Check out our picks for the best Water Butt below:

Be Green 100l Rainsaver

• Price: £
• Capacity: 100L
• Material: Recycled
• Affordable standard water butt

See Price

120L Oak Effect Water Butt

• Price: ££
• Capacity: 120L
• Material: Recycled
• Wonderful Water Butt that will blend into your garden

See Price

Jacobean Dark Oak Ale Barrel

• Price: £££
• Capacity: 238L
• Material: Polymer
• Indestructable - very realistic wood effect

See Price

Terractotta Effect Water Butt

• Price: ££
• Capacity: 150L
• Material: Recycled
• Unique and attractive garden water butt

See Price

1. Be Green 100L Capacity Mini Rainsaver Water Butt

Contains everything you need to get going.

The water butt is made from recycled plastic and is packaged in simple plastic sheeting.

So not too much wastage there.

The connector pipe and tap are included and fairly easy to apply if you just follow the instructions carefully.

The lid is a firm fit and quite difficult to get off…

..(which from past experiences, is definitely a good thing!)

Its a slimline, tall water butt with 100L capacity – so perfect for light garden watering.

The 3 part stand is also a particularly study and will not buckle under the weight as it is strengthened with angled stiffeners.

The tap is also hosepipe connector compatible.

Includes:

• 100L Water butt
• Strong Lid
• Stand
• Connector Pipe / Diverter
• Tap

See Price on Amazon

2. Dawsons 210L Water Butt & Complete Kit Including Watering Can

If you’re looking for a butt with a large water capacity, this one has it at 210L.

Complete with a very sturdy stand, tap and downpipe filler.

The lid is also a little more advanced with a tightly fitting lockable lid.

I am impressed that this set comes with the appropriate stand. Some other water butts retail at the same price as this one but do not include a stand.

This Dawsons set also comes with a convenient 6.5 litre watering can for free. You may already have a watering can, but from experiences of how long it can take to fill a can from a water butt, having a second watering can is very useful. You can leave one can filling up whilst emptying another other one.

The feeder kit from the drain pipe is also included, so all in all, a good beginners kit.

See Price on Amazon

3. Cloudburst Water Butt Kit 200L 

An excellent quality all round water butt.

With a huge 200L capacity it will certainly save on your water bills.

As with the others, everything you need to set it up is included.

Just take you time and get the feeder hose at the right height on the drain pipe to ensure maximum water collection.
This water butt has a unique barrel wood grain effect in the other plastic to make it more visually acceptable in a garden.

Its made of recycled plastic which is good to hear.

The lid is also child safe – even better!!

The unique shape is slightly wider at the top than the bottom for better space saving.

The widest point at the top is about 70cm diameter.

Includes:

• Everything you need to set up
• Stand
• Diverter Kit
• Tap

See Price on Amazon

4. Wooden Barrel Effect Water Butt 50L / 120L / 240L

This style of water butt is much more attractive that the traditional green plastic water butt.

The task effect barrel blends into your garden and creates a feature instead of being a necessary but unattractive garden object.

The barrels are available in a variety of sizes and styles on Amazon, I have listed the options below with links to each product option instead of adding images of each and overcrowding this article with too many images.

• A single barrel 50L water butt
• A pack of two 50L barrel water butts
• One 120L Oak effect water butt
• One 240L Oak effect water butt

Regardless of size, each water butt barrel is made from the same durable PE plastic which is high quality, thick, long lasting and weatherproof.

The nice thing about it being plastic is that it will not split, like a wooden barrel would eventually if it was left outside in the elements all year long.

Each water butt also comes with a tap and child safe lid.

The one downside to these water butts is that none of them come with a stand. – Some people make a stand from slabs, wood or another strong material.

(You can use a basic black plastic one like the ones that come with most standard water butts. But you don’t have to.)

However if you want a stand that is in keeping with the design of the oak barrel, there is one available.

The matching oak barrel effect water butt stand is available on Amazon in a 50L stand and a 120L stand. There isn’t currently one for the 240L water butt.

You can view the matching water butt stands here.

With the 240L water butt, the width at the top is quite large, it is possible to dip the whole watering can into the butt for quicker filling like a dunk bucket, depending on the size of your watering can of course.

(Perfect for the impatient gardener.)

There is no rain diverter kit and one tap included but these can be bought for not a lot of money, there is this complete down pipe diverter kit for example on Amazon for less that £10 with free delivery for example.

See Price on Amazon

5. GRAF 300L Amphora Terracotta Effect Water Butt

An extremely unique shaped terracotta effect water butt.

But this water butt looks so unique I think we can forgive it for the significantly higher cost than other water butts.

There is no stand included, but it could look great of a raised platform of bricks or a wooden frame.

The water butt can be used on any stand capable of holding the 300L weight (you won’t find that many) or you own custom built stand.

If you didn’t want to use a stand you could away have the water butt standing on the ground as the tap hole is a little way off the ground anyway. Enough to get a watering can underneath. (As seen in the image below.)

The tap is supplied and is a good quality brass tap.

However you will need to purchase the water butt filler down pipe attachment separately. (These are very cheap to purchase.)
It is a little top heavy when empty, and couple risk falling over, however, once there is some water inside, it becomes very heavy and definitely sturdy.

This water butt is weather resistant and shatterproof thanks to the durable plastic.
At 300L you are not compromising capacity for design features. you will definitely have enough water to do your whole garden.

This makes the GRAF a great water butt to integrate into any garden to start saving money on water bills!

It also acts as a decorative feature of the garden.

It blends in like a terracotta pot, instead of standing out like a big green monster.

A nice focal feature in the garden. I really like this water butt, but it would take some consideration regarding the price as to whether I could part with this much money for a water butt.

See Price on Amazon

6. Ensure Organics 180 Litre Water Butt Premium Rainwater Collection

Another great looking premium water butt!

It’s so nice water that someone has thought about water butts in more detail and redesigned a collection of them to compliment and become a feature of the garden.

This is much preferred to a green plastic tank!

As they are such a key part of most peoples gardens, the design features really make a difference.

This Ecosure water butt is available in a range of colours and styles, from grey, to terracotta effect to black, orange and even bright blue!

They are probably the most expensive water butt, priced for lite capacity. It holds 180 litres of water and costs just over £200.

You may have gasped when you saw the price, I know I did! However, when I sat and contemplated it for a few minutes, I started to accept that this was the price to pay for a very nice looking, large capacity water butt that is combined to be a planter on top.

It comes as seen in the first picture with the addition of an easy twist brass tap.

The only downside to this attractive water butt is that it doesn’t come with a stand, and you may want to raise it off the ground. (This could be a home made brick stand or a regular black plastic stand which can be bought for around £15.)

However, you could also use it placed directly on the ground, the tap height is raised from the bottom and therefore you can fit a watering can underneath the tap. Even if the water butt is standing on the ground.

Also, the down pipe filer kit is not included and the holes are not pre drilled for one. You may see this as a positive or a negative.

(On one hand this is a good thing because you can customise where the hole is placed to suit your garden, but on the other hand, it requires a little DIY job to get it set up to use.)

This isn’t exactly an impulse purchase and costs a lot more than your standard green plastic water butt. However, it does give the effect of a very expensive terracotta or marble planter and fits right into your garden as an attractive feature, especially if you can have some greenery in the top planter section.

See Price on Amazon

The post Water Butt Reviews – Best Water Butts for 2023 appeared first on Best Hose.

Although water butts are simple setups that require little care, before investing in one, it is useful to know if water butts crack in frost, especially if a harsh winter is forecasted.

When the temperature drops below zero for a few consecutive days, any water gathered in a water butt will freeze.

As water forms into ice, it expands. It is this expansion that forces against the sides of the butt, causing it to fracture and crack.

Once a plastic water butt has cracked, it is of no further use.

Do all water butts crack?

Some people have a water butt in their garden for years and, with no intervention, have never had any issues with cracking.

There are expandable water butts available. The specially-designed plastic ‘gives’ as the ice expands, and contracts as it thaws. These more premium models usually come with a premium price tag.

How to prevent a water butt from cracking

If you own a home-made water butt that doesn’t have a tap, the easiest way to prevent any fracturing is to empty it. Once the butt is fully-drained, lie it on its side or put it in a sheltered spot to prevent it from refilling.

Some people believe wrapping water butt in thick blankets and bubble wrap provides enough insulation to stop the water from freezing at all.

It is easier to care for water butts with a tap or spigot. Drain the contents and leave the tap in the open position for the duration of the winter. It prevents the build-up of large quantities of rainwater as it naturally flows away as soon as it falls. If it isn’t allowed to collect, it can’t possibly freeze.

If you choose not to drain the butt, place a soft, hollow ball into the water. The ice still expands but crushes the ball, leaving the butt in perfect shape. You may have seen this method employed on garden fish ponds.

A large piece of rubber sponge has the same effect.

Final thoughts

Understanding that water butts do crack in frost, but not always, helps you to prepare for any outcome. The safest method is to drain it after the final garden watering session of the season.

 Harsh winter or not; this guarantees that your water butt will last a lifetime and your garden will benefit from the most natural water source in the areas that need it most.

The post Do Water Butts Crack in Frost? appeared first on Best Hose.

With the unpredictable English weather it can be hard to know when you are going to need to water the garden. We can go for weeks without so much as a glimmer of sunshine and then suddenly have a two week spell of fantastic weather, glorious sunshine and heat and in some extreme cases, see a ban on using hosepipes. This is one excellent reason to invest in a good water butt, and then you don’t have to feel guilty about the using up the precious water from your tap.

Secondly, with unfortunately growing bills for water and other supplies to the home, choosing to use a water butt over your regular garden tap makes absolute sense and will save you a fortune on water bills!

Plus its a great feeling to know that the water you are using is completely free and environmentally friendly. It would only have fallen from the sky onto your garden any way. 

How Does a Water Butt Work?

You don’t need to do anything special to install a water butt. Most, if not all houses will have a drain pipe / down pipe system installed. 

A quick 5 minute DIY job and you can install a diverter to your drainpipe to divert the rain water from the drainpipe to your water butt. 

Water butts fill up quickly and in most cases, when they are full, the surplus water will just divert back to going down the drain pipe. 

You can even buy special accessories to filter, purify and to keep the water stored in your water butt fresh and to make it the very best it can be to water your precious plants.

All water butts will come with a tap, that is usually installed by the buyer via a predrilled hole and sometimes they will have a second tap lower down to drain the bottom of the water but or to attach a length of hose to. Doubling its use a watering can filler and hose pipe tank. 

You can now even buy aesthetically pleasing water butts that blend in with your beautiful garden. They now come in a huge variety of styles, we particularly like the barrel types, the ones that look like a old fashioned barrel of beer. Its even better if you can fit a fake pump tap on top to give it an authentic look.

Water Butt Pumps

You can buy something called a water butt pump, which you place inside your water butt. It pumps water out and into a hose with force. This means you can water the garden more quickly!

How to Choose a Water Butt for your Garden

First think about how much water you are likely to need or want to have in the butt. 

Some large water butts can take up to around 550 litres, obviously they cost more money. The average size of a water butt is around 200 litres. This is more than enough to water the average sized garden multiple times and still have rain water left in the tank.

The second thing to think about is how important is it that water butt blends in to the rest of your garden?

If the answer is not at all, then you could go for the cheaper option of a black or green water butt. These can be obtained for around £25-30. 

If you want the water butt to become a decorative feature of the garden, have a look at some of the more attractive water butts that are now available. 

It is nice to see some thought has been put into the look and style of water butts, a UK garden essential item.

You can water butts that look like barrels, or even stone ornamental vases / pots, there is even a water butt on Amazon UK that looks like a giant bee hive in a terracotta colour finish. 

Next you need to think about where the rainwater will be coming from when the water butt in installed. 

Will you use a down pipe accessory that collects the water going down your main drainpipe from the house roof? 

Or will you be using a shed, conservatory or summer house roof to gather the water. In this case you will need to attaching piping and a drainpipe to collect the roof water if you don’t already have this fitted. 

This is a relatively easy and inexpensive job and there is no reason why you can’t install two water butts in your garden depending on the size and the amount of water needed. 

You could have one near the house for the pots and plants close to the door and one further down the garden, linked to a shed for example to collect even more rainwater and to save you travelling across the garden each time you need to fill up the watering can.

Using a garden water butt is the perfect way to save water, be more environmentally friendly and to save money on household bills.

Water butts are usually made from 100% recycled plastic so you know that you are not harming the environment by buying one. 

The smallest water butt in the review is around 110L, which is still a vast amount of water that is going to save you a lot of money on your water bill! 

Most water butts come with all the necessary fittings but a down pipe connector kit can be ordered from Amazon for less than £10.00.

The stand is also usually included, but again these can be bought, with free delivery from Amazon for around £11.00.

Water butt or tap water?

Collecting rainwater in a tank, barrel or water butt is a great idea for your garden. Not only will it save you money on your water bills but the quality of the water will be more suited to what your garden naturally expects from the rain.

When you use tap water, the regular tap water that we drink and bathe in, it contains chemical and water treatment substances to make it safe for human consumption. It is not necessarily best for your established garden plants. 

Rainwater is naturally soft which your plants will love and your wallet will love it too when you save money throughout the summer months.

Stands for Water Butts

Usually when you buy one of the basic green water butts, everything you need to set it up comes included. This means a stand for the butt to sit on, to raise it from ground level. 

If you have a water butt and no stand, don’t panic. You can simply build one out of slabs or bricks that you may even have lying around the garden. 

We have a stand for our garden water butt which is made up of a square of bricks, with a regular slab sitting on top. This provides a sturdy and very long lasting base that way cheap to build. 

The post Why Buy a Water Butt? How does it work? appeared first on Best Hose.

A water butt is a great addition to your garden.

Some homes even set up multiple water butts to gather water from the house along with the water gathered from sheds, summer houses or garages. 

Water butts collect rain water through the gutter system and store it for when you need it.

Water butts are relatively inexpensive and can save you a fortune on your water bills. They are also better for the environment, recycling water instead of using fresh purified tap water. 

There are a large number of water butt add ons and accessories available that might not be included with your water butt purchase.

Or you might need a replacement water butt part in the future.

Here is a round up of the best water butt accessories and attachments you might need. 

Strata Ward Water Butt Filler Kit For Round Downpipes

Water butts usually come with a down pipe kit to attach the butt to your drain pipe to collect the water. But if you don’t have one, this kit only costs a few pounds and contains everything you need to turn your downwards round drainpipe into a water butt filler. 

Water Butt Diverter Kit for a Square Downpipe

If you have a square downward drain pipe, you will need this kit instead, it replaces a section of your drainpipe. placed high enough so that the water flows into the water butt first until the water butt is full. Any surplus water then continues straight down the drainpipe as normal. 

Grow It 08877 14 x 4 x 82 cm Greenhouse Rain Water Harvest Kit – Grey

This little gadget is inexpensive and attaches to the guttering on your green house to act as a water collector and downward drainpipe to feed into a water butt. This is especially useful if you have a green house somewhere in your garden that isn’t near a mains water tap. Having a water butt near to the green house will make it easier to water the contents of your green house without having to make repeated trips carrying a heavy watering can.

Water Butt Replacement Tap

This might seem like a random item, until you actually need one. If the water butt tap gets accidentally knocked by something heavy or bashed with a watering can it could cause the tap to break. Sometimes, just general wear and tear of the water butt tap can cause them to break. For a few quid, you can replace just the tap of the water but instead of having to replace the whole butt itself. 

If you are creative and good at diy, you might even be able to turn something else like a barrel into to a home crafted water butt! All you would need is a tap and the correct hole to screw it in to! 

Hozelock 3-in-1 Water Butt High Pressure Pump 1.1 bar Max Pressure with Tap Connector Included

This is a clever gadget, it turns the somewhat meagre flow of a water butt tap into a powerful flowing water supply by pumping the water out of the water butt through a hose pipe.

Yes, the Hozelock water butt pump will probably cost as much as your water butt itself, but it means you can enjoy the ease and freedom of watering with a hosepipe, but with all the benefits of using a stored reserve of water.

To use, you silly have to connect a hose to the pump outlet, (most standard hose attachments will fit because its a Hozelock fitting). You then place the pump into a water butt and plug the pump in to an electric source. The result, the water from your water butt will be pumped out at a much faster and pressured rate than if you were to use the tap function. 

There are built in filters which can be cleaned, to ensure that the pump lasts as long as possible and does not get clogged. 

The pump is supplied with 10 metres of cable, so your water butt does not need to be right next to your house in order to reach a socket. 

This really is a high quality and super little gadget from Hozelock that will make your life so much easier if you prefer to use a water butt over a mains water tap.

Hozelock Water Butt Treatment

There are quite a few different makes of water butt treatments available and you can spend a long time reading the slight differences between them. 

Or you can save your time, and go with this tried and trusted product from Hozelock. This relatively small 500ml container contains enough treatment liquid to treat 6400 litres of water. If you wondering what that equates too.. an average – large water butt is 100 litres, so thats the equivalent of this treatment lasting for 64 full water butts of water. Thats a LOT of water, and enough to last you all summer. 

But what does it do and do I really need it? 

This liquid treats the water in your water butt, it prevents unpleasant odours and scum from forming. This is especially useful if the water is not used for a long time – it prevents it from becoming stagnant water. This treatments also keep your water free from slime and algae. But don’t worry, it is non toxic and wont harm your plants! 

The key thing with this treatment is that you are supposed to empty your water butt and clean it first, which can be a huge and daunting task. So it is great if you can get this product at the time of installing a new water butt and use it before filling with water for the first time. 

FreshaTank anti-microbial disc, everlasting water cleaner

 This everlasting tank cleaner is an absolute must have for anyone who owns or is buying a water butt. It literally costs a few pounds, and all you have to do is drop it into the water butt and forget it is there!

The disk uses the same industrial silver that can be found in drinking water purifiers and fish tanks. The ‘Freshatank’ disk is an antimicrobial product and helps to destroy fungal, viral, bacterial micro-organisms and parasites in the reproductive stage. 

Whilst using this product does not replace the need for maintenance and other means of keeping your water tank clean and fresh, it certainly helps to control the living things in the water that cannot be seen by the naked eye. 

Strata Water Butt Stand to Suit 250L

Most water butts will come with a water butt stand included, but some of the more designer ones, (some look like barrels of giant bee hives) do not come with a stand. 

The good news is that the stands are very inexpensive ad easy to obtain, especially if you are happy with a black basic stand. You will have no problem in finding one at all for around £12.00. 

They are quite discreet and sit neatly underneath the water butt. Bases are heigh enough to enable you to fill most shape and size watering cans from the tap and the base of the water butt. 

You can always disguise the base with plants and pots surrounding the base. 

The one pictured is very robust and long lasting and can hold a water butt of 250 litre capacity (which is bigger than average.)

The only difficulty with water butt bases is trying to get a different coloured one. For example, there is a water butt that looks like a giant bee hive and is a sandy terracotta colour. This particular water butt does not come with a stand included and would look best placed on a stand of a similar colour, (not just a black one.) These are available online, if you have a little look, you may be lucky!

The post Water Butt Accessories – Things You Need! appeared first on Best Hose.

When to water

How to water

Ways to water

 

Where to water

Using a timer

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