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Rain Barrels

Rain Barrels

Saving rain water makes perfect sense to me, so when I saw a friend's house with dozens of 50 gallon barrels I asked him where he got them. He told me he knew someone with a car wash and these were the barrels the soap came in. He ended up giving me 6 barrels to get started.

If you are able to get barrels from a car wash they work well, but make sure you rinse them out really good first. I usually fill them halfway with water, put the plugs in, and roll them around the driveway. After doing this a few times I fill them to the top and let them sit for a few days. Once the water comes out without feeling slippery (or with bubbles) I put them to use as rain barrels. If you are worried, you can always wait until algae grows in them. If algae can survive I assume it will be ok for other plants.

 

Elevating your barrels will make it easier to get a bucket or watering can under the faucet and it will increase the flow of water. Something to do with gravity and water pressure I think. I used an old 8x8 landscaping board for some and cinder blocks for others. Whatever you have that will hold the weight of the barrels when full. Water is about 8 lbs. per gallon so my 50 gallon barrels will be near 400 lbs. each when full.

rain barrel stand

Building Rain Barrels

Once the barrels are rinsed out I drill a hole that is a couple of inches up from the bottom. I leave those couple of inches so any sediment will not interfere with the water flow. Depending on where I plan on using the barrel I will drill up to 3 holes. I also use the larger 3/4" faucets because they have better flow than the 1/2" ones do. Either one will work with a standard garden hose.

 

Tools needed:

15/16 bit

tap

Additional items needed:

faucet

connector

hose clamp

 

Single Rain Barrel Construction

The first thing to decide is where your rain barrel will be used. If it is going to be by itself you will need to cut a hole in the top and divert your downspout to drain into the barrel. I usually cut a square a little bigger than the downspout and cover it with screen. An old screen window would work fine or you can buy screen.

rain barrel screen

The next step is to drill your hole a couple of inches up from the bottom in the front of your barrel. I place the barrel on it's side to make this easier. After your hole is drilled run the pipe tap through. If you don't have a pipe tap you can screw the faucet in with alot of force, making the threads as it goes. It takes alot of force and you need to maintain a perpendicular angle. I found it to be a real pain doing it this way and that's why I bought a tap since I make alot of these connection holes.

After your hole has it's threads, screw the faucet in just enough for it to stay on it's own. As you screw it in the rest of the way, squeeze the epoxy into the joint so it hits the threads as well as the barrel wall. as you screw the faucet in the epoxy will be pulled all around the hole so you don't need to keep moving it. Make sure it does get all around so it seals completely.

Once your faucet is in place leave the barrel on it's side to allow the epoxy to dry.

Since the barrel will probably be near a building you will want an overflow hose to divert water once the barrel is full. I usually put the barrel in place to decide where I want the hose to connect to it. I try to hide it near the back on one if the sides. Drill and tap a hole an inch or two below the top of the barrel. Install a 1" flanged x 3/4" threaded pvc connector. You can skip the epoxy step here if you want. Attach the overflow hose with a clamp and set it to discharge away from the building. If you bought the 24 foot one you can cut it at a reasonable length and use the rest for another barrel.

 

Multiple Rain Barrel Construction

If you have a big garden like me, you will quickly find out that one rain barrel doesn't really hold that much water. This is why I connect several rain barrels with tubing. As the main barrel under the downspout fills, it fills all the connected barrels too.

Depending on where the barrel will be in the group, it will need 1 or 2 holes drilled and tapped. This time I place them on the sides so I can run the tubing between each one. You could just put an overflow hose from one into the next, but they will not fill evenly and you will need a faucet in every barrel that way.

Follow the steps above to drill and tap your holes but instead of a faucet, install a 1" flanged x 3/4" threaded pvc connector. These are used in underground sprinker systems so they should be easy to find. I got mine from Menard's. after setting the first connector you will need to put the barrel on something to install the other side. I use 4x4, 6x6, or 8x8 landscaping boards.

Once the epoxy is dry you can set your barrels where they will go and connect them together by putting tubing between the barrels using the flanged pvc to connect them. Put a hose clamp over it to make sure they don't leak.

connected rain barrels

If you have many barrels in a row you may want to consider a faucet in each barrel that are on the ends.

 

Barrels are great for saving rain water but are not attractive. I built a removable fence to cover the barrels that my neighbors would have to look at.

rain barrels hidden rain barrels

 

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