Garden pump for a water butt
Updated: 22 October 2026
A full water butt still feeds a watering can one litre at a time, because the tap sits only a little above the beds. A garden pump for a water butt is the surface pump that stands beside that store and pushes water down a hose. It stays outside the butt. The lift has to be short, the suction hose has to stay airtight, and the rainwater must stay off the mains. What each box contains is on the [garden pump comparison](/hub/garden-watering/garden-pump). The Products Compared editorial team used those amazon.co.uk listings on 21 October 2026, the Einhell manual, and the hosepipe notices linked in the sources. Notices change by company and by month. We did not test a ban or run the pumps.
A full water butt still feeds a watering can one litre at a time, because the tap sits only a little above the beds.
A full water butt still feeds a watering can one litre at a time, because the tap sits only a little above the beds. A garden pump for a water butt is the surface pump that stands beside that store and pushes water down a hose. It stays outside the butt. The lift has to be short, the suction hose has to stay airtight, and the rainwater must stay off the mains. What each box contains is on the garden pump comparison. The Products Compared editorial team used those amazon.co.uk listings on 21 October 2026, the Einhell manual, and the hosepipe notices linked in the sources. Notices change by company and by month. We did not test a ban or run the pumps.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Hose in the box | Stated suction | Water | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Einhell Einhell GC-GP 6538 garden pump | No | 8 m | Not on the spec block. Manual: clear water, not drinking water | 8.8 | about £69.95 | View offer |
| Best value |  VEATON VEATON 800 W garden pump with 4 m hose | Yes, 4 m kit | 8 m. The included hose is 4 m | Yes | 8.4 | about £74.99 | View offer |
| Alternative |  VEATON VEATON FGP1200INOX garden pump | No. A separate 4 m kit is named | 8 m | Yes | 8.2 | about £79.99 | View offer |
On this page
Butt, IBC, or neither
This pump wants a nearby store of clean water you can reach with a hose. A butt on a stand, or an IBC at ground level, is that store. Reviews on the Einhell and the stainless-head VEATON mention both. The water should be clear enough for a clean-water pump. Leaves and silt are hard on the seal. The Einhell manual limits that model to clear water up to 35 °C, with a drain screw so you can empty it for storage.
Measure the vertical distance from the water surface up to the pump. These listings state 8 metres of suction. A butt a metre below the pump is a comfortable lift. An underground tank or a well is a different job, and the motor may need to go into the water. If the only opening will not pass a hose, read the lid section before you buy a longer one. Extra length does not help if the hose cannot enter.
Hose in the box is not the suction rating
The 8 metre line and the hose in the parcel are different numbers. The VEATON FGP800+Hose, at £74.99, claims a 4 metre suction kit and still prints 8 metres of lift, 800 W and 3,200 litres per hour. Four metres reaches the bottom of a butt beside the pump. It is short if the butt is across the patio, and it is not an 8 metre hose. Reviews say the supplied fittings may not meet the inlet, so a kit on the title can still mean a second trip for connectors.
The Einhell GC-GP 6538, at £69.95, and the VEATON FGP1200INOX, at £79.99, include no suction hose. The stainless-head listing points to a separate 4 metre kit. You buy a reinforced hose and a foot valve the same day, long enough to reach the bottom with a little spare, matched to the inlet. The Einhell inlet is an R1 male of about 33.3 mm. A soft reel hose can collapse once the pump pulls, which looks like a weak motor. Thread and plug, before you are standing at the butt with the wrong fitting, are the garden pump buying guide.
Lids, priming, and how fast a butt empties
Priming means a full casing and a suction hose under the water so air can leave. Reviews of the VEATON 800 W say that is awkward when the lid is too small to dunk the hose. A hand-hole in a child-safe lid will not pass a foot valve. You need a larger opening, with the lid secured again afterwards, or this pump cannot be primed on that butt. A hose forced through a gap that kinks it will leak air.
The fill, the open outlet and the bubble test are on how to prime a garden pump. Once it runs, watch the volume. A stated 3,200 to 3,800 litres per hour is a maximum, and it is still a lot beside a 200 litre butt. Even a modest share of that rate can drop a small butt in a few minutes, the foot valve can break the surface, and the pump can run dry. The VEATON 800 W listing says not to. Stay with it. One review of that kit describes a single sprinkler on about 60 metres of hose. That is one garden, not a sizing rule. A pressure-washer story in a review is one review, not a claim that these pumps suit a washer.
Drain the casing before a frost. The Einhell has a drain screw for water left in the body. A pump you can empty and store is easier to protect than a motor left in a butt that freezes, which is one reason this page keeps it outside.
Hosepipe bans and the mains
A hosepipe ban is a company notice, and the wording differs by region. Thames Water's FAQ says a hose from a water butt is allowed under that ban. South East Water's Sussex FAQ also allows a butt hose, and it says not to fill the butt from the mains with a hose while the restriction applies. Affinity Water's East region notice of August 2026 puts electric pumps on rainwater butts outside that restriction. Anglian Water's July 2026 notice is an example with a summary fine of up to £1,000 for breaking that ban. The fine belongs to that notice. It is not a national figure for every company.
Read your own water company's notice on the day, including in Northern Ireland if that is where the butt stands. Some bans will not exempt rainwater. Filling the butt from a mains tap can still be restricted when using water already in the butt is allowed. Those are different lines in the FAQs above.
Keep rainwater off the drinking-water pipes. Water Regs UK's booklet on alternative water systems treats stored rainwater as a category that must not be teed into the mains. An air gap is the separation. Connecting this pump's outlet to an outside tap, so it can push back toward the supply, is where you stop and use a qualified installer if the job is allowed at all. A hose that starts in the butt and ends on the beds is the arrangement these listings are sold for.
Common questions
Can a surface pump run a hose from a water butt?
Yes, when the water is clean, the vertical lift is well inside the stated 8 metres, and the suction hose is reinforced and airtight. The pump stands beside the butt. The Einhell, the VEATON kit and the stainless-head VEATON are all that type in our comparison. One sprinkler is a fair expectation. A stated 3,200 litres per hour is a listing maximum, not the flow at the end of a long hose.
Is 4 m of hose enough?
Four metres reaches the bottom of a butt beside the pump, with the foot valve still under the water. That is the VEATON 800 W kit length. It is a different number from the 8 metre suction rating. The other two pumps include no suction hose, so you buy the length you measured. A hose that only just reaches will suck air as the level falls.
Why will it not prime through a small lid?
The hose and foot valve have to go under the water. A narrow lid blocks that. Reviews of the VEATON 800 W call priming fiddly for that reason. A longer hose does not fix a hole that is too small. Use a larger opening and refit the lid, or use a pump that does not need a fat hose through that hole. Once the hose can enter, the fill steps are on the priming page.
Can I use it during a hosepipe ban?
Sometimes. Thames Water and South East Water's Sussex FAQ allow a hose from a water butt under those restrictions, and Affinity Water's East region notice of August 2026 puts electric pumps on rainwater butts outside that restriction. Your company may say something else, and the notice may have changed. Check the live page for your postcode. Using water already in the butt is a different line from filling the butt from the mains.
Can I top the butt up from the mains at the same time?
During a restriction, often no. South East Water's Sussex FAQ says not to fill the butt from the mains with a hose while the ban applies. With no ban, rainwater still stays off the mains. Water Regs UK treats stored rainwater as a category that needs an air gap. Keep the hose on the garden side of the butt.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources from the research digest, plus the amazon.co.uk prices, stars and review counts captured for these three listings on 21 October 2026. Last reviewed 22 October 2026.
- Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999, Schedule 2 paragraph 15 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- Water Regs UK, alternative water systems (February 2024) (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- Electrical Safety First, garden electrics (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- Electrical Safety First, plugs and fuses (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- Einhell UK, GC-GP 6538 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- Einhell GC-GP 6538 manual (Manuals+) (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- Gardena UK, weak pump flow and the bubble test (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- Thames Water, hosepipe ban FAQs (retrieved 21 October 2026)