On Fri, 28 Aug 2009 09:47:16 +0100, Stephen wrote:

On Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:37:43 -0500, Jules
wrote:

For the spill-over to the drain I'll use 2" dia round plastic pipe (the
internal diameter of which gives slightly more area than the rectangular
3x2") - purely as the fittings are readily available in DIY places (as
plumbing / vent supplies) so I can cut a hole in the water butt and make a
water-tight* join.

How do you avoid overflowing into a drain? That way, you could avoid
paying the water company for rainwater collection.

No water company here anyway - we've got a private well for supply, so
the only charge is for the power to run the well pump.

The drain's something I need to add, too, as currently rainwater just
spills across the land around the house and naturally soaks away, but I
want to add something a bit more controlled (I've mentioned it elsewhere
on here before; there's scope for having a 4" pipe or so running from the
gutter outflow, under the driveway, and spilling out into the woodland
beyond)

Without digging a
big hole and making a soak away, could you connect the overflow to a
pipe in or on the soil with holes along the length, so that the water is
"poured" over the whole garden, or wouldn't it drain fast enough?

Actually I noticed the other day that the local DIY shed sells 4" pipe
which is peppered with 1/2" holes all over it, presumably for this kind of
purpose. Might be something to think about...

I think aquarium sealant sounds perfect. OTOH if the butt is thin
plastic, wouldn't it deform a little when you tighten the tank
connector, reducing the gap you need to fill?

See other post; it's a bit more heavy-duty than a standard butt. It does
deform a bit, though (but then probably enough that I'd have to make a
new slightly-non-round lid given that the overflow - and deformation -
would be right at the top)

Direct fill seems to have gone out of favour, perhaps that's because the
marketing departments want to sell us diverters? I suppose the
disadvantages are all rubbish ends up in the butt and it can overflow,
but in your case you have got those covered.

Could me. Maybe direct-fill's a bit noisier too, and that was putting
people off (which might be something I end up having to worry about - the
barrel's right outside a ground-floor bedroom)

Interesting that there's no 2" equivalent (which is what, 50.8mm?)...

I think there is 50mm pipe. I have only ever used 32 and 40 at home and
IIRC the drain pipes are 68 but there is 50mm waste used for some shower
rooms, I think.

OK. Here it's 2" everywhere pretty much - white for venting / grey water,
and black for the more icky stuff. That means there's a good range of
fittings around though, and they cost peanuts.

cheers

Jules