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In the early years, I hooked up a hose to the faucet and laid it next to the plants I wanted to water. This method is s-l-o-w. And difficult for plants further from the barrels, or if the ground slopes up much. I also found that I wandered away, pulling weeds or whatnot and lost track of time. So I ended up over-watering. At each downspout that I have barrels, one has a fully removable cover (the one not directly under the downspout--see a photo here). These days I tend to take the cover off and dip in a watering can. Much faster and I can better judge the amount of water going to each plant. When the water level gets too low in the barrel for me to comfortably reach, I attach a small hose to the faucet and fill one watering can while I am watering with another one.
See this discussion and compilation of comments from various experts: A Few Important Points
We can only respond with what is possibly the most unsatisfying answer in existence: “It depends.” If you have one 55-gallon barrel, then every time it gets filled up with rain water you are saving 55 gallons of city water. You're on your own with the math, one free calculator is all you're getting from us.
Of course, we're sure you realize that once the barrel is full (which will probably take less than one inch of rain, depending on the square footage of your roof), any overflow rain that goes into your city's sewer system either ends up costing money to treat or washes pollutants into your area's rivers and lakes.
Even a modest-sized, well-constructed rain garden can handle much more water than a rain barrel or two, in general. Plus you get lovely foliage and flowers, and provide habitat to the other creatures that share the planet with us. These pages are about rain barrels, so we encourage you to browse around the Internet and contact local organizations for more information on rain gardens. Consider adding one to your yard. You'll create beauty, support biodiversity, and increase your property's value. You might get some sore muscles creating the garden, but think of the good karma you'll be building up. Can't have too much of that, eh?
You can disguise them with a small fencing or lattice structure, you can put plants in front of them, you can paint them. On our construction page we describe a spray paint for plastics. If you want to be really creative and give rein (--rain, get it? ;-) to your inner artist, you can try something along these lines: Painted Barrels 1, Painted Barrels 2. With properly applied spray paint for outdoor plastics, you probably don't have to further treat the finish, though yearly touch-ups to scrapes may be needed. If you create something more elaborate, I've been told that treating the barrels as if they were a plastic car part will give the best protection against the elements. At the Kentucky website above, they used an adhesive, like Bull Dog, and a primer before painting. Once finished, the barrels were coated with a clear car finish. These folks worked with their local Sherwin Williams auto paint store to figure everything out.
This is natural if the water sits in your barrel for a while. It's the same thing that happens with some lakes, especially when the weather has been very warm. You can ignore it, use the water faster, or check pond or gardening stores for additives that are safe for your plants.
We have done several demonstrations and group workshops in the Twin Cities area. Contact us if your community is interested in a demonstration or group rain barrel-making class.
Sorry, no. This is strictly an informational site for DIYers. (do-it-yourselfers). Not one of those folks? Maybe a friend or family member is. We leave it you to determine the best positive leverage to deploy in such a situation.
Rain barrels are a seasonal product here in Minnesota. Their use has been increasing recently so the stores that carry them and when they are available varies from year to year. So you'll probably want to call around or make a point of checking for them when you're out shopping for something else. Try garden centers and nurseries as well as DIY, home improvement, and hardware stores. There are also online ordering options, but the shipping/handling can add a fair bit to the cost.
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Q: From RW: "I have but 1 question for you (of course). I am using sealed barrels and am wondering about using 2" pvc pipe. If I do so should I glue the fittings in place (IE the male threads)? I don't really want to open all 10 barrels just to connect them."
A: If I understand what you're proposing, I think that would work. You're going to drill a hole in the barrel, thread it and screw a male fitting into the hole, right? Caulking around the fitting would help prevent any leaks. Not sure how that would hold up over the winter unless you made sure they were emptied of all water. There will be some algae growth in the barrels and you won't be able to swish that out like I do in the spring, but with a 2" opening it shouldn't clog them up. A final point I want to mention is that connecting them at the bottom makes the most sense to us. Otherwise you'd have to install a faucet in each barrel.
Q: From Jim: "Do you have any experience on using the water for weeping hose and/or drip irrigation? What about issues of clogging, water pressure, etc.??!!"
A: The only experience I have with those, is something I jury-rigged for watering newly planted shrubs. I connect a regular hose to the barrel. At the end I put a Y connector and on each end another 2-foot length of hose stopped up with corks. I used a small drill bit to make holes along the length. I curve the lenths around the shrubs and open the stops then go weed until it's time to move them. Works pretty good. Never had any clogging issues. If I did I would just poke a toothpick in the hole to clear it. Might take out the cork for a second's flow to clear out the hose. Algae does grow on the barrel insides but tends to stay put. I use a soft brush to remove most of it when we take 'em down in the fall, or in the spring before setting them up. Water pressure is low, basically gravity-driven. If your yard is hilly could be a problem if the barrels are at the bottom. You can put them on blocks or use a short piece of hose to fill up watering cans. Best wishes with your own project. Feel free to share pictures with us.
From Steven in Washington: You have the best (as I am sure you have heard) directions online! I found that a bungee cord works great for holding the screen down and removes easily if you need access to the inside of the barrel.
From Helen in Minnesota: I found my three 55-gallon recycled plastic food-grade barrels at The Barrel Man at 895 Prior Ave N in St. Paul. Their supply fluctuates. My blue barrels have removable lids and cost $12 each.
From Jennifer in Oregon: Thanks for such a great website! I moved here from Oregon where everyone has rain encatchments strategiclally located throughout their property. I'm so happy to see this type of website and know that there are people such as yourself doing this here in Minnesota and showing others how easy it is and that it can be done relatively inexpensively! We will definately be using your template for our rain barrels vs. spending oodles of money at Gertens.
An alternate design from Steve & Paula: We used your design to make rain barrels this past weekend. Instead of your pipe tap method we found 3/4" sprayer bulkhead fittings at Fleet Farm. We used them for both faucet and overflow, no threading required. They are located in the farm department and cost under $5. You drill a 1-1/2 inch hole with a spade bit and the bulkhead fits perfectly. The bulkhead has 3/4" inside threads and left-handed threads on the tightening ring. With the 3/4 inch female threads anything can be easily attached. To connect 2 barrels together you need only remove the faucets and attach a hose, 3/4 inch male pipe fittings, one needs to be a swivel style. Your design is great and we look forward to having rain water for our gardens. Your instructions make the layout easy, and the bulkheads save time and compensate for mistakes. They seal perfectly.
From RW: I just wanted to thank you for your info on Rainbarrels. It was probably the most informative that I have have found online...Thank you Very Much and again GREAT SITE.
Another design innovation from JS: I used plastic barrels with clamp-on lids that have two bung holes. I took the screw-in bung plugs out, applied silicone caulk and replaced the plugs. I removed the whole lid, put window screen over the barrel and clamped it on. I drilled a hole in the plastic lid and installed a 1/4" air tool connector nipple in it. When it comes time to use the water, I replace the screen with the lid and run a air hose from the compressor in my garage to the connector. I connect a hose to the faucet on the barrel bottom, run it to where I want to water, then turn the air on. At 25-30 psi it gives me a nice flow for gentle watering. If I increase the air flow to 40-45 psi, I can run a lawn sprinkler with it.
From Jim: Absolutely wonderful web site.
Jack and Barbara in British Columbia: Wonderful ideas, research and write up. Every drop of water at our paintball field has to be trucked in, so water barrels are a part of our landscape, too. If you're ever in [the neighborhood], please drop in for a free game of paintball on us.
From Beth in Hudson Valley, NY: Thank you for posting these instructions. We put in a rain barrel last fall, got another one and I told my hubby that I thought we could connect them and let gravity take over. Your instructions are right up his alley. We did the same thing from our surplus place got a non toxic barrel, going to let the kids paint it like a Peter Max painting (what vision!) and have a bit of Woodstock in the back yard. (We are not too far from it actually!)
From Mike: I just reviewed your Rain Barrel page and was WOW impressed. Just wanted to thank you for all the work you’ve put into this. Very, very informative and a great help to us who are newbies to this.
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