the greenhouse, but
while the water level in the butt is higher than the top of the watering
can, then it should all work by gravity. If you are looking for a source of
suitable plumbing accessories, then may I recommend
http://www.cityirrigation.co.uk ?
I have no connection with the company save as a customer.

In article , Jake
writes

To start with, a lot depends not only on how much head you have in
your butt but also how wide your butt is. Even if the water level is
above the outlet level,


The one I have in mind to use Jake is the 350 Harcostar Magnum one
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

In article

, Andy writes
If you are looking for a source of
suitable plumbing accessories, then may I recommend
http://www.cityirrigation.co.uk ?


Thanks Andy but I have no idea where to start ! i just envisioned a sort
of stopper to use on the end of a run of hose that would fit onto the
tap of the butt and another sort of stopper on other end!
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

In article , Jake
writes
But you may be happier, at least in the longer term, if you invest in
a butt pump.


I did buy one, it never worked and it now languishes down the dump. The
vacuum or whatever that built up as you pumped stopped working after the
third attempt
called a drought buster or something, sheer waste of 40 quid!
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

Janet Tweedy wrote:
In article
, Andy writes
If you are looking for a source of
suitable plumbing accessories, then may I recommend
http://www.cityirrigation.co.uk ?


Thanks Andy but I have no idea where to start ! i just envisioned a sort
of stopper to use on the end of a run of hose that would fit onto the tap
of the butt and another sort of stopper on other end!

Understood, I thought that maybe the website would give you some idea of
what accessories were available, so give you an idea of what might be
possible.

First challenge is to attach a hose to your water butt. How to do this
depends on the nature and size of the tap. It might be as simple as pushing
a piece of ordinary garden hose over its outlet. After that a means of
stopping and starting the flow of water. This could be as simple as having
a free end of hose that can be raised above the water level in the butt to
stop the flow and lowered to start it as required. A tap on the end would
perhaps be easier to deal with. Further, you could add a drip irrigation
system to your plants, pots, etc and just need to turn on the tap for a
while as and when needed.
--
Andy McC

In message , Janet Tweedy
writes
In article
m
, Andy writes
If you are looking for a source of
suitable plumbing accessories, then may I recommend
http://www.cityirrigation.co.uk ?


Thanks Andy but I have no idea where to start ! i just envisioned a
sort of stopper to use on the end of a run of hose that would fit onto
the tap of the butt and another sort of stopper on other end!

OK. The standard waterbutt tap has a spigot onto which you can push the
end of the hose, and secure it with a jubilee clip.

This is fine if you want to keep the hose attached. More of a faff if
you want to remove it.

I'd suggest replacing the stock tap with one that will take a pushfit
hose fitting (Hozelock, Gardena, own brand ones, they all work together
pretty much)

Like this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/380429871940

Then get a couple of push fit hose fittings to go on each end of the
hose. One pushes onto the tap. On the other put some sort of nozzle or
spray gun to control the flow.

Here a couple of examples with all the bits you need together. One
plastic, one brass. Eventually (ok can be years) the plastic one break.
As I replace mine I'm getting brass ones. but they are more expensive

http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=169526

http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=122034

Have a browse for other fittings.


You could just hang the end of the hose up higher than the top of the
butt, and that will stop the flow, then no need for the nozzle. However
if it falls down, you could have an empty butt....

Not in this case, that in the ones I linked to, one of the fittings is a
water stop connector. This goes on the delivery end of the hose and cuts
off the water if nothing is inserted into the end of the fitting. You
would obviously have to use plain fitting instead, same as the water
butt end.

--
Chris French

In article , chris French
writes
This is fine if you want to keep the hose attached. More of a faff if
you want to remove it.

Good lord no! Don't want to stand waiting for watering cans to fill up!
This waterbutt is large enough i can dip watering cans in from top,
never use the taps even on the other butts.
It would be so much easier though to have water in greenhouse rather
than keep walking back and forth to fill up cans. Also could just wave
the hose on top of the lowest trays in which i have pots standing.

Janet
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

On Wed, 18 Apr 2012 20:41:37 +0100, Jake wrote:

To elaborate, last house had a massive cold tank in the roof. That fed
hot tank plus shower head in bathroom. Shower pressure was crap until I
put a second massive cold tank in the roof. There was plenty of head of
course but the added surface area on the now two tanks of water
increased the pressure to both the hot tank and direct to shower head.

Surface area of the tanks has nothing to do with it. The pressure is
purely down to the difference in height between the water level in
the tank and the outlet. Something else must have changed when you
installed the second tank, like the water level ...

As to Janet's problem. If the butt tap spigot isn't to big a simple
hose tap connector, length of hose, a male water stop hose end and
female coupler. When you want water just shove the coupler into water
stop hose end. Assuming the water level in the butt is above the end
of the hose of course, might be slow if there isn't much height
differential.

--
Cheers
Dave.

In article ,
says...

In article , chris French
writes
This is fine if you want to keep the hose attached. More of a faff if
you want to remove it.

Good lord no! Don't want to stand waiting for watering cans to fill up!
This waterbutt is large enough i can dip watering cans in from top,
never use the taps even on the other butts.
It would be so much easier though to have water in greenhouse rather
than keep walking back and forth to fill up cans. Also could just wave
the hose on top of the lowest trays in which i have pots standing.

If your GH has gutters, could you fit a waterbutt beside it, to collect
rain from its roof?

Janet

In article ,
says...

Not very practical in design ideas but i wondered if there was a way I
could attach some sort of hose to the tap on my very large waterbutt and
lead it into the greenhouse via the bottom vents on the glass and then
perhaps put a stopper or some sort of tap on the end.
If I could then get the siphon to work i thought I could fill up my
watering cans from the barrel quicker than at present coming out of the
greenhouse and going round to the back where the butts are located.
So I'd need an idea of how to attach the hose to the tap and another to
have a stop of some sort at the other end - oh and a way to start the
siphon as presumably as the rain barrel is so tall and the water higher
than the watering can the water will flow out okay?


Answer eagerly awaited!!
Janet

A few years back I bought a cheapo water pump in the pound shop locally.
It works off an electric drill. If you have a source of electricity and
a drill (or just a hand held drill) you should be able to cobble
something together. I used to use mine for pumping the water out of the
ornamental pond we had then.

--
Roger T

700 ft up in Mid-Wales

In article , Janet Tweedy
writes
Not very practical in design ideas but i wondered if there was a way I
could attach some sort of hose to the tap on my very large waterbutt
and lead it into the greenhouse

Leaving aside that in most ways its best to use rain water from the
butt, my understanding from what I've gleaned, is that it is permissable
to fill up watering cans from a hose. Does anyone know for sure whether
this is the case? It seems to be quite difficult to get detailed
information on exactly what is and isn't allowed.

(My daughter suggested - if filling the can from the hose is allowed -
fixing the hose into the watering can and walking round the garden with
the hose permanently filling the can and the can permanently watering
the garden

--
regards andyw

In article o.uk, Dave
Liquorice writes
As to Janet's problem. If the butt tap spigot isn't to big a simple
hose tap connector, length of hose, a male water stop hose end and
female coupler. When you want water just shove the coupler into water
stop hose end. Assuming the water level in the butt is above the end
of the hose of course, might be slow if there isn't much height
differential.


There's about a three or four foot difference if I put the end of the
hose at the bottom of a watering can ! Thanks Dave
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk