Rainwater harvesting containers

[jen_in_southtexas]

I have been reading about harvesting rainwater. I read that you can use those big Rubbermaid trashcans(new of course) to collect rainwater. Has anyone ever used these to collect rainwater?

-j

[bee_pipes]

We are able to get large, plastic barrels from the coop. They were used to ship olives, so the containers are already food grade. The containers have a two piece lid - a gasketed plate and a threaded ring. This lets you replace the plate with a piece of screen to strain the water. The plastic is soft enough to drill a large hole in the bottom and put in a spiggot. We pay $16-$18 each for the barrels. The inside has a residue of old, ripe olive oil/juice/brine (?). Best to wash them out a few times with soapy water on a hot day. They hold around 55 gallons.

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/images/barden105-5.jpg

Regards,
Pat

[jen_in_southtexas]

Beepipes,

Thanks for that info. That was not a bad price for those barrels..food grade at that and they look good. I keep forgetting about the co-op. I definetly need to check them out. Gonna do that during the week. Thanks again.

-j

[lostinthewoods]

I just had a thought. If you can find a Coke or Pepsi distributer near you they usually ship their syrup in 300 gal tanks surrounded by a metal cage. They usually will give these away provided you'll haul them away. We actually have one that we haul in our trailer to haul water when the cistern needs a drink. It would be worth a look?

They usually come with a 4" threaded opening in the top and an outlet usually with a valve on the bottom. Just be sure if you decide to haul it full be sure your vehicle is up to the task as the tank weighs more than a ton when full.

I'll post a pic once the snow stops flying.


lost

[12vman]

For a quick, easy, short term storage idea.. 8)

I've used a kids blow up swimming pool. They'll hold a lot of water and you can put them up and take them down real easy..
~Don

[LeatherneckPA]

Folks around us buy a lot of those 55 gal plastic barrels used to ship grape juice and apple juice from overseas to here. They cost about $10 each, are food grade, and readily available. They use them as floats for their river docks. We use them to hold rain water for the garden.

[jen_in_southtexas]

Thank you all for the suggestions. I will see what I can come up with and what works best for me. Surprisingly, the co-op didnt have any barrels.

-j

[Shamrock1121]

We have approx. 1,000 gallon capacity, and will add more this spring. *Many of ours are similar to the red barrels in the picture. *Ours are 50-gallons and already have a brass spigot in them. *We get ours at Orscheln Farm and Home Supply and they are recycled food containers. *They smell like they had pickles or olives in them. *We clean them with baking soda/water. *It takes 1/4-inch of rain to fill our 50-gallon barrels.

We also have 2 containers that are 165-gallons each, and we retro-fitted a spigot in the bung hole at the bottom of the barrels with parts from True Value Hardware Store. *These two large containers are piggy-backed on the longest run of gutter. *The first one fills and then the 2nd one will fill.

We have piggy-back 50-gallon barrels in three locations.

We also have another container from Orscheln's that looks like a giant lady bug (215-gallons) and we painted it to look like a lady bug.

We can attach a soaker hose to our barrels for watering. *We also have drip hose in several places (including the vegetable/herb gardens). *I fill a large container with water and use a solar pump to feed the drip hose.

The higher off the ground you place the barrels, the more water pressure you have. *Most of ours are on one or two courses of concrete blocks.

The downspout diverter we use has really made these containers very efficient. *If you fill the barrels directly from the downspout and you have an open screen over the barrel opening (to keep debris out and help control mosquitoes), you will lose a lot of your water in evaporation. *Our barrels are completely shut other than the hose that feeds them from the downspout diverter. *

This is the downspout diverter we use (item #33-991) from Gardener's Supply Company:

http://www.gardeners.com/Downspout%20Diverter/33-991,default,pd.html

Last year was our first year for rain barrels and the lesson we learned is to avoid (or paint) the white/opaque barrels. *If you don't, you get algae. *We put barley bails (used in fish ponds or water tanks) to keep the algae out. *We're going to paint the two large barrels that are white...

-Karen

[jen_in_southtexas]

Shamrock1121,

Thanks for the info on the rainbarrels and the diverter. I went to the Gardener's Supply website to look at the product. I really like it. I called them and they are going to send me a catalog.

The info you have provided has given me some good idea's. I appreciate your help.

-j

[lostinthewoods]

Karen,

Do you have any pics of your set up? I'd be interested to see how you have it set up. Your explanation was great but you know what they say about a picture.

lost

[Shamrock1121]

Karen,

Do you have any pics of your set up? *I'd be interested to see how you have it set up. Your explanation was great but you know what they say about a picture.

lost

Lost -

You're right, a picture is probably worth a lot more than my ramblings ::) Unfortunately, I'm completely clueless about how to post pictures. I'm barely able to turn the computer on and off. :-[ If I can find someone to help me with that task, I'll do it. I've got the digital camera and there are pictures on it that we took last spring after we completed the project, so maybe I can find someone to take pity on me.....

The rain barrels are winterized at the moment, and not connected.

Here's a site that might give you a sneek-peek.

http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/PI/rainbarrels.htm

If you scroll down to the picture of the two red barrels, that's what I call piggy-back (two barrels side by side and only one is filled from the downspout and the second barrel fills when the first one is full - they are connected by a short piece of 5/8-inch hose). I have the exact same barrels and a similar set-up in my herb garden - I just have a different downspout diverter. I don't have the open barrel concept for the water to enter the barrel.

Those particular barrels are very adaptable to several modes of use as a rain container. They have a screw-on-ring with a removable disk - kinda like a canning jar ring and lid. Therefore you could put a sheet of screen over the barrel opening and could screw the ring back on the top to hold it in place without the disk. My barrels also came with a giant rubber band that you could also use to hold screen in place over the top opening.

This will allow water to go directly from the downspout (by whatever method - there are several you can use). The screen is necessary to keep "things" out of the barrel. The problem with this application is that the barrel is always open and you'll lose a lot of the water to evaporation. My lids are on tight and water only enters the barrel through a 5/8-inch hose from the diverter.

If you have direct feed, without a downspout diverter, you also have to have a hose from the top of the barrel to drain the overflow when the barrel gets full. You'll also want that overflow water to divert AWAY from your house.

The style of diverter I use will automatically divert the water from a full barrel back into the diverter and back down the remaining downspout.

Just Google - rain barrels - and you'll find any number of barrels, instructions, and several types of diverters. I studied things for several months before figuring out what I thought would work for us.

-Karen

[MooseToo]

We are able to get large, plastic barrels from the coop. They were used to ship olives, so the containers are already food grade. The containers have a two piece lid - a gasketed plate and a threaded ring. This lets you replace the plate with a piece of screen to strain the water. The plastic is soft enough to drill a large hole in the bottom and put in a spiggot. We pay $16-$18 each for the barrels. The inside has a residue of old, ripe olive oil/juice/brine (?). Best to wash them out a few times with soapy water on a hot day. *They hold around 55 gallons.

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/images/barden105-5.jpg

Regards,
Pat
several years ago i bought some of these barrels - some had held olives from greece, some had peppers from turkey - while cleaning the turkish barrels i spilled some of the residue onto my bare feet and the skin peeled from both feet - limped for a few days but it obviously is not a fatal hazard -
use them barrels for EVERYTHING -

[dreams_in_color]

Someone on the bulletin board at work today was selling a 1,200 gallon container for 150. She is suppose to send me pictures tomorrow. She said it looks like an upside down herseys kiss. It is located about an hour from me but sounds like a great deal.

[jen_in_southtexas]

That is a good deal dreams in color. I wouldnt mind making that hour drive. I hope you like the pics she sends you.

-j

[Txanne]

I had some Pepsi barrels off grid----never did get that pepsi syrup smell out of them and they got a good regular bleach cleaning.[[Used these barrels for hair washing etc--had that pepsi hair smell more than once---but I always had rain water---

And on my open barrels--I had molded regular screen wire to fit the tops--kept out critters pine needles and sundry bugs--with out impeding any collection of water.



And the painting suggestion is excellent advice.

An algae build up can be annoying--and the longer you wait--the harder they are to scrub clean.


Txanne