Water Butt Overflowing Continuously

[Stargazer]

The water butt I have attached to a downpipe from the roof of my house is overflowing constantly in all this rain. I have been carrying wateringcans to the drain outside my kitchen but I hardy seem to make a dent in the volume. My question is this: has anyone a solution as to how I can attach a hose to the tap on the water butt so that I don't have to empty it by hand. The diameter of the tap is about the same as the hose. I know I need a new soakaway digging but until then my garden is getting waterlogged.

[Mosaic]

Maybe a screw-in tap could help - once fixed you could fix a length of hose onto it and leave it switched 'open', with the hose trailing away under the fence.....hehehe

[murraymints]

A jubilee clip ?

[Mosaic]

Sorry, didn't read accurately, you already have a tap.

[bookbinder]

It looks as though you need a rain diverter to direct surplus water into the drain
http://www.waterwise.org.uk/pages/how-to-install-a-water-butt.html

[retrocop]

Exactly what my wife did. Bought a tap adapter with a
Jubilee wingmut tightener.Put over butt tap and attached garden hose to connector.She ran hosepipe to house soilpipe gulley.
Result: No rainwater for inside pot plants cos she forgets to close the tap:-(

[Stargazer]

Thanks for your suggestions. I need something that will hold the hose to the tap without it bursting off under pressure. There must be something I can do. My Dad used to join two lengths of hose together with a rigid tube made of plastic which fitted tightly when pushed into the end of each hose. Is there anything similar flexible that I could push over the tap and over the hose?

[retrocop]

Flexible rubber bowled washing macine tap adaptors whats needed.The type we used on kitchen taps when macines were'nt plumbed in

[1581960]

What about putting one end of the hose in the butt and syphon it out?

[retrocop]

Google standard tap adaptors with junilee clips. Lazer Electrics sell them through amazon @ £4 .49 pair. I cant c&p on I phone

[Stargazer]

Thanks eveyone. The gulley to get rid of the water is a long way from the water butt and so a diverter is not suitable (unless I am reading it incorrectly). This down pipe takes all the water from one side of my entire roof surface area which amounts to torrents in heavy rain. No wonder my garden is saturated with water as I did not know the soakaway was blocked or full up. I have never previously been outside in heavy rain to see the results of water pouring down the outside of the downpipes and the fitting of the water butt a week ago has proved it. No wonder my bricks are green and mouldy half way up the house. This must have been happening for years.

[Stargazer]

Please continue with suggestions as it is getting desperate.

[retrocop]

Get a longer hosepipe and doas previously advised

[retrocop]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kitchen-Fitting-Connector-Purpose-Universal/dp/B00KRE64UO

These are exactly what my wife uses currently. Just push the adaptor on to your water butt tap and tighten jubilee clip by hand. Connect your garden hose to the adaptor spigot and run it to your down pipe soil gulley. Swith on butt tap and drain the but. It couldn't be much simpler and is tried and tested here. No other advice I can help you with regarding this simple solution. :-)

[TonyV]

Do you use water stored in waterbut for anything?

[RATTER15]

Stick end of pipe in water butt and siphon the water. Job done!

[Stargazer]

Thank you all for your very helpful advice. I do syphon water from an open topped water butt at the end of one of my sheds but it is quite hard to get it to flow as it is quite a distance. The one from my house roof is much too far to syphon it. Regarding the tap adapters - I have and do use these for general hosepipe use from an outside tap but the plastic tap on the water butt looks too thin and fragile to tighten an adapter with a key. It would have to be tight so as not to fall off but tightening may crack the tap.I use all my rain water for watering throughtout the summer and inside greenhouse - it is just these torrential downfalls that leave me with no alternative but to divert it to the neartest drain that runs into the sewage system. In dry periods I do not waste any water and even run out during droughts.

[Canary42]

If the tap on the butt is too fragile then I suggest you fit a more robust one then get a hose attachment for it.

[alavahalf]

When you deciide to attach the hose to the tap .. take a bowl of warm water outside. Dip the end of the hose you intend to attach to the tap into the warm water and hold it there for a minute. The end of the hose will become soft and pliable.
Just twist it onto the tap and secure it with a jubilee clip if need be. You can buy a hose joint/coupler for a pound from wilkos to join the extra length of hose.