Our local garden centres have sold out of water-butts due to the recent hose pipe ban, there’s now a waiting list on deliveries. Luckily, I was asked to review a water-butt recently. I did wonder what on earth I could write about a water-butt, they’re pretty self-explanatory and not exactly the most attractive of garden items, but, they are probably one of the most useful tools in your garden. Unless you shop around (or make one yourself) they can be rather pricey too, I’ve noticed.
The 200 litre water-butt arrived at my doorstep very quickly, it was well packaged but not over the top, avoiding unnecessary waste. It came supplied with a stand which was a pleasant surprise, I know from experience water-butt stands can be just as expensive as the water-butt itself (of course there are other alternatives to use such as breeze blocks or bricks). All the parts where there, nothing missing.
One niggle though, the tap needed to be fitted and I found this very tricky to do on my own – my arms were just not long enough to reach. I needed the help of Rich, my other half to hold the water-butt still on its side while I crawled inside to screw the tap tight. Rich did try, being 6 ft tall (much taller than me with longer arms) he also found it impossible. So, unless you have extraordinarily long arms, you will need someone to help you fit the tap.
Once the tap was fitted I noticed it displays ‘On’ and ‘Off’, a simple feature I agree but one that the water-butt at my allotment doesn’t have. I’ve accidentally lost water by leaving the tap open (once the water-butt was emptied), simply because I was wasn’t aware if the tap was closed or not. Now I do it by memory but it would be nice to have the status of the tap visible. All I need to do now is connect it up to the greenhouse permanently, at the moment it’s stood there, catching all the April showers.
For the price of £35.99 it’s good value for money, considering the amount of water it will hold, the stand, lockable lid (great safety feature if you have young children) and the easy turning tap. Thank you Idealo UK for contacting me and supplying the water-butt. If you would like to view other products from Idealo UK, visit their website: http://www.idealo.co.uk/cat/11452F1185158/watering-irrigation.html
