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Disabled gardener looking for advice for using my water butt tap

I'm 50+ with severe chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia, and bending over tends to be painful for me. I joked to my husband that obviously we should have put the tap at the top of the water butt instead of the bottom, but am seriously considering putting a second tap in halfway up. Is that workable, at least when the water butt is full enough? Or is it possible to put a small length of hose on the tap so that I can fill a watering can from a standing position? We don't have (and there's no need for) an outdoor tap. 

Posts

  • nick615nick615 Posts: 1,487
    Yes.  No problem.  Add a short length of hose to the (bottom) tap with an equal length of string attached to the end of it.  A piece of 2" x 2" timber with a slot in the end of it should make it possible to turn the tap on/off.  The string will allow you to raise the end of the short hose and guide it into the watering can etc.  As a precaution I'd suggest a jubilee clip will ensure the frequent movement of the hose won't loosen it off the tap.
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    I have the same arrangement with one of our butts. I had to soak the end of the hose pipe in very hot water before I could push it onto the tap, having siliconed around the tap beforehand so it's watertight. I can leave the hosepipe hooked over the rose arch out of the way.
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    You can get wall mounted butts that you could position higher up on the wall.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • As wild edges suggest - can you raise the butt on bricks or something?
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    edited October 2023
    If you google water butt pumps, there are a variety of hand operated pumps you  can fit to the top of the barrel.


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