Fitting Poundland plastic tap to garden water butt

Poundland sell low cost plastic garden taps. I have a recycled plastic drum that I use as a water butt. I do not wish to cut the top off it. I used a hacksaw to cut slots perpendicular to the thread of a radiator lockshield valve. This made it into a tapping tool to cut a thread into the water butt.
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[@cliffcarlo180]

Always worth considering building a plinth/platform for the water butt to stand on. Just high enough to let you fill a bucket or watering can.

[@bikerides]

A very good point. My favourite way of getting water from a butt is with a simple hose used as a syphon. Lift the end to stop the flow, lower the end to continue the flow again.

[@sophiescyclingandwalkingch4294]

Going to try this, thanks John.

[@bikerides]

Good luck Sophie, just in time for the gardening season. John

[@rudyhunter8493]

Just a touch of heat on the metal threads mate.... it will make the plastic mallable amd make a nice thread... then remove it, wrap it in teflon tape to make a 100% seal...

[@bikerides]

Thanks Rudy. Great tip. Cheers.

[@bikerides]

The water butt is full and the tap is not leaking. I'm feeling lucky!

[@dhruvikajonnalagadda5933]

How to cover leaking

[@dhruvikajonnalagadda5933]

What is the blue color .. may i know the name of just you added blue color like a glue

[@bikerides]

@@dhruvikajonnalagadda5933 it is a gasket compound. Just a silicon sealant. I think cheap bath seal would work well.

[@stuart7121]

Great idea guna av a go with that great video thanks 👍

[@bikerides]

Go for it Stuart. Without an internal nut I thought it wouldn't hold well. It has now been in place several years. No leaks. I was also able to leave the top of the barrel intact rather than having to cut a big hole in it. John

[@Letstalkaddiction1]

Very good

[@bikerides]

I'm not sure if the taps are still available. Making a tap to thread the tap was the eureka moment!

[@ambydaly5713]

If you no longer need the rad tap just cut 2 hacksaw slots and it will be easier to use it as a threading tap

[@bikerides]

Great idea Amby. I'll hand on to my tap squared!

[@leejones982]

So by bodging with gunge you hope all is ok.I watched to see how you fitted the retaining nut on the inside of the barrel but you didn't .My arms are not long enough !!

[@bikerides]

Yes Lee. Everything is sound as of this evening. How many years is that? The thread in the plastic barrel provides a mechanical hold onto the tap strong enough to withstand attachment of hose and the pulling by the hose. The silicone provides a flexible seal that most washers are unable to do. No leaks. A real success. And it only cost me £1 .... and a dab of silicone.

[@DambudzoRuzhowa]

Thank you for this

[@bikerides]

You are very welcome. I hope it helps.

[@aplinewalker]

Ya that seemed to cut a thread ,, nice idea,,, hope it seals ,,

[@bikerides]

A few inches of water just now and no leaks. The gasket goo is still soft so it is probably a none setting type and the thread may have sealed in the 4mm or so thickness of plastic. This would be a different problem on a water butt from a garden centre or hardware supply. They are much thinner. The recycled industrial barrels are much tougher.

[@anisahmed3556]

Can you help me find a similar tap? Only ones I can find seem to be much smaller.

[@bikerides]

Hi Anis, try ebay. I guess it isn't a regular item in Poundland. They may get them back in for the summer. For a couple of pounds you can always get the regular ones from hardware stores or garden centres. John

[@eatingelmersglue]

How did I get here

[@bikerides]

What is so interesting about fitting a poundland tap to a waterbutt?

[@PhyllisGlassup2TheBrim]

So did it work? Was it watertight? I'm currently fitting scavenged guttering to all my roofs on the sheds, chicken house, quail pen, kennels but am finding it hard fitting barrel taps. First drill a hole, insert barrel tap , hold it in place and put barrel on its side with tap facing down so it's held in place by the ground, crawl inside barrel to attach the nut, tighten as much as I can, then set barrel upright, and, using my long grasper to hold the nut with my right hand, turn the tap with my left to make sure it's properly tight. I came online to look for an easier way. Am off to poundland to see if they still do these taps because your method will make a world of difference.

[@bikerides]

I can't get inside my barrel to fit a nut so getting the hole just undersize is important. Still OK but the tap is not firm and moves more than I would like with the hose attached. The silicone sealant is keeping it wartertight. It needs a spacer for the handle to turn but I just filed mine.

[@PhyllisGlassup2TheBrim]

I sort of managed by using the long handled grasper to hold the nut and turned the tap :)

[@bikerides]

Great job Pam. I've just bought a long handled grasper or pickup stick. I guess it might just have enough strength to hold the nut, what a good idea. Thank you.

[@PhyllisGlassup2TheBrim]

They are really a useful tool to have about the place. Handy for puggling about picking up the thing you dropped into the fishtank without getting your snorkelling gear on, handy for reaching under th sofa to grab the slippers which have crawled away from you and I certainly found that it had enough grip to hold the nut in position while I turned the tap :) In another life I might have been an inventor lol. I hope it works for you.

[@bikerides]

Yes Pam, thank you for the tip. Might spark an idea to post 'uses for a pickup tool'! John

[@miklee9308]

If you do it again look in a charity shop for kids wellies or on a fish quay like I did I used this method for a tap on a weenie bin

[@bikerides]

Hi Mik, presumably you used the welly to make rubber washers. What a great tip. I will definitely try your idea next time, thanks, John

[@miklee9308]

Spot on

[@PhyllisGlassup2TheBrim]

and you can also use those thick elastic bands that the postie uses if he has several letters to give you.

should have drilled on the bottom.

[@bikerides]

I'm not sure what you mean. I drilled into the side of the water butt because that is where I wanted the tap.

[@choomanfoo]

It's not really a great idea to use these plastic taps. Most of them will leak within a year of installation, and there's no way to fix it except to buy another one.

[@bikerides]

Not leaking yet. It must be a couple of years since I made this video. Not bad for £1.

[@choomanfoo]

@@bikeridesThat's nice to hear.

[@geoffdorrofield978]

Long drawn out video, took less than 2 minutes to do mine

[@bikerides]

Well done. Did you attempt to thread the water butt first or did you use a nut.

[@geoffdorrofield978]

@@bikerides Just screwed the tap in, made its own thread in the water butt, did use sealant though

[@geoffdorrofield978]

@@bikerides Just screwed it straight into the water butt, made it's own thread

[@bikerides]

@@geoffdorrofield978 your approach was quick and effective. I guess I did overdo it. Not got another to have a go at though.

[@infanttoocooltv2818]

@@geoffdorrofield978 did you drill a small hole into the water butt and then screwed the tap in?