Rain Barrels

[Rick]

I'm going to install a rain barrel on each of the back corners of my house. One downspout drains the second story and the other downspout drains a smaller roof over the family room. I'm sure a bunch of you have rain barrels and I'd appreciate some input.

I've been looking at the ones on this page. They hold 60 gallons but they seem a little pricey to me.

http://www.easycart.net/FiresideGall...s.html#gray101

[Stretch]

Mother Earth News had an article about a year ago on how to make your own. I haven't found it yet. All the barrels drained out the bottom w/shutoff valves and were connected via one inch pvc. It was geared more for collecting water for gardening, but I suppose it could feed a cistern just the same. I'll keep looking for the link.

[Stretch]

Well it's not the one I was looking for. It has some links with it and good info. Hope I was able to help some.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Natur...-Save-Big.aspx

[Tahyo]

My neighbor has a couple of those rain barrels like on your link Rick.

It's sort of odd because we both our properties back up to the lake.
In the summer I sink my 5 gallon bucket, toss a sump pump in it with a hose and just pump from the lake.

[Rick]

Stretch - Thanks. Those are imported pepper barrels and I've seen a lot of them converted for rain barrel use. I suppose any food grade container would work. and installing a drain plug and spigot wouldn't be too much trouble. And you need a screened top to keep out mosquitoes. Now all I have to do is find a barrels to convert or find a converted one cheaper that $100 bucks.

[crashdive123]

Rick - here's an idea and possible source of inexpensive barrels. http://www.geocities.com/rainsystem/howto.html It doesn't look like they're food grade, but you can probably pick up the barrels and food grade liners for less than the cost of a new rain barrel.

[Rick]

Thanks Crash. That's the first one of those barrels I've seen that empties directly into the bung hole from the gutter. Most have a hose from a diverter in the downspout to the bung on the barrel. I may contact him and find out what he used to connect the downspout to the barrel.

[crashdive123]

Here's another possible source for barrels - happens to be an advertiser on this site. http://www.majorsurplus.com/Water-Storage-C1984.aspx

[bulrush]

Those premade rain barrels are a real ripoff. I have one where I got the barrel free (about 35g) and bought the bulwark fitting to allow me to screw in a garden tap. Your best bet: have multiple barrels chained together with pipe and have them at one down spout. In the spring, the rains (or just the winter melt) will fill them all up. Hook up your hose once and you're set for 3 months.

I have flower and veggie beds in my backyard, and a full barrel lasts me about 6-7 weeks, and that accounts for evaporation, no additional rain, and I water sparingly, and use mulch to reduce evaporation from the flowers.

For a cover I made a square wooden frame and covered it with screen door screen. I don't have any mosquitos in there at all. Just a little algae. The screen keeps the leaves out that come down the gutter, and it keeps insects out. The wind automatically blows any leaves away, so it's self-cleaning.

Total cost for bulwark fitting, brass tap, misc parts, and cement blocks to put the barrel up on was about $25-30us. And that's just because all the parts were new.

My barrel is only about 10 inches off the ground, a better height would be waist height. I have to get on my knees to let gravity push the water out of the hose.

[Rick]

I don't understand that last sentence at all. But it's so da**ed funny it doesn't matter.

I bag all my grass clippings and they go in the garden so I have mulch a plenty for the garden. For the flower beds around the house, I went to rubber mulch last year. It's made out of recycled tires, gauranteed for ten years and it doesn't harbor earwigs and termites the way the wood mulch did.

I don't mind making it. It looks pretty simple. How did you get a free barrel?

[cajun swamp hunter]

I never realized that barrels were so costly or hard to find. When we need some we just talk to my buddy at the tobasco plant and he gets us some used barrels. It takes awhile to get the pepper flavor out but we use tobasco on darn near everthing we eat anyway. We hook up 5 drums on a stand next to the eaves with the gutter running into the first barrel. The other barrels are connected at the top with a piece of pvc pipe between them. All are coverved with copper screen and a shot of clorox in the first barrel every few months takes care of the algea problem.

[Ridge Wolf]

Stretch - Thanks. Those are imported pepper barrels and I've seen a lot of them converted for rain barrel use. I suppose any food grade container would work. and installing a drain plug and spigot wouldn't be too much trouble. And you need a screened top to keep out mosquitoes. Now all I have to do is find a barrels to convert or find a converted one cheaper that $100 bucks.

Rick.. Call the Coca Cola distributor in your area... or the Pepsi distributor in you area... ask him to refer you to a good source for used 60 gal or smaller syrup barrels.. or even if he'll sell a couple to ya.. The syrup in those barrells is toxic/caustic so they have to label it as such.. but don't let that bother you.. they can be washed out..

Get a couple of those plastic ones with the tops to them.. pull the bung hole and trace the outline of your downspout over the hole and with a skill saw cut along the lines.. then it is just a matter of placing the barrells in the right position under the downspout.. (straight under? or even if you need to elbow the spout to the hole is fine..). When they are filled they just over flow.. or if you put a petcock in at the bottom you can drain it off into another container with a hose.. The barrells are thick enough to hold the weight of full water and are excellent for your purposes... I wouldn't try doing that with a plastic trash can though.. they aren't thick walled and collapse.

There ya go in a nut shell...

P.S. It is advisable to insert the downspout end into the hole about an inch or two to make sure it doesn't just splash around on the lid.

[Ridge Wolf]

I don't understand that last sentence at all. But it's so da**ed funny it doesn't matter.

Bulrush obviously has a petcock at the bottom of the barrel and has to get on his knees to open it???

[crashdive123]

Just too easy. Not gonna do it.

[Rick]

Thanks, Ridge. I'll see if I have a bottler around here. That's a great idea. I hadn't considered them.

For those of you in Western Pennsylvania, here is a guy that sells them for $6 but only for pickup. He doesn't ship them.

http://www.buysellcommunity.com/sale/LGHEUTKS/

[Ridge Wolf]

Thanks, Ridge. I'll see if I have a bottler around here. That's a great idea. I hadn't considered them.

For those of you in Western Pennsylvania, here is a guy that sells them for $6 but only for pickup. He doesn't ship them.

http://www.buysellcommunity.com/sale/LGHEUTKS/

Welcome.. don't forget the industrial areas... sometimes they have stacks of 55 gal. barrells just lying around..

[Rick]

Just an update, Ridge. I called both Pepsi and Coke today.

Pepsi won't release them because of the liability (da**ed lawyers!) and the fact that they have their name on the side. They recycle them.

Coke said they stopped using the barrel and are using a 250 gallon tank now. I didn't ask about the tank.

[Ridge Wolf]

Just an update, Ridge. I called both Pepsi and Coke today.

Pepsi won't release them because of the liability (da**ed lawyers!) and the fact that they have their name on the side. They recycle them.

Coke said they stopped using the barrel and are using a 250 gallon tank now. I didn't ask about the tank.

Then I would start checking industrial companies, Second hand stores, dollar stores, Look in the phone book (yellow pages) for barrells. I know that in this area there are several liquidation outlets that sell them. Farm supply stores may sell them too. There is an outlet for those barrells.. I have bought two of them in the last couple of years. I use them for yard debri and load them on a trailer to take to the dump. Check surplus outlets.. not necessarily military.

Try this link... http://www.barrelsupply.com/ if nothing else..

[Katlady]

Hello Folks, I'm new here but this is something I can share on. I'm learing a lot about how to do a REAL rain catch system here. I live in the N Ga mountains and my water is gravity fed from the stream on the mountain behind my cabin. It goes into an artisein well and is pumped into the cabin after being filtered. Last year the stream went dry and we were without water for about 3 months. I carried water for another stream in bottles to fill the well when I could. This year I've been catching the rain water!!!! But I don't use the food grade barrels since I filter my water through a system. I have just plain old plastic trashcans that I put under my spouts and I have a window screen over them to screen out bugs & leaves. I also have a fine sheer curtain that I use to screen the water even finer. It works great so far! I don't have a place in my cabin for a washing machine so I have mine out in the back yrd. Ihave the electrical cords all wrapped up in plastic and closed off with duct tape. I have screens over my washing maching and raise the lid when it rains. I wash in cold water and have to hand pour the rinse water in but it's really not that much trouble. I don't have a dryer either and hang my stuff out on the line. I use non toxic soap and have the hose that empties the washer attached to my garden hose. I wait to wash when I need to water my plants. I can even use a watering wand with my hose. I hate to waste water!!! I'd like to upgrade my system this year but it works fine for now and I'm grateful to have it. Katlady

[crashdive123]

Sounds great Katlady. We've got a few forum members up around your neck of the woods. When you get a chance head on over to the intro section and let us know a bit about you. Got a feeling we can learn a lot.