Water butt taps

Water butt taps control the flow of your collected rainwater

Your tap will generally be included when you purchase a water butt. The water butt taps are quite easy to install, and generally screw right into the pre-fabricated hole in your water butt. On some water butts you may have to drill the hole yourself.

There is sometimes the option of two holes to fit the tap in to, depending on whether or not you will use a stand or place the butt directly on the floor.

You can screw them in by hand, and then secure the tap with the washers and nylon lock nut supplied.

Once installed they require little maintenance, if any. If you do need a replacement for any reason, you can find a tap for well under £10.

Most water butt taps have a traditional twist-lock action making it easy to control the amount of water that comes out of the spout and generally very user friendly.

Here are some things you need to consider when installing your tap:

1. Look at how close to the bottom of the water butt the tap is located. It needs to be fairly low so that you can drain out as much water as possible. However, the lower down it is, the quicker it’s likely to clog up with debris.

2. Think about how quickly the water will flow from the tap. Some have a fast-flow tap that are wider than conventional taps, however, this is often at the expense of them being too large to connect a hosepipe.

3. If you do get any leaks, allow the water butt tap to dry and then apply some silicone around the tap.

Water butts and taps are quite durable, and can last many years in the elements if used as instructed. Correctly installing the tap is important to prevent any waste and extend the life and functionality of your water butt.