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Plastic vs metal watering can

Updated: 22 October 2026

You are choosing between a plastic 10 litre watering can and a galvanised or powder-coated steel one. Every listing kept on the [10 litre watering can comparison](/hub/garden-watering/10-litre-watering-can) is plastic, from £10.36 to £16.95. A metal can is a different shop trip. Plastic vs metal watering can comes down to the lift you can manage and how you store the can. Peter F. used BBC Gardeners' World, Haws, The English Garden, and those listings, checked on 20 October 2026. There was no lab test. Shop prices outside the set were retrieved on 19 October 2026 and will move. A purchase from the main comparison can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are choosing between a plastic 10 litre watering can and a galvanised or powder-coated steel one.

Our top picks

B2C B2C (Wc-10l-red)

Best overall

B2C B2C (Wc-10l-red)
6.1/10about £10.99
View offer
Geli Geli (5010G)

Rank 2

Geli Geli (5010G)
7.9/10about £10.36
View offer
B2C B2C (WTRCNS_14-2)

Best value

B2C B2C (WTRCNS_14-2)
7.1/10about £10.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What this comparison actually contains
  2. 2.Weight, sun and knocks
  3. 3.Frost, rust and feed
  4. 4.When plastic, when galvanised steel

What this comparison actually contains

The set kept here is the Geli, three B2C listings, Prosperplast, ANGIX, EarlyGrow, and VR7. All are plastic. Empty weights, where printed, run from 380 g to 600 g. None is galvanised steel. If you want a match inside that plastic table, use the best 10 litre watering can page. Galvanised 10 litre cans sat outside that set at about £18.11 at Ray Grahams, £28.49 at B&Q, and £42.99 at RHS Plants on 19 October 2026. BBC Gardeners' World cites a Garden Trading can at £45. Those are four prices, not one typical price.

Weight, sun and knocks

A full can is about 10 kg of water either way. One litre weighs one kilogram. Switching to steel does not remove that load. It adds the empty weight of the metal, which BBC Gardeners' World describes as heavier than plastic. The plastic shells in this set are a few hundred grams. If 10 kg plus a light shell is already the limit of what you can hold close and level, plastic is the practical buy. Plastic flexes instead of denting when the can knocks a path. The limit is sun. BBC Gardeners' World says plastic can fade and crack in prolonged sun, and that metal is not embrittled by UV. Steel can still rust if the coating is scratched.
B2C B2C (Wc-10l-red)

Testsieger

B2C B2C (Wc-10l-red)
6.1/10about £10.99
View offer

Frost, rust and feed

Empty either can before a freeze. Haws says water expansion can dome a metal base or split plastic along a mould line. Store the can where it will not collect rain. The how to use page keeps frost as one step in the watering sequence. Galvanised steel can rust if the coating is scratched, which BBC Gardeners' World states. The English Garden treats powder-coated steel as the long-life option if you store it out of the rain. Plastic does not rust. It can still crack, fade, and split when frozen full. Do not assume a metal rose is finer. Which? found many roses too coarse for seed trays.

When plastic, when galvanised steel

Choose a plastic can from this set if 10 kg of water plus a light shell is already as much as you will carry, and if you will empty it before a frost and keep it out of all-day sun. Choose galvanised or powder-coated steel if you will pay more, carry a heavier empty can, and store it dry, because you want a shell that UV does not embrittle. On 19 October 2026 the 10 litre shop prices outside this set ran from about £18 at Ray Grahams to £28.49 at B&Q, £42.99 at RHS Plants, and £45 for the Garden Trading can in the BBC piece. Do not average those into one price, and do not use the £125 Haws figure as a 10 litre price.

Common questions

Is metal always better than plastic?
No. Metal is not embrittled by UV and can last well if the coating stays intact and the can is stored dry. It is heavier and, in the shop prices gathered on 19 October 2026, usually dearer than the plastic cans in this set. Plastic is the better buy when the extra empty weight is the problem, and when you will keep it out of prolonged sun.
Will plastic crack in a British winter?
It can if you leave it full in a freeze. Haws says the expanding water can split plastic along a mould line. Emptied and stored out of the rain, a winter does not by itself split the can. Prolonged sun is the other plastic failure, and that is a summer problem, not a frost one. The same freeze can dome a metal base, so steel is not exempt.
Does galvanised steel rust?
It can if the zinc or the powder coat is scratched, which BBC Gardeners' World states. Stored out of the rain, powder-coated steel is the long-life option The English Garden describes. Left under a drip, or used hard enough to cut the coating, it rusts. Plastic does not rust, and it has its own failures in sun and frost.
How much more does a 10 litre metal can cost?
The plastic cans in this comparison run from £10.36 to £16.95. Outside the set, on 19 October 2026, galvanised 10 litre cans were about £18.11 at Ray Grahams, £28.49 at B&Q, and £42.99 at RHS Plants, with a Garden Trading can at £45 in a BBC Gardeners' World piece. Those are separate prices. A £125 Haws can in that piece is described as 9 litres.
Which is lighter when it is full?
The water dominates both. About 10 kg of water plus a plastic shell of 380 g to 600 g is lighter than the same water in a galvanised can, because the steel shell weighs more empty. If you cannot carry the plastic can full, the metal can will not be the easier lift. Half-fill, or buy smaller.
Can I put liquid feed in a plastic can?
Haws says plastic suits liquid feed because it flexes and you are not protecting a coating. Use a separate can, or a separate colour, for feed or weedkiller if you can, and follow the label for the dose. That colour split is a habit, not a standard. Do not assume a galvanised can is a better mixing vessel.
Why is there no metal can in this comparison?
The eight amazon.co.uk listings that were kept are all plastic. Galvanised cans are on sale elsewhere at the prices above, and they were not part of this set. Adding one steel can without the same review file would pretend the table is a material test. It is a plastic comparison, with this page for the steel decision.

Related pages

10 litre watering can buying guide

10 litre watering can

Best 10 litre watering can for your tap and plants

Watering can hosepipe ban rules in England and Wales

How to use a 10 litre watering can without spilling

Sources

Public UK sources for watering method, hosepipe bans and handling. Listing prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk lines saved on 20 October 2026. This is not a lab test of roses or carry weight.

  1. RHS — garden watering methods (retrieved 20.10.2026)
  2. RHS — watering plants wisely (retrieved 20.10.2026)
  3. The Water Use (Temporary Bans) Order 2010 (retrieved 20.10.2026)
  4. Ofwat — hosepipe bans (retrieved 20.10.2026)
  5. Water UK — hosepipe ban FAQs (retrieved 20.10.2026)
  6. Thames Water — temporary hosepipe ban (retrieved 20.10.2026)
  7. HSE — good handling technique (retrieved 20.10.2026)
  8. Which? — best watering cans (retrieved 20.10.2026)