Rain Barrel project

[ncjeeper]

Well I have had this plastic 55 gallon? barrel for several years. A friend gave it to me awhile back and I just stuck it out back in the yard (this was when I was a grasshopper). So since Im on a weeks vacation and doing projects around the house I thought I would go ahead and turn the barrel into a water catch system.
I went to Home Depot and dropped 100 bucks ( ) on the stuff I was going to need to complete this.




I constructed the base for the barrel.

I got the stand constructed. I built it 4ft tall so I would have a decent flow of water by gravity.

Heres it together.

I then constructed a screen to go inside the barrel to filter out debris.

Drilled a 7/8" hole in the bottom of the barrel and put in the pvc fittings with some silicone sealant.




Next it was time to get on the roof. I hosed out the gutter so it was clean and dropped in a gutter screen.


Cut out a port for the gutter to attach to the lid.

Next I disconnected the old gutter and fastened in the new pieces.

I then plumbed the bottom with pvc pipe and fittings. I only cemented the elbows. I just press fitted the other pieces so that way I can disconnect it if need be.

There she is. Already to catch some rain.

I also added a clear tube to the outside so I can see how much water is in the barrel.

Lets hope this thing pays for itself.

[Nicodemus]

Nice work jeeper! You build some well constructed stuff. I don't think I've ever seen one with a downspout coupler attached to the lid before.

Does it have an overflow?

[ncjeeper]

Nice work jeeper! You build some well constructed stuff. I don't think I've ever seen one with a downspout coupler attached to the lid before.

Does it have an overflow?

Thanks.
Yes the clear sight hose I left open at the top so it can act as an overflow also.

[GeddyFlea]

Nice work. A great example to go by, thanks.

[citizen.z]

Looks like a great job. My only suggestion if I may be so bold is have you considered a "first flush diverter" for your system? Depending on how big of a catchment area you are collecting from it may only need to be a relatively small one and there are a number of ways to build them that can make their use easy and nearly maintenance free.

[ncjeeper]

Interesting. I have not seen this system. Thanks.

[ncjeeper]

A couple of nights ago we got one of those quick heavy rain storms that lasts like 10 minutes and then stops. Rain barrel worked perfect. I captured about 18 gallons of water. Yesterday I used the water. It came out nice and clear.

[frjoeb]

Looks great.  Wish I had it here last week in FLorida with the Tropical Storm. 

[oktheniknow]

Awesome. That's a project that I've been meaning to do. Have a couple of 55 gallon drums that I got from a car wash. Also have a 20 gallon one with plastic carrying handles. Has a little bit of soap in it. Thinking about cleaning it out, putting on a concrete block and using as extra emergency water in the house in case ever needed. Think it could be cleaned enough with vinegar/water to make it good enough for drinking water? If not, could just store out in my garage for other purposes - for cleaning dishes, put fuel in. Another possibility is I could cut in half and use as a planter.   

[Andy in NH]

Great project!

I want to do something similar next to my chicken coop.

Are you having any trouble with algae in the clear tube?

[backwoods_engineer]

Excellent, really excellent work, ncjeeper.  Good photos, easy to follow, and reproducible.

I've had an auto-diverter system sitting in my garage for a few months; I bought it before we made the decision that we are going to move in the next 6 months.  I may go ahead and put up some temporary rain catchment along the lines of your system, to feed my fall garden anyway.

What you've put together is portable, anyway, and I could take it to the next homestead.

[ncjeeper]

Thanks. Its amazing how fast it fills up from a quick rain shower. So I added this. http://thesurvivalpodcast.com/forum/index.php?topic=35956.0

[Pathman]

This is exactly what I want to do. I saw an ad on craigslist for two free 55 gal blue plastic barrels the owner said would make excellent rain barrels. I went and picked one up since that is all I could fit in my car. I didn't look at the label since he said it would make an excellent rain barrel. Big mistake.  Got down the road and felt a little funny. Stopped at the next town and checked the label. Redux-300. Googled it and turns out it can cause respiratory irritation.  Drove the rest of the way home with the windows down. I can't find much info on it other then the MSDS. It is an Aqueous blended deposit control agent. I have no idea what that means. It contains acrylate copolymer 4%, organic phosphorus compound 16%, potassium hydroxide 9% and the rest water. The barrel is mostly empty. Owner had said there might be a little water in it from rain. Not sure about that since both openings on top seemed closed. Now Im wondering if it can be cleaned out to use as a rain barrel or composter or if I should just cut the top off and use it to store tall items.

[ncjeeper]

If the chemicals didnt leach into the plastic you should be alright. Mine hade some funky chemical in it originally. Cleaned it real good and no issues. I water my plants and fill up our fish pond with the rain barrel water. Nothing has died so far.

[ksdon]

silly question.
why didnt you create a diverter for the first flush off the roof which will contain bird poop and such?
I would suggest looking at catchment systems used on many islands that depend on rain water for their fresh water supply.

For the bulk head fitting in the bottom, you can salvage and cut off the base of a toilet tank filler valve or go to the local sporting goods and get a live well bulk head  to avoid all the caulking

[d3nni5]

Very cool ideas.   This is one of my 13 Skills.   I will definately use the photos for a guide.

Not sure, but do you treat the rain water once it is stored w/ anything?   Does it just cycle in fresh as it rains, flushing the older water?   Not sure how that works.

[ncjeeper]

silly question.
why didnt you create a diverter for the first flush off the roof which will contain bird poop and such?

Not really worried about the bird poop. The wire mess at the gutter does a great jog at catching the big stuff. So far the water has always been clean and debris free.

[ncjeeper]

Very cool ideas.   This is one of my 13 Skills.   I will definately use the photos for a guide.

Not sure, but do you treat the rain water once it is stored w/ anything?   Does it just cycle in fresh as it rains, flushing the older water?   Not sure how that works.

I dont treat the water. old water and new water just mixes together. Now during dry spells It will become empty so its all new water the next rain it catches.

[wraithe]

Great, simple and portable installation. Thanks for the ideas.

[TexasGal]

Great work! I'm marking for future reference

[ncjeeper]

Update. It has been over a year now and the barrel has been working fine. I did take it down and wash it out. The screen at the gutter worked real well in catching the debris. I only had very small stuff in the bottom of the barrel.

[d3nni5]

Update. It has been over a year now and the barrel has been working fine. I did take it down and wash it out. The screen at the gutter worked real well in catching the debris. I only had very small stuff in the bottom of the barrel.

This is a timely reply.   I scrubbed out my first barrel to get started.   Using this thread as a guide. 

[Andy in NH]

Finally got around to building mine.

Thanks for the inspiration!

More info on it here

[d3nni5]

Finally got around to building mine.

Thanks for the inspiration!

More info on it here

Looks great!   

[archer]

Good job!

Looking at your detailed steps, I agree that the first flush diverter tube is too long, especially for the size of the roof. But I like how you did that. good job!