Installing a rain barrel
Every time I would see water flooding the street during a downpour, I would think
"man, we need a rain barrel!" What a waste for all that water to run down the street drains, potentially causing flooding. Plus I'll need to run my sprinkler system in a
couple of days when it drys out. It would be easier on the water distribution system. Then there is the condensed water from the air conditioner that is just going to waste, I could plum that in too! And it's got to help reduce global warming somehow!
Rain barrel realities
First, understand it's not about saving money. On my last water bill, we paid $35 for 7000 gallons of water.
That is $.005, or half a cent per gallon. That means 50 gallons of water is worth $.25, or a quarter! So if you get $100 tied up in a barrel (the cost of a rain barrel class I went to,
then more expense to get the barrel to not leak), it will take 400 refill cycles to pay back the investment. So when putting in a rain barrel, keep
a close eye on costs - economics are really thin (i.e., non-existant).
It's not about flood control. Where we live, rain tends to come in short bursts. The 50 gallons in my barrel instead of the street
drains would literally be a drop in the bucket. I actually have problems managing the overflow from the barrel (but I think I have it licked now).
My best (practical) reason are the vines I put in along the side of the house, where there is not a sprinkler system. So instead of
extending the sprinklers, I put in a rain barrel to water the vines. But now I have to haul buckets of water around. I think the vines would greatly prefer the much more consistency of my sprinkler system on a timer.
From the picture on the right, you can tell I'm proud of the quality engineering that went into the system. And don't the different blue tank colors with the brown flex hoses look dashing! But for some reason, my wife and neighbor are notably less excited.
But it does feel like I'm doing something for the environment - get to be a little smug when we have guests over and I proudly
show off my (vastly over budget) rain barrel. And it gives my wife something to remind me of when the next great idea comes up. She gets a lot of enjoyment from that,so the rain barrel project is a big success from her perspective.
Considerations:
- Location: what will the neighbors (and wife) think when they see the results of the fine engineering design work? Can you hide it behind a fence or around a corner? How far will water need to be hauled?
- How will water get into the barrel? Is there a gutter systerm you can tie into?
- How will you get water out of the barrel? Will need a proper fitting to not have leaks. Also helpful to have the tanks elevated so you don't have to bend over to fill a bucket, or to have some head pressure if you run a sprinkler hose (note there is not enough pressure for a soaker hose).
- What happens when the barrel fills up? Where will excess water go?
- Is the stand and ground strong enough to support 750 pounds of water? What happens if the whole thing comnes crashing down?
Point by point notes
Stand: Let's start with the most important component from a safety perspective - handling the weight of the system. I have a 50 gallon drum, plus a
40 gallon second drum hooked up. The combination weighs 90 gallons * 8.4 pounds/gallon = 750 pounds! So if you don't set your barrels on the
ground, a well designed stand is critcal to keep the whole system from crashing down and damaging whatever it lands on.
You will want your rain barrel on some sort of stand to get the outlet faucet off the ground and not have to bend over to fill a bucket. Also having it elevated opens the possibility of a drip system. You need to take into account the weight of a barrel of water when designing a stand. So
whatever stand you build needs to be strong. I used some 4"x4" posts I had laying around. Note that the weigh of all that water has nothing to do with the pressure available. For each foot
of barrel height, you get about 1/2 psi of pressure. So a four-foot high stand will give you 2 psi of pressure. Does not sounds like much, but should be adequate to run the drip system I plan to rig up.
Be sure to put stone footers under the stand to increase the bearing area.
Getting water into the barrel:
Getting water out of the barrel
Handling overflow What happens when the barrel fills up?
Resources:
http://www.rainharvest.com/bulkhead-fittings.asp RainHarvest Systems, cheap source of bulkhead fittings, a must if you don't want your barrel to leak.
http://www.aces.edu/waterquality/raincatchers/manual/chapter_1.html Alabama Rain Catchers, lots of good tips.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Need-Free-Water%3f--Build-a-Rain-Barrel/?ALLSTEPS A good discussion on how to rig up a rain barrel.
http://www.aquabarrel.com/product_rain_barrel_plastic_parts.php Aquabarrel, a supplier of parts.
http://www.rainbarrelparts.com/index.php More parts from RainBarrelParts.
What does not work
