rain barrel

[devohoneybee]

O Hai!

Does anyone have any experience with rain barrels? I'd like to get one, as we are about to have our rainy season and it would be great to use the roof run-off for my garden, or for emergency drinking water (after extensive filtering). I'm looking online and seeing a lot of styles and options. Anyone used one? What features, like additional spouts, links to second barrel, construction material, etc, are worth the additional costs? Thanks!

Comments

[brightfame]

Ooh, please let me know how it goes, especially if you do set it up for emergency drinking water. I was thinking about doing the same with the water from our tanks.

We have two large plastic ones sitting on a concrete platform (which isn't water sealed and should have been - full tanks are heavy and water erodes cement). Great for watering plants and car washing, and also emergency toilet-tank-filling.

I have no real info to share as I wasn't around when they were installed, but they are great to have.

[alysswolf]

I would strongly recommend putting some kind of mesh cover over the barrel. Really, really strongly recommend. Fishing out a drowned squirrel from the rain barrel is not something I'd wish on anyone.

Back in the olden days a simple oak barrel would suffice but I gather things have become more complicated.

[dragonfly]

A lot of my friends have them. They are sold by a local sustainability organization. They are completely contained (no mesh necessary) and tap into your drainpipe with some kind of diversion tube. If the barrel fills, the rain gutter just acts normally, spewing water onto the ground or wherever it goes. To get water out of the barrel, there is a tap toward the bottom like in a large water jug. You attach a hose to that and you can water a garden or fill a fountain or whatever. These cost $75 with an additional $50 if you don't install it yourself but have the organization do it. (That price varies a lot as the organization adjusts how much they need to have as a fund-raiser)

[dragonfly]

A lot of my friends have them. They are sold by a local sustainability organization. They are completely contained (no mesh necessary) and tap into your drainpipe with some kind of diversion tube. If the barrel fills, the rain gutter just acts normally, spewing water onto the ground or wherever it goes. To get water out of the barrel, there is a tap toward the bottom like in a large water jug. You attach a hose to that and you can water a garden or fill a fountain or whatever. These cost $75 with an additional $50 if you don't install it yourself but have the organization do it. (That price varies a lot as the organization adjusts how much they need to have as a fund-raiser)