Installing & Maintaining Your Rainwater Storage

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Where should I site my water butt or tank?
Obviously the closer to a downpipe the easier it will be to install your water butt or tank. Of course it isn't just the house roof to consider, you can also collect rainwater from an outbuilding, shed, conservatory or greenhouse.

You should choose somewhere that is flat. Butts and tanks should be placed on hard flat surface, ideally concrete or concrete slab.

Consideration should be given to the positioning of taps or other outlets and ease of access for maintenance.

How do I get the rainwater into my water butt or tank?
The most common method is to use a rainwater diverter that is cut into your downpipe. There are cost effective basic diverters available for 68mm round and 65mm square downpipes. These should be inserted in the downpipe at the maximum height of the water in your butt. When the butt is full excess rainwater will then be automatically diverted down the drain.

There are two key disadvantages with a basic diverter, firstly that it is difficult to change the height in the downpipe should your water butt be replaced with a different one (perhaps larger one) in the future, and secondly the rainwater is not filtered in any way.

There are a number of versions of diverters that have integral filters and have some mechanical means of 'turning off' the diverter when the butt or tank is full.

Should I empty my water butts during winter?
As a rule, all water butts should be drained in freezing conditions as ice can create pressure and crack the butt. However, the risk will depend on a number of factors:

- Water butts close to a heated house will not suffer as much as those attached to unheated sheds and greenhouses.

- Thicker walled tanks with space for expansion inside are less susceptible than cheaper water butts. You can also lag butts some larger tanks with some sort of insulating materials (bubble wrap is particularly good).

- The colder the temperature of course the more vulnerable the water storage. This winter we have already experienced temperatures as low as -19°C!!

The golden rule is - if in doubt drain your water butts and tanks during freezing weather.

What other maintenance is needed?
Apart from emptying butts in winter, mainteance requirements are generally minimal. You should monitor any build up of debris in the bottom of your water butt or tank and clean out any significant build up. If you have a diverter with an integral filter this should be cleaned out regularly.