Water butts.
By rose1949
13 comments
Sadly one of our allotment gardening friends died in february and I helped his wife to sort out all his sheds (3 of them).When we had finished ,she asked me if I needed anything for my allotment and said i would probably get a water butt as i didn’t have one with a guttering and downpipe.So one day i went along to his allotment which is only a short walk from mine to get this water butt.It was huge with a tap on it which was an added bonus. I then didn’t know where to put it . After quite a while i decided to put it on the shed which is at the top of the allotment.This is on the hill the other side of our home.I dragged it up there and proceeded to put the guttering on the shed with the help of my gardening neighbour who is 80 years old. The screws would not go into the shed as the wood was very hard, but between us and hubby who came to help ,we managed it.I came back down the hill and looked up to where i had put it and then the penny dropped. The water butt was under the huge beech tree and there was no way while it was in leaf that any rainwater would go in it.So ,after a while i dragged it back down again. The neighbour had gone and so had hubby.I then thought that maybe i could fix it somehow to my greenhouse which is at the bottem of the hill.There was nothing on my greenhouse to fix it to so i decided to just fill it up with tap water like my other one. But as i already had a butt on one side of the greenhouse ,if i put this the other side i wouldn’t be able to get around the greenhouse. So ,i decided to move the first one, but i had to empty it first which took me ages. I watered everything in site. At last i could put my new water butt with its tap in place.I then fixed up my hose and while waiting for it to fill up did some gardening. Fantastic! its done at last and its leaking where the tap joins the butt. Not to be deterred i went back home to get this sticky sealant tape which hubby uses for his pond pumps.Half an hour later ,my hands sticking together plus the scissors used for cutting this WONDERFUL stuff ,i gave up and went through the same process as before until it was empty. I then returned it to the allotment it had come from thinking that our friend who had died was having a good old laugh.
14 May, 2011
8 likes
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Comments
oh dear, sorry i couldnt help but laugh myself ,what a lot of work you put into it ..all for nothing..:o)
14 May, 2011
Oh goodness Rose, what a kerfuffle, I`d have been spitting feathers with very blue airflow.. Is there a possibility of getting the tap out and putting tape and sealant around it then leave it to set for a while before refilling, a gentleman who has an allotment near my son uses bicycle innnertube as a washer to mend his waterbutt taps, seals it around the tap inside and out and it works for him...
I`ve been looking at your photo`s, you have a lovely garden....
14 May, 2011
I'll give you top marks for perseverence, Rose! And after all the struggle you end up returning it...lol
I'm sorry to admit....but I did laugh too!
14 May, 2011
To be honest I laughed when reading it Whiston ( sorry Rose) you`re own fault mind because you described it so well and its the sort of thing I`d do as well..lol....
14 May, 2011
Lovely Whiston has taken the words out of my mouth! You are one determined lady! Did you do that all in one day? It's like something from that series '24'! I'm sure your friend is having a chuckle! Lovely bittersweet blog!
14 May, 2011
Hi Rose you could have got some PTFE tape to seal the tap and there would be no problems, all you do is take the tap out and wrap the PTFE round the thread screw it back in and then no problems providing that was where the leak was cheers
14 May, 2011
Thats the tape I was thinking of, thanks Oldcrock, couldn`t remember its name....
14 May, 2011
Lovely story!
We've all done it; stood back, admired our handiwork and then thought, "Oh, bother" (or words to that effect).
My 'claim to fame' was, many years ago, cutting a carpet to fit an awkward shaped bedroom. I measured, drew the outline and cut it exactly. I then found I'd produced a mirror image of what I needed. An expensive mistake "Senior Management" reminds me of if I get above myself.
BTW, If you don't have PTFE tape, try wrapping gardening 'twine' around the threads and screw it back; that works as well.
15 May, 2011
Thanks all of you for your comments ,advice and L.o.l I don't think I really feel like dragging it back to my allotment to mend it!
15 May, 2011
great story! Sounds soooo like the kind of thing I would do!
16 May, 2011
I've just seen this Blog Rose...gawd you're a glutton for punishment...but I think we've all been there at some time...Bet your life your friend had a good old chuckle...
Top marks for effort tho lol...
10 Jul, 2011
Thanks Crissue he did and so did hubby!
11 Jul, 2011
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Oh,Rose..what a palaver!This is both funny and sad at the same time..I really hope your late friend is having a chuckle..you must have been shattered, after all that .Lol
14 May, 2011