5 Best Water Butts of 2023 - Tested & Reviewed

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Scores:

Ease of Setup

Design

Ease of Use

Stability

Value for Money

Overall

It’s easy to see why slimline water butts are so popular, and the Charles Bentley 100l Slimline Water Butt Set is one of the bestselling models out there. I put it to the test, and unsurprisingly it come out as one of the best water butts if you’re after a slimline model.

The set-up process for this water butt was pretty standard, taking around 15 minutes. You connect the legs, create the necessary holes in your drain pipe and water butt (there are indents that show you where to drill) and then fit the various pipes.

Since the pipes are pretty short in length, you’ll need to place your water butt relatively close to your drainpipe. However, this seems to apply to the majority of water butts out there – longer pipes can always be purchased separately. 

Its slimline design means that this water butt is taller and narrower than a traditional water butt which saves a fair bit of space. 

In addition to its sleek aesthetic, this water butt comes with a lockable lid and four legs, along with a few extra indents that would enable you to connect it up with another water butt.

Once this plastic water butt had filled up, using it couldn’t have been easier. It sits at the right height to fill a watering can or bucket and the water flow is pretty good – I’d say it sits somewhere in the middle of the scale when compared to the other water butts that I tested.

The only downside is that you need to use a screwdriver whenever you want to undo the lockable lid – lids that have a latch are much more convenient. However, it’s a child safe lid which is good, and you’ll only need to unlock it occasionally, so it isn’t that big of a deal.

Due to their shape, slimline water butts seem to lack stability, and this one was no exception. The legs aren’t the best quality and, even when they’ve all clicked into each other, they wobble. That said, once you’ve had some rain and the water butt has started to fill up, the water gives it enough weight to hold it steady. So, if you’re at all concerned, just add a bucket of water to the water butt after setting it up to weigh it down.

In my opinion, this water butt comes in at a great price. I can’t really fault it when it comes to how it collects and stores rainwater, and the fact that it also comes with a rain diverter kit saves you from having to fork over extra to purchase one on the side.

It’s easy to see why this water butt appeals to such a wide range of people. It’s sleek enough to sit inconspicuously in the corner of small gardens, yet it’s also slim enough to be lined up in a row of connected water butts to contribute to a larger water storage system. It’s one of the best water butts if you’re after a slimline design.

Whichever set up you choose, the Charles Bentley 100l Slimline Garden Water Butt Set is a quality, well-made product that I would very much recommend.

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Scores:

Ease of Setup

Design

Ease of Use

Stability

Value for Money

Overall

At first glance, the Strata 100L Slimline Water Butt Set looks near-identical to some of the other slimline designs available on the market. However, dive in a little deeper and you’ll notice that there are a few subtle differences that set this model apart from its competition.

Do these features make this Strata model worth buying? Well, I put this water butt to the test and identified it as one of the best water butts if you’re after a great value model – read on to find out why!

Setting up this plastic water butt takes about 15 minutes, and that includes digging to level out the ground so that the legs are standing on a flat surface. After fitting the legs together, I cut a hole in my drain pipe, then fit the rain diverter, before drilling a hole in the water butt to fit the pipe. It’s a fairly simple process that’s pretty standard across all of the water butts that I tested.

This water butt’s biggest draw is its slimline design. Not only does this mean that it doesn’t take up much room, but it also gives it a sleeker look, as opposed to the larger and chunkier water butts out there. However, its compact construction does also mean that its storage capacity is limited to 100 litres – whether or not this is enough for you will depend on what you need a water butt for.

However, this plastic water butt does come with the necessary indents that show you where to drill new holes if you would like to connect multiple water butts together. It also comes with four plastic legs that raise the water butt up off the ground.

I found this water butt to be extremely easy and convenient to use. The tap sits at the perfect height for filling a bucket or a watering can, and the fact that it’s tall and slim, rather than short and wide, means that you can have it in a busier spot without it getting in the way.

I was also pleased with the water flow – although it wasn’t the fastest of the water butts that I tested, it wasn’t the slowest either. The only feature that frustrated me was the lockable lid – it’s great that it’s a child safe lid, but it’s inconvenient that you can only open it when you have a screwdriver to hand.

What lets this water butt down slightly is its lack of stability. While its slimline design is a benefit in some ways, being tall and narrow means that it isn’t quite as sturdy as the chunkier models out there. Granted, it comes with four legs, while the larger water butts only have three, but these legs aren’t anything to get excited about – they’re pretty shaky and can’t be used on ground that’s even slightly uneven.

To be fair, once the water butt fills with water, it doesn’t budge. However, its smaller capacity also means that it’s more likely to sit empty and unstable at times, compared to larger models.

Nevertheless, any minor flaws are easy to overlook once you see this product’s price tag. This was the least expensive of the water butts that I tested, and, in my opinion, it offers fantastic value for what you’re spending. The fact that it comes with a rain diverter kit is an added bonus, as you won’t need to purchase one separately. For this reason, it’s one of the best water butts if you’re after a good deal.

Other than its lack of stability, which isn’t an issue once it starts to fill, I really can’t fault this plastic water butt at all. It’s well-designed, works perfectly, and is so convenient to use – whether you’re looking for a small single water butt or you’d like to connect up a larger multi-water butt system, the Strata 100L Slimline Water Butt Set ticks all of the boxes.

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Scores:

Ease of Setup

Design

Ease of Use

Stability

Value for Money

Overall

Large capacity water butts can take up a fair bit of space, which is why the Charles Bentley Ward 210L Round Plastic Water Butt Set, which promises a compact and easy-to-use design, may catch your eye. But is it worth buying? Keep reading to see why I’ve chosen it as the best medium water butt.

Putting this plastic water butt together is fairly simple. You start by clicking the three legs into each other and stand them on a level surface. Then, screw the tap in, remove a 4.5cm section from your drainpipe, drill a hole into the indent in the water butt, and fit the accompanying rain diverter kit. All in all, a pretty standard process that takes about 15 minutes. 

This water butt has a capacity of 210 litres, but its design manages to keep it relatively inconspicuous. It’s large, but it’s not as chunky-looking as some of the others out there. In my opinion, this is its main selling point. It has a good capacity without taking up too much space. Thanks to the subtle black colour, it can also blend into the background of your garden. Made in the UK from high-density plastic, this water butt comes with a lockable lid, although you will need a screwdriver to lock it.

The fact that you can’t just unlatch the lid to have a look inside is a little frustrating. While you can give the water butt a little push to check how much water it’s holding, it’s always useful to be able to glance inside to see if any debris has made its way in. However, it is a child safe lid, so it has its benefits. Other than the lid, this plastic water butt couldn’t have been easier to use.

It sits high enough up off the ground that the tap fits perfectly over a bucket or a watering can, although I did find that the water flow was the slowest of all of the water butts that I tested. I noticed that there were several Amazon reviews stating that this water butt leaks at the tap. However, I’ve now been using it for four months in all weather conditions, and it hasn’t leaked once. 

After initially setting up this plastic water butt, it felt a little wobbly. Mine was standing on rough ground, and even though I had levelled this out before setting the water butt up, the legs didn’t quite seem as though they would hold up to the job.

The weather was forecast to be dry but very windy, so I was dubious about whether or not the water butt would stay standing. Turns out, I was wrong to doubt it – it may not seem very stable, but it held up to windy conditions for about a week before it started to collect rainwater, after which it became even sturdier. 

In my opinion, this water butt offers good value and is the best water butt if you want a larger option that won’t overcrowd the garden. I appreciated that it came with a rain diverter kit, saving me from having to purchase one separately, and was made from high-quality materials. The only downside is that it’s a little slow at filling a bucket (other water butts will do this in half the time), but its stability and reliability more than make up for this.

It’s a well-made product that does what it promises, and it has certainly made my life a whole lot easier!

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Scores:

Ease of Setup

Design

Ease of Use

Stability

Value for Money

Overall

While the space-saving nature of slimline water butts is great, those of you who are looking to collect larger quantities of rainwater will need a water butt with a larger capacity, which is where the Harcostar 227 Litre Water Butt Kit comes in. It was designed to channel rainwater from the roof of a house, so this is exactly what I did with it. Here’s how it performed: 

This water butt comes with all of the necessary accessories – three legs and a rain diverter kit. Unlike some of the other water butts that I reviewed, this one had a full set of instructions too, which made setting it up a breeze.

After attaching the tap, you’ll need to fit the filler kit to your drain pipe and water butt. Don’t panic if it doesn’t fit – it has been designed to work with a range of drainpipe sizes, so you may need to use a knife to expand the top piece, but there are guidelines in place to show you where to cut.

One thing to keep in mind is that all of the connections for this water butt fit pretty tightly together – in many ways, this is a good thing, but it does also mean that you’ll need to use a fair bit of strength to connect it all.

With a capacity of 227 litres, this was the largest of the water butts that I tested. It’s pretty chunky in design, but the fact that it’s green means that it would blend well into a garden. The recycled plastic construction feels strong and sturdy. In fact, all of the connections that come with this water butt are noticeably tougher, more robust, and higher quality than those supplied with the other water butts I reviewed.

One design feature that I particularly appreciated was the child-safe, spring-loaded fastening clip on the lid. Some of the other water butts that I tested required a screwdriver to open the lid, so the fact that you can peek inside this one without any tools required is a bonus.

A few hours after setting up this water butt, I was rewarded with a night of heavy rain, so I was able to put it to use the very next day.

Whilst all of the water butts that I tested were easy to use, this one was my favourite. This is mainly because the water pressure from the tap is stronger than the others; therefore, it doesn’t take long to fill a bucket or a watering can. It also sits at the perfect height to be able to do this easily too.

I felt this water butt offered the most stability out of all of the models that I reviewed. I think this is due to the higher quality plastic of the legs. Plus, the larger size of this water butt means that it becomes even more stable once it starts to fill. It does feel quite shaky when empty, so I poured a bucket of water in as soon as I was done setting it up, which helped to hold it in place until the rain took over.

If you’ve set the water butt up in a very windy location, you could potentially tie a strap around it to keep it sturdy – the indents in the design should make this easy.

In my opinion, this water butt offers fantastic value for money. It may cost slightly more than some of the slimline designs out there, but it’s able to hold over double the amount of water, which makes it well worth spending a little extra on. The fact that it comes with a filler kit and legs is also handy, and I like that it’s made from recycled plastic.

If you’re looking for a high-quality water butt capable of storing a large volume of water, then the Harcostar 227 Litre Water Butt Kit won’t disappoint – it’s the best large water butt overall. It’s made from strong recycled plastic, feels sturdy once set up, and can fill a bucket much faster than its competitors – it really does excel in every aspect.

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Scores:

Ease of Setup

Design

Ease of Use

Stability

Value for Money

Overall

There’s no denying that most of the water butts available on the market look pretty drab and boring, but the Sankey 150l Beehive Water Butt shows that this doesn’t always need to be the case. An instant attention-grabber, this water butt is easy easily one of the best water butts in terms of aethetics.

Thanks to its beehive design, it certainly looks impressive, but how does it compare to the more traditional designs out there? I put this water butt to the test to find out.

It’s a good thing that this water butt didn’t require much assembly, since it doesn’t come with any instructions or guidelines whatsoever. It’s also the only water butt that I tested that didn’t come with a diverter pipe, so you’ll need to purchase one separately.

Also, unlike the other water butts that I reviewed, where the downfill pipe attached into the side of the water butt, this one connects via its lid. This is unusual, but neither good nor bad.

On the plus side, this water butt comes with its tap already connected (not the case for most water butts), which saves a couple of minutes. 

The water butt hasn’t got a lockable lid, but the lid is still quite a snug fit – you’ll need to use an implement like a knife or screwdriver to loosen it if you want to take the lid off.

There’s no competition when it comes to aesthetics, the beehive design wins hands down. There’ll be no need to tuck this one away in a hidden corner of your garden – it looks like it’s made from expensive terracotta (it’s actually made from a lightweight, weather-resistant recycled plastic) and is a great piece to have out on show. Its storage capacity of 150 litres is pretty good too, and it comes with a convex black lid to keep debris out. 

Unfortunately, although it looked good, I found this water butt to be pretty inconvenient to use. The first issue was the lack of legs or a stand. It has clearly been made to be used with one, yet one doesn’t come included. Plus, the original stand designed for this model has now been discontinued.

You could use it with a garden hose, but water pressure will be pretty poor, and the hose needs to be running downhill for it to work at all. The lid also lets this water butt down – there’s no way to lock it in place, yet it’s light enough for the wind to catch. You also need to remove the downpipe any time you want to remove the lid.

The upside to sitting this water butt directly on the ground, rather than on a stand, means that it feels pretty stable. Even when empty, it doesn’t rock about in the wind, and there’s definitely no moving it once it starts to fill. 

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to learn that this water butt costs a little more than the more traditional designs available. After all, its one-of-a-kind design enables it to act as both a water butt as well as a piece of garden décor. But does it offer value for money? That depends on what you’re looking for.

If you don’t mind splurging on a water butt because you want to add to the visual appeal of your garden, and are happy to spend a little more purchasing all of the extras (the filler kit and the stand), then I would say it’s worth it. However, if you’re on a tighter budget and prioritise function over form, then there are other water butts out there that provide better value for money.

Despite its higher price tag, the quirky appearance of this beehive water butt makes it a great buy for anyone who isn’t a fan of traditionally-designed water butts. Unlike the other water butts I tested, this one doesn’t try to blend into the background. Instead, it acts as a decorative focal point – you could even turn the lid upside down and grow flowers in it.

If you’ve been looking for a way to collect rainwater without ruining the aesthetics of your garden with a clunky, chunky water butt, then the Sankey 1229 150l Beehive Water Butt is one of the best water butts to consider. Plus, as an added benefit, it’s made from recycled plastic.