Come see my rain barrels... (many pictures)

14 years ago

A couple years ago, I read that rainwater is ideal for gardens because it contains no chlorine or fluoride, neither of which are good for tender green things growing in the dirt.

And in my city, it's illegal to dig a well within 100 feet of the principal residence, so that means that 90% of homeowners can't dig a well. So, I installed a rain barrel. But you can't put in just one...

The first one just sat in the dirt, but the spigot is so close to the ground and the head pressure is so poor, it was hard to use. I couldn't get a watering can under it and the hose kept kinking and it had no water pressure, so...

I found that if I put a 24" platform under the rain barrel, it was much easier to use. But then 24" was still too short, so I built the next platform at 36" (shown in photos). I'm much more pleased with that one.

Each barrel holds 60 gallons, and the platform with three barrels is under a back porch roof downspout, however that back porch is under the main roof's downspout. Last night, all three barrels filled up in less than 20 minutes. Lots of water comes flying off our steep roof during a good down pour.

Here are some photos. Now I have to plant my flowers and veggies so I can use all that water for a good purpose!

The water is so soft and smells so nice. It's no suitable for drinking without a complex filter, but it still feels nice on your hands. :) Enjoy the photos. (I built the platforms with my own widdle hands.)

I didn't want the barrels right up against the house, so I moved them out about four inches and then put this 6" plexiglass extension on the downspout. Works like a charm.

Wet dog, wondering when we can go back in the house and have our evening bone.

Sometimes, the inlet (which has a fine screen) gets clogged up.

Comments (22)

lindaohnowga
14 years ago
You did a great job. I just showed this post to my husband and he really liked it. Where did you purchase your rain barrels? Hubby looked at our Lowes and they were $115 a piece. Yikes.
pattico_gw
14 years ago
Very nice and neat...

We have a well...it is sweetwater...no iron...Comes from 150 feet under a huge layer of rock. Sooooo cold.
Related Discussions
Made My Rain Barrel Diverter
Q
Comments (13)
Mr. Sig - When the barrel is full, I just leave the elbow in the downspout. If I need water, I place it over the barell. I don't run out during the rain to switch it back and forth. I use my overflow hose to water the water-loving plants that are away from the barrels (some 20ft.) I run a solid hose for the first few feet then connect to a drip hose to dispurse the water along the way. I too have placed the overflow hose back into the downspout but I find this gives much better control of the overflow water. It takes care of ALL the water coming off the roof. Note: WITH ONE INCH OF RAIN, A 1000 SQ FT. ROOF PRODUCES 640 GALLONS OF WATER. That is a lot of water for a couple of 55/65 gal. barrels.
...See More
my new rain barrels :-)
Q
Comments (16)
Hi I finally broke down and conected my rain collection system to my aquaium, water garden. Now Ma nature does all my water changes,the overflow waters the marsh garden. I have 1200 gallons of reseve water and lost not one square inch of grow space .lol Next step is to throw in a pump to water the shadehouse utililizing the weak .free fertilizer from the water garden. Hopefully I'll arrive at the "Weakly weekly" ideal for the orchids with no work on my part. I added a heating system last year to finally contend with those cold spells WITHOUT moving the plants!!! Okay it doesn't work, but it didn't overheat!!!! I was planning on the entire system working on "normal rainfall" When are we going to start getting that??lol gary
...See More
Need barrel to make rain barrels
Q
Comments (8)
Just a tip for anyone who is thinking about making his/her own rain barrels. The rain barrels on the website Buford purchased from look really nice; however, we've learned at least one thing the hard way from the experience of making our own and that is not to put the spigot up so high on the barrel. Some of the pictures on the rainbarrelsandmore.com website show the spigots at about the midpoint of the barrel. What happens then is that fully half of the water in the barrel can't get out through the spigot. If you make your own barrel and are putting a water spigot on it, I'd suggest you put the spigot down as low as you can, then put the barrel itself up on top of a sturdy cement block, rock, or board platform that is high enough to allow you to put a bucket or watering can under the spigot. One other thing we've learned is that you really don't get much water pressure from these things, even when they're full of water and lifted up off the ground. In our community garden, we had planned to attach drip hoses to them that would be gravity fed, but they really don't have enough pressure to force the water down through a drip hose. So we water by hand with watering cans. You may wonder when you see the photos, so I'll just say that we're not using these barrels to collect rain, only to distribute water throughout the garden. But there are two things to think about when converting your barrel; 1)how will the water get inside of it and 2)how will you get the water out of it when you need it. From my own personal experience I also recommend cutting a hole in the top that is circular and just about as big in diameter as the barrel. The reason being, it allows you to pretty much climb inside the barrel to clean it out as needed. We've been using our barrels for only one season and I've had to clean algae off the insides quite a few times already. (not just from the inside of the semi-opaque white barrels in the picture but also from the inside of colored ones that the sun doesn't shine through) If you look up how-to directions for rain barrel conversions online, most of them will tell you to cut a smaller, rectangular hole in the top. And (again, my own experience - maybe yours will be better!) in addition to the smaller hole making it harder to keep the inside clean, I also found that opening up the whole top instead of just cutting a small square made it much easier to put in the spigot, and to reach around to put the spigot lower down on the side of the barrel. We're using plastic sheeting tied on top to keep out mosquitos, but if I were collecting rainwater from gutterspouts I think I would use a stiffer aluminum or plastic window screening with a hole cut in that to insert the gutterspout. And in case you're wondering, the plastic sheeting doesn't work that well (eventually cracks up because of sunlight exposure). It was just a cheap and quick fix. I'm hoping to be able to afford to use rolled window screening next year. Here is a link that might be useful: Photos of Homemade water barrels with spigots
...See More
page 2 let see how many pictures of bird we can get
Q
Comments (56)
In Central Illinois- usually only see a few towhees the whole summer and have never seen them in the winter. There must have been a small flock of them that spent their days under the feeders in the yard this past weekend. Really enjoying all the photos.
...See More
hayjud_mn
14 years ago
That is great! You did nice work. Your plants are going to thrive.
susan_on
14 years ago
I have almost the exact same set up. It works great!
caflowerluver
14 years ago
You did a good job. I have always wanted to set things up like that but we need a place to store it, preferably underground so it doesn't evaporate. We only get rain Nov. - May.
Clare
tammyms
14 years ago
Your system looks great. Your plants are going to do so well. I've been meaning to do the same, just haven't gotten around to it.

Have you ever rinsed your hair in rainwater? I remember when I was a kid, we'd get under the side of the house when the rain poured off and wet our hair. Sometimes we caught the rain in a pitcher and rinsed our hair in the shower. So soft!
redcurls
14 years ago
Wow...Teddy is really growing!!! How's his barking issue?
jannie
14 years ago
When I was growing up, the people who lived two blocks away had a pond. They used pond water to water their grass. Very clever!
stargazzer
14 years ago
I wouldn't rinse my hair in it because of the chemicals in the shingles.
susanjf_gw
14 years ago
jannie that's what my sister did...except they used the lake water. her house was on...
rosemaryt
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks for the compliments. :) I love my rain barrels.

As to chemicals in the shingles, it's a 1925-built home with a slate roof and there shouldn't be any chemicals. One of the bennies of an old house.

Yes, Teddy is getting big, isn't she? She's now 25 pounds at six months old. She'll be a good-sized sheltie.

Rose
dilly_dally
14 years ago
Check with your local ordinances before drawing lake water for personal use. You may need a permit or it may not be allowed at all in some areas. You don't want to end up with a fine or jail time.
jennmonkey
14 years ago
I would love to set up a rain barrel system! Unfortunately we probably can't because we are renters and would have to mess with the gutter system a little. I really like the idea of conserving water by using rain water rather than water from the house. Good job!!
rosemaryt
Original Author
14 years ago
Jenn, it's easy to fiddle with those downspouts and cut them down as needed and then replace them later (when you move out). I'd ask the landlord for permission and then go for it. :) As to the rain barrels themselves, they're actually drums for hauling olives from overseas (Italy and Greece) and I've found them on Craigslist for $20.
Happy_Go_Lucky_Gayle
14 years ago
Wow! What a bargain. I wish I would have a a half dozen of those 2 weeks ago when we got 13 inches of rain in 2 days.
socks
14 years ago
I'm very impressed. Wonderful job and system. Good for you.
msmarion
14 years ago
Rosemary you are my hero, girl! LOL I have six barrels wait for DH to gang them together and build the platform. This rental house has no gutters, but I priced them at HD and they are very affordable as were the downspouts.

Please be sure to get Food Grade barrels if you are interested in setting up a system. I paid $15 each including delivery.
Lily316
14 years ago
My daughter has one and loves it. I'm thinking of getting one as well. I live in an old house ..1840 and there's a hand dug limestone well in my yard that was the town's water supply in the 1800's. Twenty years ago we put a pump in and we use that to water the yard and fill the ponds.
OklaMoni
14 years ago
Very nice set up. I was thinking of using concrete blocks... and now you got me thinking.

I posted about rain barrels over at the Oklahoma Gardening forum, and will link that below.

Moni

Here is a link that might be useful: more on rain barrels
Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana
14 years ago
Sweet! I'm impressed and it takes a lot to impress me...lol

Great job...could not have done any better myself.

How are they connected together, with pvc and silicone caulk and then painted to match the barrels?

Sue
glenda_al
14 years ago
Sending this to friend. She does something similar!

Great job!
Thanks for sharing.
gingertn
14 years ago
Awesome!!!! I really want rain barrels at my next house. I hope to move sometime w/in the next year or so, so I hate to mess w/ them here. Way to go!

Come see my rain barrels... (many pictures)

Comments (22)

lindaohnowga

pattico_gw

Related Discussions

hayjud_mn

susan_on

caflowerluver

tammyms

redcurls

jannie

stargazzer

susanjf_gw

rosemaryt
Original Author

dilly_dally

jennmonkey

rosemaryt
Original Author

Happy_Go_Lucky_Gayle

socks

msmarion

Lily316

OklaMoni

Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana

glenda_al

gingertn

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Come see my rain barrels... (many pictures)

Comments (22)

Related Discussions

rosemarytOriginal Author

rosemarytOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

rosemaryt
Original Author

rosemaryt
Original Author