Fitting a water butt and rain diverter - Continued

So to sum up. Do not forget that you will also need 2 down pipe clips to secure where you have cut your down pipe, and you will also need some silicone to make the fittings water tight.

Advantages of collecting rain water in a water butt.

Before installing a water butt and rain diverter, on the side of my house, I would have to carry water all the way around from the back of my house (where the outside tap is) or I would have to wind out the hose pipe and then roll it all back up again. Now with the water butt I have the water much bearer to where I want it. I have 2 watering cans. One is filling slowly while I use the other for watering.

I am happier to use fresh rain water on my plants and vegetables and I think that they do better with it too. The rain water is not full of chlorine and what ever else the water company likes to add to the water. I filled an old bath by the back door with the rain water and my dogs prefer it to the water from the tap.

I am fortunate to not have a water meter installed by the water company to charge me for the volume of water that I use. However if I was then using a water butt to collect rain water is an absolute must for anyone with a garden and a water meter. You would be saving yourself a small fortune in water bills if you used the water butt for all your gardening needs.

If you were not using the water butt to provide water for your pets you could add your plant feed directly to the water butt and you would not be measuring small amounts of feed all of the time.