| RSS Web Feed for Renewable Energy UK |  | REUK Shop | Directory | Bookmark Site | About Us  

Rainwater Diverter



Rainwater Diverter

Use a rainwater diverter to send water collected in gutters to a water butt

water | shopping
Printer Friendly Version Print Article     

A Rainwater Diverter is a simple device used to direct rainwater collected by guttering into a water butt or storage tank for later use in the garden, for toilet flushing, car-washing, and much more.

A rainwater diverter fitted to a downpipe directing collected rain into a water butt

Inserted into a downpipe (the pipe which connects roof mounted guttering to the drains), a rainwater diverter takes minutes to fit by anyone with even the most basic of DIY skills, and it will provide free clean water which is far better for the garden than cold chlorine-treated tap water. Using a rainwater diverter will save anyone on metered water money, and more importantly will save water at a time when water-shortages and hosepipe bans are becoming more common.

Choosing a Rainwater Diverter

Many different rainwater diverters are available today both online and at garden centres and other suppliers. Prices range from around £10 to many hundreds of pounds for the more advanced diverters with installed filtration and first flush systems.

Water butt connected to downpipe via a rainwater diverter

The most important consideration is that the water butt or other storage vessel does not overflow. If positioned next to the wall of a house, a large concentration of water overflowing onto the ground could cause damp problems and structural damage. Therefore the rainwater diverter must automatically direct rainwater down the drain when the water butt is full. Alternatively an overflow pipe can be added at the top of the water butt which will send excess water down the drain, but this is more complicated and expensive to implement.

Buying a Rainwater Diverter

Rainwater Diverter

In our own REUK trials we have found the above pictured rainwater diverter to work well and it is great value for money. Therefore it is now available for sale in the REUK Shop: Rainwater Diverter Kit for just £8.99.

This cleverly designed rainwater diverter can be used with either of the most common sizes of plastic downpipe - 68mm round, and 65mm square. 50cm of flexible hose and a universal connector. Collected water can be sent directly into a water butt or through a length of standard hosepipe. When the water butt is full, water coming down the downpipe will continue down to the drains.

Installation is simply a matter of cutting through the downpipe at the desired height (with a hacksaw) and then linking the two pieces of downpipe together through the rainwater diverter.
Article Last Modified: 10:25, 30th May 2007

Comment on this Article

If you have any comments on this article, please email them to neil@reuk.co.uk.


Recommended Related Articles

People who read this article also enjoyed the following articles:

GutterMate Rainwater Filter and Diverter
Find out more about Guttermate - a rainwater diverter with a built in filter
Article Last Modified: 12:06, 22nd Jul 2008
water | shopping

Collect Rainwater
Don't waste the rain water that falls on your home. Use it.
Article Last Modified: 16:09, 1st Jun 2007
water

Rainwater Toilet Flush System
Find out how to put together a complete rainwater fed toilet flushing system
Article Last Modified: 15:16, 19th Aug 2008
water | general | electronics

First Flush System Rainwater Harvesting
Find out how dirt is kept out of rainwater harvesting tanks
Article Last Modified: 15:45, 29th Jan 2007
water

Flush Toilet with Rain Water
Flush your toilet with collected rain water
Article Last Modified: 15:09, 21st Feb 2008
water | education | general

Connecting Water Butts
Find out how to connect two or more water butts to multiply available water storage capacity
Article Last Modified: 16:09, 1st Jun 2007
water

Review of GutterMate
A product review of the GutterMate rainwater diverter and filter
Article Last Modified: 12:33, 22nd Jul 2008
water | shopping

Permanent Magnet Generator
Build a wind or water power system with around a PM Generator
Article Last Modified: 11:44, 21st Jul 2008
wind | hydro

Greywater Diverter Valve
Find out about greywater diverter valves and how they are used in water recycling
Article Last Modified: 17:01, 18th May 2007
water

Water Two Greywater Diverter Review
The REUK review of the Water Two greywater diverter.
Article Last Modified: 11:14, 11th Dec 2007
water | shopping | energy efficiency

© 2006-2009 REUK - All Rights Reserved
Page Last Updated on 10th July 2009 at 09:47:17am

Latest
Articles


OWL Micro
OWL Micro (CM130) - a leaner and cheaper version of the Owl wireless energy monitor now available
shopping
09:44, 10th Jul 2009

OWL CM119 Wireless Energy Monitor
Find out more about the new OWL CM119 wireless electricity monitor
shopping
09:44, 10th Jul 2009

Freeloader Pro
Introduction to the new Freeloader Pro - the ultimate professional solar charger
solar
16:56, 9th Jul 2009

Solar Roof Tiles
Find out about solar cells built into roof tiles / shingles
solar
12:03, 29th Jun 2009

Automatic Hen House Door Closer Opener
Find out how to put together a DIY automatic hen house door opener and closer
electric circuit
11:47, 27th Jun 2009

Freeloader Solar Charger
Find out more about the Freeloader solar charger for mobile phones, iPods, PDAs, and GPS
solar
12:01, 25th Jun 2009

SolarMate Solar Shed Light Review
A review of the SolarMate 0.5 remote control utility light
solar
10:35, 25th Jun 2009

Immersion Heaters to help Renewable Energy
Find out how the electric immersion heater could enable almost full renewable electricity supply in the UK
general
14:34, 18th Jun 2009



REUK Shop

Popular Items


12 VOLT 5 WATT SOLAR PANEL
Waterproof 12 Volt 5 Watt Solar Panel with aluminium frame - 290mm x 205mm x 17mm with fitted 5m leads
£33.99 each.
Solar Power



300 WATT POWER INVERTER
Convert 12V DC battery power into 230 AC to power portable televisions, computers, video recorders etc. 300 Watt power rating - peak power 600 Watts
£29.99 each.
Renewable Energy System Parts



SOLAR PUMP CONTROLLER WITH RELAY
Solar water heating system microprocessor controlled circuit with fitted 10A relay
£25.99 each.
Complete Circuits



CONVERTED PROGRAMMABLE DIGITAL TIMER RELAY
Mains powered programmable timer converted to low voltage with relay board
£21.99 each.
Renewable Energy System Parts



12 VOLT REGULATOR
Supply a fixed 12.0 Volt DC to your devices (up to 1 Amp output)
£4.99 each.
Complete Circuits



MR16 CERAMIC BULB HOLDER
Bulb holder for 12 Volt LED spotlight bulbs
£1.39 each.
Energy Efficient Lighting