I managed to get hold of a 'recycled water butt' which was basically a plastic drum that had been used by a fruit juice (pure, no added sugar or chemicals) company.
Managed to get it for £11. They fitted a tap for something ridiculous like £1
Is that the blue ones, with the clip rims tops? I have several of them, but pick them up at the tip for 1.00 each. Two of them I paid 3.00 each for. I use them for water, chicken food and duck food. They come in various sizes, and can be used for lots of things. I think the largest of mine contained mango chutney. That's a lot of mango chutney
They are useful for a lot of things - chicken, duck and rabbit foods, bird nuts, etc, also pots, etc in the shed. You can get wee oens too . about 2 ft high which are useful. We get them when we see them, and use them for swaps, on LETS, etc. I might even have one in use as a water butt somewhere.........
Blacksmith
Joined: 25 Jan 2005 Posts: 5025 Location: Berkshire
Posted: Sun Feb 05, 06 11:23 am Post subject:
Many firms use the large (45 gal) blue barrel's.Some companies re-use others don't and we are charged for their disposal. Depending on their contents these may be suitable as butts.
We've got 3 huge water butts but they're at the lowest point of our plot, nowhere near whrere we'll be growing anything, how do I get usable amounts of water up hill from the butts?
moggins
Joined: 24 Feb 2005 Posts: 942 Location: Gloucester
Bob Flowerdew uses a system of siphons to move water from butt to butt- maybe something like that/adapted could work.
Failing that, a good old fashioned water bowser would be great.
btw, I've removed the spring metal clips from the ones Iuse for storage - pretty grim on the fingers, both when undoing and if you get your fingers nipped in them.
gill_didsbury
Joined: 21 Mar 2005 Posts: 44 Location: Adelaide. South Austrlia
Posted: Sun Feb 05, 06 11:25 pm Post subject: water butts
Hi All,
We got two blue barrels from salvage yard (this is in Adelaide LOL)
We washed them out well and hubby put taps on them and then connected them to the down spouts. I use this water for the garden.
( We live in the driest state in the driest country)
Suggestion
Could you go to car wash and ask if they have any empty containers?? All you would have to do is wash them out really well, add tap and conect to down spout.
The people in the house before us very kindly left us this:
but with a nicer tap on it. I think it used to be a wine barrel - sometimes, on a hot day, it still smells faintly of whatever was in it before and wasps are naturally drawn to the tap. They sometimes look a little woozy when they fly away. Plants are quite happy on it, though!
Council compost bins are so cheap because they are obviously anxious to reduce the amount of rubbish they send to landfill. I wonder if water butts are more expensive because the water companies have a vested (read: 'financial') interest in making us use more tap water? Sneaky
but with a nicer tap on it. I think it used to be a wine barrel - sometimes, on a hot day, it still smells faintly of whatever was in it before and wasps are naturally drawn to the tap. They sometimes look a little woozy when they fly away. Plants are quite happy on it, though! 
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