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Volume is easy; the diverter and the tap are the purchase

Rain barrels, compared

A water butt is the cheapest water a garden will ever use, and the shelf sells it by the litre: 100, 200, 220 and 300 litres are the sizes here, in shapes from a plain barrel to a flat wall tank that stands against a house. The volume is the obvious figure and the least useful one, because a 200 litre butt fills from a small roof in one wet week and empties into a sprinkler in twenty minutes. What decides whether it is worth having is the rest. The tap, which on the honest listings is fitted and on others is an optional extra with a hole to cut, and whose height above the ground decides whether a watering can fits under it — a butt that needs standing on blocks is a butt whose stand is part of the purchase. The lid, which keeps leaves, mosquito larvae and children out, and which is a safety consideration rather than a preference. And the overflow, because every butt fills and the water has to go somewhere that is not the house wall. The link to the downpipe — a diverter that cuts into the pipe and returns water to it when the butt is full — is sold with some of these sets and separately for the rest, and it is the part that makes the difference between a butt that fills and a butt that sits under a corner of the gutter. The material is UV-stabilised polyethylene throughout; what varies is wall thickness and whether the surface goes chalky in three summers. The dimensions matter because a 300 litre wall tank is 137 cm tall and needs a flat, firm base: full, it weighs more than 300 kilograms. We compare volume, material, dimensions, tap, lid and overflow.

Every part here, laid out figure by figure

  1. Anthracite round 200 litre water butt with tap

    Tymar IDSM

    The cheapest litre on this shelf — 200 litres in a 60 cm circle, with a tap you fit at your own height.

    Volume
    200 litres
    Material
    UV-resistant plastic, smooth anthracite finish
    Dimensions
    Ø 600 mm × 1070 mm high — about 707 litres per square metre of footprint
    Tap
    Supplied, for self-fitting — you drill the hole at the height you want
    Lid
    Not published
    Overflow
    Not published; no rain collector included
    Amazon reference
    B0H2DSXJG6 (one reference across 6 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    5904302252660
    • About 0.25 € per litre — the cheapest capacity on this shelf by a wide margin
    • You choose the tap height, which is the thing most butts get wrong
    • You have to drill your own hole, and there is one chance to get it right

    Best for: Somebody happy to drill a hole, standing the butt on blocks

    Check price on Amazon
  2. Slim black 100 litre water butt on a four-part stand

    Strata 528919

    The smallest butt here and the most complete — tap, lockable lid, four-part stand and a downpipe kit.

    Volume
    100 litres
    Material
    Plastic; lockable lid; four-part stand included
    Dimensions
    36 × 32 × 96 cm — about 868 litres per square metre of footprint
    Tap
    Included
    Lid
    Lockable, included
    Overflow
    Not published; a rain collector kit is included
    Amazon reference
    B007TTFMEE (one reference across 6 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    5021711045437
    • The only listing here that includes the stand, the collector and a lockable lid together
    • A 36 × 32 cm footprint — smaller than a kitchen bin
    • The dearest litre among the complete sets here, at about 0.51 € per litre

    Best for: A small courtyard, a balcony or a narrow side passage where nothing bigger fits

    Check price on Amazon
  3. Blue 220 litre wide-neck HDPE barrel with metal clamping ring

    Garronda GD-0078

    A food-grade HDPE barrel with a clamped lid — no tap, no collector, and a lid the maker says has no seal.

    Volume
    220 litres; the range also runs 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 60, 85, 120, 150 and 180 litres
    Material
    Lightweight non-toxic HDPE, BPA-free, made in the EU; lid secured with a metal clamping ring, and stated to have NO seal
    Dimensions
    Not published
    Tap
    None — no outlet is described
    Lid
    Secured with a metal clamping ring; stated to have NO seal
    Overflow
    Not published; no collector and no tap
    Amazon reference
    B0D6Z4XGCL (one reference across 5 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    4061692825469
    • Food-grade HDPE, BPA-free, and stated not to take up foreign smells
    • A wide neck and a clamped lid, so it can be emptied and scrubbed out properly
    • No tap and no outlet of any kind: water comes out by dipping or siphon unless you fit one

    Best for: Storing water, feed or produce in a container you will open and clean — not a plumbed rainwater system

    Check price on Amazon
  4. Graphite grey slim water butt with a removable planting tray on top

    4rain Vaso 2in1 295647

    The only butt here that states the roof area it suits — 50 m² — with the downpipe connector in the box.

    Volume
    220 litres
    Material
    Recycled plastic, high UV protection, made in Germany; removable planting tray 20 cm deep
    Dimensions
    Not published; described as slim, needing only 16 mm between downpipe and wall
    Tap
    Plastic tap included; two 19 mm threads for a tap, a hose set or winter draining
    Lid
    Removable planting shell, 20 cm deep
    Overflow
    The supplied downpipe collector stops filling when the level is high; recommended up to 50 m² of roof
    Amazon reference
    B0BB2LW96R (one reference across 6 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    4023122264736
    • The only listing here that states a roof area — the figure that actually sizes a butt
    • The downpipe connector is included, and it stops filling when the butt is full
    • About 0.56 € per litre — the dearest capacity on this shelf

    Best for: A butt connected properly to a downpipe on a small roof, against a wall with no room to spare

    Check price on Amazon
  5. Grey wave-textured 240 litre wall water butt with planting tray

    YourCasa IDMZ240 Wave

    Two hose-threaded outlets and a planting tray on a 57 cm square footprint, 115 cm tall.

    Volume
    240 litres
    Material
    Plastic, stated frost-safe and UV-resistant; planting tray supplied
    Dimensions
    57 × 57 × 115 cm — about 739 litres per square metre of footprint
    Tap
    Included; two 3/4 inch connections for taps or hoses
    Lid
    Not published; a planting shell is supplied
    Overflow
    Not published; no rain collector included
    Amazon reference
    B091FYXMZC (one reference across 5 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    4270001407665
    • Two 3/4 inch outlets, which is the standard garden hose thread
    • Publishes all three dimensions, which two butts here do not
    • About 0.54 € per litre — near the top of this shelf

    Best for: Running a hose or a drip system off stored rainwater rather than filling cans

    Check price on Amazon
  6. Graphite flat-backed 300 litre rainwater wall tank

    Ondis24 Eco 300

    The densest tank here — 300 litres over 0.24 m² — with a raised outlet for a can and a floor outlet to drain.

    Volume
    300 litres
    Material
    UV- and weather-resistant plastic, with a dimpled surface to resist bulging
    Dimensions
    About 60 × 40 × 137 cm — about 1250 litres per square metre of footprint; 15 kg empty
    Tap
    Included; two outlet positions — one raised for a watering can, one at floor level to drain fully
    Lid
    Closed with a lid
    Overflow
    Not published; two pilot-drill marks for a collector, which is not included
    Amazon reference
    B0D22X1WHS (one reference across 6 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    4250627292418
    • The densest capacity per square metre of ground on this shelf, by a clear margin
    • Two outlet heights, which is the direct answer to the watering-can problem
    • No rain collector included, and the listing says so

    Best for: A narrow passage or a wall where 300 litres has to fit into almost no ground

    Check price on Amazon
  7. Anthracite Aqua Tower 450 litre rainwater tank

    Kreher Aqua Tower 80662

    The largest tank here, with threaded bosses at 10 cm and 38 cm and the option to link several together.

    Volume
    450 litres
    Material
    UV- and weather-resistant plastic; removable 19 cm lid; delivered by freight
    Dimensions
    77.5 × 57.3 × 115 cm — about 1013 litres per square metre of footprint
    Tap
    3/4 inch tap included; threaded holes two at 10 cm (left and right) and one frontal at 38 cm
    Lid
    Removable, 19 cm
    Overflow
    Not published; no collector included. Four threaded holes allow several tanks to be linked.
    Amazon reference
    B0B7BL9DSY (one reference across 5 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    4017787726227
    • The largest capacity here, at about 0.42 € per litre — cheaper per litre than four smaller tanks
    • A frontal threaded outlet at 38 cm, which is the height a watering can needs
    • Needs a minimum 30 cm gap from the house wall, which is a lot of passage

    Best for: A garden that runs out of stored water in July, with room to keep a tank 30 cm off the wall

    Check price on Amazon

The live figure beside a product went and asked the shop for it the moment this page opened; any amount written into the text has not moved since the sentence was drafted, and it is the first of the two that counts.