210 litre Water Butt, complete with stand, filler & tap

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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. A few hours after setting up this water butt, I was rewarded with a night of heavy rain, so I was able to put it to use the very next day. If you don’t mind splurging on a water butt because you want to add to the visual appeal of your garden, and are happy to spend a little more purchasing all of the extras (the filler kit and the stand), then I would say it’s worth it. However, if you’re on a tighter budget and prioritise function over form, then there are other water butts out there that provide better value for money.

Thanks to its beehive design, it certainly looks impressive, but how does it compare to the more traditional designs out there? I put this water butt to the test to find out.

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If it doesn’t come with a base you should consider buying one separately. Not only will it help with filling a watering can, it will also help retain the shape of the water butt. Collect high-quality rainwater for your water butt with this Strata Rainwater Diverter Kit. Includes diverter body, 50cm of hose and hosetail. While the space-saving nature of slimline water butts is great, those of you who are looking to collect larger quantities of rainwater will need a water butt with a larger capacity, which is where the Harcostar 227 Litre Water Butt Kit comes in. It was designed to channel rainwater from the roof of a house, so this is exactly what I did with it. Here’s how it performed: If you’ve set the water butt up in a very windy location, you could potentially tie a strap around it to keep it sturdy – the indents in the design should make this easy. With a capacity of 227 litres , this was the largest of the water butts that I tested. It’s pretty chunky in design, but the fact that it’s green means that it would blend well into a garden. The recycled plastic construction feels strong and sturdy . In fact, all of the connections that come with this water butt are noticeably tougher, more robust, and higher quality than those supplied with the other water butts I reviewed.

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. 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! 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.The Gutter Mate is designed to accept 68mm, 76mm and 80mm diameter round downpipes and 65mm and 75mm square downpipes. The set-up process for this water butt was pretty standard, taking around 15 minutes . You connect the legs, create the necessary holes in your drain pipe and water butt (there are indents that show you where to drill) and then fit the various pipes.

However, this plastic water butt does come with the necessary indents that show you where to drill new holes if you would like to connect multiple water butts together. It also comes with four plastic legs that raise the water butt up off the ground. Fit the rubberised splash seal to the top section of pipe, then connect the diverter between the two sections. Make sure that the outlet hole is at the bottom. Then pull the splash seal down over the join. Setting up this plastic water butt takes about 15 minutes , and that includes digging to level out the ground so that the legs are standing on a flat surface. After fitting the legs together, I cut a hole in my drain pipe, then fit the rain diverter, before drilling a hole in the water butt to fit the pipe. It’s a fairly simple process that’s pretty standard across all of the water butts that I tested. The diverter then automatically shuts off the flow to the water butt when full. Collecting rainwater with the Gutter Mate is both simple and efficient, whether you are saving rainwater to a water butt, tank or a full rainwater harvesting system.Small water butts are most suited to small gardens and gardens without many plants. You may need to supplement the water from the butt with some from the mains tap if it doesn’t hold enough water for your garden.