The morning and evening are the best times to water your plants as the water doesn’t evaporate in the heat of the day before it can reach the roots If the water butt does not come with pre-cut holes for the diverter, you will have to make these yourself. Measure approx. 10 cm down from the top of the water butt, on the side facing the downpipe, and mark where the hole will go. Use a hole saw with the correct size bit (as per the water butt instructions) to create the hole.

Basic diverters, also known as water butt connectors. These offer no filtering capability. This type of diverter can often throttle the flow of water and does not offer a high capture efficiency. However, the basic diverters we offer do not suffer from these problems. One thing to keep in mind is that all of the connections for this water butt fit pretty tightly together – in many ways, this is a good thing, but it does also mean that you’ll need to use a fair bit of strength to connect it all. Do these features make this Strata model worth buying? Well, I put this water butt to the test and identified it as one of the best water butts if you’re after a great value model – read on to find out why!

Water butt connecting kits are available if you want to install more than one water butt to a downpipe. Using a spirit level, measure directly across from the hole and make a mark on the downpipe. You will need to make two marks, parallel with the top and bottom of the hole you have created. One design feature that I particularly appreciated was the child-safe, spring-loaded fastening clip on the lid . Some of the other water butts that I tested required a screwdriver to open the lid, so the fact that you can peek inside this one without any tools required is a bonus. Attach the diverter to the water butt with the piece of pipe supplied. Fit the lid onto the water butt and wait for it to rain!

If the building runs on a metered water system, any water that is used to water plants, clean cars or fill up paddling pools can significantly add to your water bill. Using a rainwater diverter to direct rainwater from the roofline drainage into a water butt results in a free source of water that can be used for these activities. After initially setting up this plastic water butt, it felt a little wobbly. Mine was standing on rough ground, and even though I had levelled this out before setting the water butt up, the legs didn’t quite seem as though they would hold up to the job.

What are the benefits of using a rainwater diverter?

This water butt comes with all of the necessary accessories – three legs and a rain diverter kit. Unlike some of the other water butts that I reviewed, this one had a full set of instructions too, which made setting it up a breeze.

Use collected water in a watering can or a coarse spray setting on a hose;a fine spray setting will generate fine aerosol particles which can be carried on the wind and breathed into the gardener's lungs and cause infection.Using a pump to transfer water encourages aerosols which are best avoided Pre-drilled holes – these make it a lot easier to set up the water butt. If holes are not pre-drilled, you will need to make a hole of around 25-30 mm to connect the water diverter. Given that most people don’t have a drill bit of this size, this can be quite a difficult process. If you want a water butt with pre-cut holes, try to find a model with several pre-cut, plugged holes on different sides of the water butt. This will give flexibility on where the diverter can be connected, and where the water butt can be positioned.Minimising health risks from stored water The rainwater collected in waterbutts is not always very clean but with careful handling you can mitigate any risk to you or your plants' health. Public Health England carried out some research in 2018 and found that using water butt water in a 'watering can will mitigate Legionella risk, which is likely to be far outweighed by the benefits of exercise and outdoor activity' with these simple actions:

In my opinion, this water butt offers fantastic value for money . It may cost slightly more than some of the slimline designs out there, but it’s able to hold over double the amount of water, which makes it well worth spending a little extra on. The fact that it comes with a filler kit and legs is also handy, and I like that it’s made from recycled plastic.Water butts come in a range of sizes. Naturally, having a small water butt is better than none, so even a 100 L model can be useful, especially in small gardens. Follow the instructions supplied with the butt to ensure your model is installed in the correct way. Generally, there are two main ways of fitting a water butt in your garden. You can remove the lower part of a down pipe, so the upper part runs directly into a butt placed beneath it, adding an overflow pipe to take excess water away to the drain. It’s easy to see why this water butt appeals to such a wide range of people. It’s sleek enough to sit inconspicuously in the corner of small gardens, yet it’s also slim enough to be lined up in a row of connected water butts to contribute to a larger water storage system. It’s one of the best water butts if you’re after a slimline design. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to learn that this water butt costs a little more than the more traditional designs available. After all, its one-of-a-kind design enables it to act as both a water butt as well as a piece of garden décor. But does it offer value for money? That depends on what you’re looking for.