Water butt hydrodynamics

[T i m]

It won't matter. as soon as the first butt reaches the level of the interconnecting pipe(s) it will cross fill till they reach equilibrium and will stay like that till they (all) reach the input level. The advantage of this 'lower than input' cross coupling is there is no 'back pressure issue on the gravity diverter feed'. Unfortunately the butts I used are quite contoured and have specific mouldings in them for the input (and overflow[1] / coupling) fittings. Also, because of space limitations my 3 butts are pretty well side-by-side so no room for any real height differences between i/p's and o/p's. With hindsight I might have been able to mount the interconnects at the

45deg position and lower down each butt (I would only do it a couple of inches lower than the input in case a tap get's knocked on or a pipe get's pulled off .. my 3 butts are right by the back door) and still might be able to if I blank the two holes I have drilled .. ;-(

You won't suffer the 'back pressure I mentioned because the input to the first butt will be clear until all the butts have reached the input fitting level (unlike my arrangement). However the two butts that I currently have connected are both filled to the brim .. just don't know if the second was filled as efficiently as the first?

All the best ..

T i m

[1] You wouldn't *want* an overflow if you use the down pipe diverter type fitting as the surplus should go down the drain as before .. handy to keep the drains clear and put some water back into the system ;-)

[Edgar Iredale]

Yes. But it may operate before it is really needed because it will depend on the level in tank 1. And tank 1 is likely to have a higher level than tank 2, which is likely to be higher than tank 3 and so forth because of the flow rate in the pipes between tanks is slower than the rate of incoming water. Bigger interconnections are the answer

- hence the idea of a high level link using large diameter pipe. Or leave it alone and find your tanks aren't full even after a cloud burst. It's all about how much you need ALL the water possible and how far you are prepared to go to get it.

Mine don't. They fit into the pipe linking first and last tanks. And they are just simple push-in hose linking "T"s from Gardena or some such make. So for four tanks there are 2 "T"s plus an extra for the outlet tap. Draw it out on paper and you'll get the idea.

Edgar

8>

[Edgar Iredale]

I probably should have said all my tanks are on the same level.

Edgar

[T i m]

If we didn't have a hosepipe ban I'd lay a hose in the gutter and time the filling of the first then second tanks and see exactly what difference it makes ;-) (I know I *can* fill the butts using the hose but they are both full to-the-brim atm).

Out of interest, I guess the feed pipe from my diverter is nominally

3/4" and the linking pipes ~1" . In fact the linking pipe is very short, to the point that the fittings are touching each other, whereas the diverter pipe is one of the corrugated jobbies (worse hydrodynamically) and quite long.

Something else I was thinking was that the 'head' over the diverter is about 30mm whereas there is no real head between the butts when full. However because the interconnecting pipes are so short, straight and quite large diameter the flow between butts should be quite 'easy'?

All the best ..

T i m

[Matt]

Apologies if you take this the wrong way..... but did this subject really require over 100 replies? It's a coupled water butt, a piece of hose somewhere other than above the water line and preferably as low as possible and it's connected to another one. Both fill together and drain together, end of story.

FFS why would you, and seemingly just about everyone else who has posted in this thread want to make it complicated?

hydro-bloody-dynamics :-)

[David Hansen]

On Mon, 07 Aug 2006 14:05:39 +0100 someone who may be Matt wrote this:-

Indeed. However, at least one of the on-line suppliers shows such connections made at the top. I have thought about this, on and off, for months, but have yet to think of a good reason for making such a connection.

Indeed. The only thing to add is that the tap should be on the one furthest from the supply, to ensure maximum turnover of water.

[Clive George]

Friend did his with siphons. Disadvantage : it's not automatic, and you can't drain it fully. Advantage : no need for plumbing, with potential leaks below the water line. I think they've not needed priming for a long time now.

cheers, clive

[Matt]

STOP IT RIGHT NOW! It's a couple of water butt and a lengths of pipe. You don't need to make it complicated

aaaaaaggggggghhhhh!

[Clive George]

Yup, you've just described the siphon solution. If you go for anything else, you definitely need more than just a length of pipe - you've got to put a hole in the butt, pipe connectors and make sure they're sealed. Or if your link is at the top, you can't just use one tap.

Sorry....

cheers, clive

[benjilloyd]

I'm considering a waterbutt-webcam :-)

sorry, multiply that by 3 - one cam for each butt.

"butt-cam"

~WBAS (WaterButt Appreciati> STOP IT RIGHT NOW! It's a couple of water butt and a lengths of

[Owain]

It's already been done - but possibly not in a way you wanted to think about ;-(

Owain

[T i m]

Apologies also etc but why does it matter to you? I'm not sure what Newsreader you use but I actually have to make an effort to see if anyone has replied to a older thread?

Indeed. But it wasn't the mechanics of how to join them together that I was asking about (you did read the op along with the 100 replies I assume Matt )?

Because that's life? Some of us just bang a couple of holes 'somewhere', join them up and go down the pub. Others might like to consider the best or other 'ways to do it', or just confirm their idea was sound? Also, I can't just use "a piece of hose somewhere other than above the water line and preferably as low as possible and it's connected to another one" as these buts are quite small, so have quite a curved section and the inlet and outlet points are pre moulded where they are?

Maybe we should all just ask *you* when we have a question next time Matt? ;-)

LOL ..

Well, that was the thought behind the op anyway .. ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

p.s. I'm still trying to find a 'Marley' butt coupling kit to match the first one and the 1" hose I've bought. I happened to be passing a Co today that supplied fancy irrigation systems and they had similar tank couplings they had made up from short lengths of high pressure plastic pipe that had been threaded to half way and were supplied with a couple of flange nuts and a rubber washer. I asked him how that could seal .. with the two nuts on the thread etc? He couldn't give me a reply that sounded right hydro-mechanically?

The fact that it probably wouldn't leak wasn't the point. It was more about the principal of someone who I feel should know better .. (assuming I was correct etc)?