Water butt disaster!

tippben · Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 2:49 pm Post subject: Water butt disaster!

Our one 210 litre water butt had a load of crud blocking the tap. It was too deep to access the plastic nut without emptying it. We did. It hit concrete and broke. We'll have to get another one (plus an IBC that I talked with Ponddigger about last year, but for various reasons couldn't collect., and a smaller 110L for the other downpipe.)

I can't have this continue to happen, as we are on 250 euros a week, so I came up with a solution. Our "Splatter guards" for cooking also break eventually. They are sieve mesh. If I cut a circle, then slits round the edge, like lining a cake tin, and fixed it to the downpipe with a jubilee clip, it should catch all the debris that washes off the roof, which I could then compost, bin, whatever.

Do they make jubilee clips large enough for this purpose? Would it work? Any other suggestions?

Geranimojess · Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 3:07 pm Post subject:

Jubilee Clips can be got up to 9" or more...failing that you could use Plastic Ties which can be anything up to 12" long...
Have you tried a Roll of Wire Fencing... cutting it to the required size and fitting it over your Guttering thus preventing Debris/Leaves from clogging it up...

Geranimojess · Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 3:41 pm Post subject:

PS...Forgot to also say that there is a purpose built Gutter Guard which come in Metre Lengths and clip over the Gutter...these can be purchased from any good DIY Store or Builders Providers.........hope some of that helps.

Blowin · Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 4:49 pm Post subject:

I could spare you one 200 litre blue drum, Tippben. Do you ever come this way? Or do you know someone who does?

AJ · Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 8:41 pm Post subject:

Debris is a bit of a problem alright, no matter how often you clean the chutes. Haven't had much time lately to solvce problems, but the quick fix I am using is a nylon stocking (borrowed from the better half) stretched around the end of the down pipe. Works a treat, catching all the debris, you still get a bit of silt at the bottom of the tank but if you clean it out every now and again, the job is oxo. The other thing that occurs to me that if you replace or repair the drum, try inserting the new tap two inches up from the bottom of the drum, so if you do get debris the outlet is higher up and debris shouldn't cause a problem. Wink

Good guy · Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 9:08 pm Post subject:

Debris is a problem, all right. As it happens, I spent an hour or two cleaning our gutters and gulley traps yesterday, prompted by cascades of water coming off the roof during Saturday's downpours. It beats me where it all comes from - the leaves I understand, but the quantities of grit! It's hard to believe there is so much crud up there in the atmosphere.
I have two 210l water butts and so far haven't had a problem with them choking up. Two potential solutions occur to me: as has been suggested, a filter on the downpipe, maybe cannibalising a kitchen seive and incorporating the nylons as an inner layer to stop fine stuff; another way would be to use some kind of a small 5 or 10l tank as a settlement trap, with an outlet well above the bottom. That kind of thing was in science labs when I was at school back in the dark ages - potters sometimes use the same idea to stop clay and glaze materials getting into the sewer.

medieval knievel · Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 9:26 pm Post subject:

i alwyas assumed the grit came from the roof tiles. might not make sense if you've slate tiles though...

tagwex · Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 9:56 pm Post subject:

Several points to make, I can't be bothered doing all the quotes.
Jubillee clips would work. Another product is Strangle band, where you cut the clip to the size required. Zip ties can be bought bigger than Geranimojess says, I have some 600mm ones. This would be the cheapest option.
A borrowed nylon stocking, that implies that you will be giving it back!
All those other solutions would work, at a price, my solution is to just get a piece of chicken wire, roll it into a ball, and stuff it into the top of the downpipe where it enters the gutter.
Amazing how much sand hits this country from the Sahara, would account for some of the grit anyway.

I finally got around to joining up my IBC tank to a shed gutter last week. The roof draining into that gutter is 7 * 3m approx. and with the rain that landed here last Friday and Saturday there was 450 litres in it on Sunday morning. I was amazed.

tagwex · Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2015 11:22 pm Post subject:

So what did you do in the end tippben?

tippben · Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2015 2:47 am Post subject:

Old socks and jubilee clips lad. Couldn't bring meself to buy stockings in Penneys, when it costs twenty quid to get there and I'd only wear 'em once.

Blowin · Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2015 4:29 am Post subject:

Just a thought Tippben but have you thought about http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005VSAVTQ/ref=asc_df_B005VSAVTQ27291118/?tag=shopzil_mp172-21&ascsubtag=14358110865420967712511030400008005&creative=22118&creativeASIN=B005VSAVTQ&linkCode=df0 ?

Using one of these, I don't have any problems. Even when the down pipe is completely clogged with leaves (more than once) I still don't get any sludge at the bottom and I brought ours with me from the UK 8 years ago.