Help me fill my butt

[nuttycyclist]

Ok, so here's the problem.    I have a water butt, but cannot place it anywhere near the downpipe.


Looking at the rear of the property the roof drains down a downpipe on the left, which then runs as a closed pipe down alongside the slope of the extension roof, and pours into the gutter of the extension.  The gutter for the extension drains to the right, round the corner, and into the downpipe there.


The water butt can only go to the left as I view the property, but the last downpipe taking all the water is to the right.   So I need to tap either into the square downpipe tube running at roof level, or the currently closed end of the guttering.

If I do this though, the water will end up overflowing the butts, and there is nowhere for runoff/soakway here.   


I cannot put a downpipe rainwater diverter in the existing pipe at the correct height, as the lengthy hose required to take it to the butts will result in it needing to be nailed across the middle of the kitchen picture window....    Mrs Nutty also has an aversion to hoses/pipes/etc all being on view.



So, thoughts please.   Are there any products out there that will let me harvest water from gutter height, but then close off when the butts are full.    (I have one bodge job type idea involving a long rod and a ping pong ball - but would prefer something better quality).

[Wowbagger]

Mrs Nutty also has an aversion to hoses/pipes/etc all being on view.

 

[delthebike]

Rain water harvesting. Dig a big hole and put in a tank, connected to the main downpipe.

Only your man hole will be visible.

[tom_e]

I cannot put a downpipe rainwater diverter in the existing pipe at the correct height, as the lengthy hose required to take it to the butts will result in it needing to be nailed across the middle of the kitchen picture window....    Mrs Nutty also has an aversion to hoses/pipes/etc all being on view.

Why does it need to run across at that height?  If it's one section of pipe, you should be able to run it across at ground level and back up again.

If the flow rate is too low you'd need it higher and a separate overflow pipe running back again, but I've no idea if that would be the case.  Or just a fatter hose I suppose.

[nuttycyclist]

Rain water harvesting. Dig a big hole and put in a tank, connected to the main downpipe.

Only your man hole will be visible.

Old house - I intended to put a tank under the decking.    Problem was the garden was tiny and didn't need any more water than the butt gave.     Then I sold the house

New house - not digging up garden to put a tank in.

I cannot put a downpipe rainwater diverter in the existing pipe at the correct height, as the lengthy hose required to take it to the butts will result in it needing to be nailed across the middle of the kitchen picture window....    Mrs Nutty also has an aversion to hoses/pipes/etc all being on view.

Why does it need to run across at that height?  If it's one section of pipe, you should be able to run it across at ground level and back up again.

If the flow rate is too low you'd need it higher and a separate overflow pipe running back again, but I've no idea if that would be the case.  Or just a fatter hose I suppose.

I was used to the old house, where the garage used to drain onto the drive, so I just put the downpipe into the butt, collected all water, and let the overflow go to the drive and then subsequent drain.

I thought that a rainwater diverter would be limited (narrower pipe) and if I had to take it from level of the top of the butt (for syphon/overflow reasons) down to the ground, across the extension, then back up 5 feet or so to the butt then the flow would be almost negligible and the butt never fill.



You have however given me an idea......      If I put a dedicated downpipe from gutter to butt, and then an overflow pipe from butt to ground level, across the house, and into the original downpipe, that might resolve the issue?    i.e. excess water back into the existing system as opposed to flooding the area of garden that shouldn't be flooded and can't have a soakaway....

I just need to think of flow rates though - summer storm and a normal square downpipe - with a thin 1" overflow pipe 20' long....

[delthebike]

New house - not digging up garden to put a tank in.

Get a man in to do your man hole and tank. I'm sure we could get Regulator to inspect it, for a reasonable fee.

[tatanab]

I have the same problem.  I am thinking about putting a straight drop from the gutter to the butt.  However, I would need to close this off when the butt is full. I am thinking of a weighted tennis ball on a stick (more elegant, but you get the idea) that I can put into place manually to block the down pipe when the butt is full - gutter is at only 10ft height; or maybe I can do something with a float from a ball cock mounted in the butt itself.

I have no problem with fitting an overflow since the butt would be close to a drain, but I would still have to block the down pipe because there is a heck of a lot of water goes along that gutter.

[mrcharly-YHT]

Why do you need an overflow control?

I thought the 'diverter' was normally fitted just below top-of-waterbutt height.

Then drop the diverter-waterbutt pipe down to ground and back up to waterbutt. If the water in the butt reaches same height as the diverter, no more water can flow that way.

[Feline]

The easiest way to do this is to cut a diverter into the existing downpipe and run a pipe to the butt wherever it is. It doesn't matter if the pipe goes down then up again, so long as the exit into the butt is lower than the diverter. The differing water levels will ensure the water all goes into the butt until it is full. Flow rates through diverters are never massively fast, and indeed don't need to be since the rain tends to run off in more of a trickle than a gush usually. In the event of a deluge of epic proportions the rain would simply overflow the little trough inside the diverter and go down the drain harming nothing. If you're unsure a long pipe going down then up would work then just do a little experiment with 2 funnels on the end of a hose and you will see what I mean, it won't be a problem.

[tatanab]

Why do you need an overflow control?

The easiest way to do this is to cut a diverter into the existing downpipe and run a pipe to the butt wherever it is.

In my particular case I do not have a convenient downpipe.  I want to put a pipe from the gutter straight into the butt.  So when the butt is full I must shut off this new pipe so that the water flows along the gutter to the remote downpipe - the one I cannot fit a butt against.   The overflow to the nearby kitchen drain would be to allow a small overfow because any shut-off I make is not likely to be a perfect seal.

[iddu]

(THIUWP)

There's nothing that says you have to use a diverter.

Rotate the extension guttering/fall 180, so house+extension collection drop straight into butt top via standard size pipe.

Side outfall from butt is standard size pipe (to cope with inflow rate) having short vertical run alongside butt, then with drop underneath picture window to r/h drain(*) - does it really matter if this is horizontal at floor to run under doorstep level?

(*) Where do the sink/appliances drain to along that wall? Do you need to reach the r/h side?