This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
Barrels as water butts?
Steve the Gardening Vet
Posts: 1,629
Anyone used one of these? I mean a real old barrel as I had a look at one of the resin ones and wasn't impressed!
Any companies people would recommend?
0
Posts
Never used one, but remember reading somewhere that you have to keep them quite full - if they dry out the wood shrinks and they spring a leak. Not sure about you, but my waterbutts normally get drained dry at least a couple of times a year
I've never had one before, I remembered that the place that sold me the greenhouse also do a matching wooden one too!
Maybe its lined ?? They certainly look good
Their cedar one is lined, they make a barrel too which I think is resin...
https://www.woodpeckerjoineryonlineshop.co.uk/barrique-water-butt.html
We used a half barrel as a water feature and when we put it in it leaked until the wood was thoroughly soaked. Unless it was lined I don't think it would work.
We got an old sherry barrel very pleased with it, lovely smell for a few years! We never lined it.
looks good so is in the yard where seen, plastic ones up at greenhouse
A A Milne
First of all. WELCOME BACK STEVE.
You need to remember that barrels are made to hold lovely liquids like sherry or whisky, and , as such, need to kept full. As Chicky says, if they dry out, the wood shrinks.
It's a shame they are not all that suitable, there goes my plan to order in several barrel loads of booze with the excuse that I need them for the garden.
I have four water butts, all plastic and they are not the most pleasing things to look at. I wonder if you could buy a barrel for the looks and fit a smaller plastic water butt inside?
We bought a wooden water butt from the GC a couple of years ago at a very silly price - only about £20. We had to drill two small holes to let water in from the down pipe on the shed and fit a tap in the bung hole about half way up. We make sure that it is never drained completely, otherwise the wood shrinks.
The ends are solid wood, so fitting a plastic butt inside would be major surgery for me! It does look very nice by the shed though...
I hadn't thought about the ends, I guess they are pretty thick wood and integral with the barrel, would be a big job to cut them. Some enterprising company needs to start producing fake barrels in wood for us to use as water butt covers.