Best of the Web – How to Link Two Water Butts to harvest even more rainwater !

If you already have a water butt, or are thinking about getting one but have concerns that it may not provide you with the amount of water that you require, there’s a quick and simple solution available; join two together. Not every home has the space for a large water tank; water butts come in all shapes and sizes enabling them to fit around your existing design without becoming an obvious feature.

In theory you could connect as many water butts to each other as your space allowed by 'daisy chaining' water butts. This will not only store more water, it will reduce waste by diverting and capturing excess water that would otherwise go down the drain. Its worth pointing out that more water butts alone does not alone allow you to store more water. The diverter on your downpipe has a significant impact on the amount of water which can be diverted and so more storage won't always help. Optimise the diverter first so you're taking as much water from the downpipe as possible. 

If you don't have an combined diverter-overflow and the excess water is simply pouring on the ground then consider an overflow kit and direct excess water back to drain. 

So how do you connect two water butts together?

To join the two water butts together you generally need a water butt linking kit. This video below gives great detail on what you can expect from a standard kit, highlighting each component required to complete the job. The water butt linking kit can be purchased individually or when buying a water butt. If you're doing something a little more bespoke perhaps consider buying the hose and barbed hosetails separately to suit the job. You may require the right drill bit to do the job. 

Some of our water butts have additional machined threads set up for linking more than one unit. The Prestige Water butts is a perfect example of this.

The next video gives a practical demonstration of how to connect the two barrels using the water butt linking kit, along with some tips that will help during installation. Whist it is assumed that the first water butt is already in place and connected to your downpipe via a diverter there is no reason that you couldn’t set up two water butts from the start.

There are no expensive set up costs, you can find a water butt designed to fit your space and if you already have one installed the connections to the water source will already be in place. Linking water butts couldn’t be simpler; if you’re running out of water when it is dry or if your overflow is in constant use when it’s wet, get a second water butt.

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