"Lee Nowell" wrote in message
...
Hi All,

Just wanted to get your thoughts on this one...

I am looking to install 3 water butts on a down pipe to capture as
much rain as possible. Question is, how best to connect them??

My initial thought was to...

1. Install a rain water diverter and feed the water into the first
butt
2. cut a hole a 3rd of the way up the first butt and connect this to
the bottom (ie where the tap usually goes) of butt 2. Ensuring the
pipe is horizontal. (i.e. butt 2 is higher than butt 1)
3.connect butt 3 to butt 2 again at the bottom (i.e. butt 2 and 3 are
at the same height)

In ASCII art if it makes it any clearer!!......

1 2 3

[ ] [ ]
[ ] [ ] [ ]
[ ]------[ ]-----[ ]
[ ] ------ ------
-------

My thought process was that this should leave a good depth in butt 1
to fit a pump to pump the water to the garden.

Is this the best way to do it?

Thanks in advance for your help


I think I see what you are trying to do - sacrifice 1/3 of the two butts to
have a single butt that fills up 1/3 full before anything else fills.

I'm not sure if this has already been mentioned, but :
have all 3 butts at the same level
link butts 2&3 at the bottom
link butt 1 at the top to butt 2
then all you need is a pipe at the bottom between butts 2 & 1 with a one way
valve (from 2 to 1)

As long as the valve works O.K. then butt 1 will fill up to the top before
any water goes into butt 2 - this gives you your initial water supply.
After that, if the level in butt 1 falls below that in butts 2&3 then water
flows into butt 1 through the bottom pipe and one way valve.
This also allows you to empty all 3 butts from butt 1.

HTH

Dave R

--
No plan survives contact with the enemy.
[Not even bunny]

Helmuth von Moltke the Elder

(\__/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")