Selfsufficientish.com

Hi
No shed on allotment, they get broken in to, so any other thoughts on how to collect water in a butt without guttering?
Thank you
x

I have the same problem... Been collecting rain water in buckets which I then empty into the butt. Not ideal, especially not at the moment - plenty of rain, but I've been too weak the last few months to even lift a full bucket.

As ina said. I did wonder if a tarpauline, facing the usual rain direction might gather enough to act as a big collector, but it might also take off in high winds!

how about a clear corrugated plastic roof

Not cheap but will collect rain water and provide a nice dry spot to drink tea under and hang up washing when it rains

if you glaze the walls you could call it a green house

Though you will need eves chutes and a down pipe, obviously

Carrying on from Doofa's idea, what's wrong with a cheap shed, maybe even with no door, just to sit in when a shower comes along?
Just a small shed, nothing stored in it, serving as shelter and rainwater harvesting.

First we need the rain locally - it's very dry indeed for winter.

Flo wrote: ↑Sun Feb 17, 2019 11:37 am First we need the rain locally - it's very dry indeed for winter.

Dry winter, after a dry summer? Not good.

Not a problem here, although it rarely is.
I irrigated both of my tunnels yesterday which used roughly 700 litres of water from my storage tanks.
This morning the tanks are full again.

I will say that I have a problem with the temperatures though.
Everything is far too forward, my mirabelle plum is in bloom and my nectarine is just about to flower as are the cherry trees.
I assume that it's probably the same in the south east of England fruit growing area, so I really hope for their sake (and mine) that we don't get sub-zero easterly gales in March.
If there is, on one hand after Brexit there won't be an urgent need for fruit pickers, but on the other hand a scarcity of locally grown fruit in the shops.

No problem with rain here either. If I had a water butt, at the moment (well one connected to anything) it would be overflowing.

My self set squash plant has two huge flowers though. Probably not the best of times for it.

If you are only after rainwater the collecting surface only needs to be high enough to get the water to run into the barrel.

It should be possible to construct a frame out of roofing lath and plastic sheeting to be temporarily erected say at night to collect rain. Obviously you'd need a butt and then say two frames perhaps 6'x3' preferably hinged together and covered in plastic. Couple of posts to hang it off so it's above the butt and that should collect a fair bit and fold away when not in use.

For my degree I designed this: https://thealveus.blogspot.com/2012/08/ ... water.html

Designed to collect water where there isn’t a suitable downpipe. I even made a prototype out of an old piece of land drain and an umbrella. Sadly it blew over in the rain.

Wind always is the problem... I think there are gutter/pipe kits that you can get for sheds - have been meaning to get one for years.

Thomzo wrote: ↑Wed Feb 27, 2019 8:08 pm For my degree I designed this: https://thealveus.blogspot.com/2012/08/ ... water.html

Designed to collect water where there isn’t a suitable downpipe. I even made a prototype out of an old piece of land drain and an umbrella. Sadly it blew over in the rain.

I like the design in principal , certainly would look better than my idea. I suppose there's a bit of an irony that if it were full of water then it probably wouldn't blow over , but then if it's full you don't need to.....