Whether you’re flower gardening or vegetable gardening or both, given how hot and dry the growing season has become over the years, water can be a scare and sometimes expensive commodity. So when it rains, we are getting free water to nurture our gardens — that which falls directly on our plants and that which we hope to capture for watering when it doesn’t rain. To “capture water” we need rain barrels.
Rain Barrels: Where Do They Come From?
That’s what my wife told me — we need rain barrels — as we drove to meet the person from whom we bought used food-grade barrels from a seller on Craigslist. These barrels had been used for syrup to make flavored carbonated drinks. (When I was a kid we called it soda pop.) And they were a great solution because we paid just $40 for two barrels.
An alternative is to check with any soda bottling facilities in your community. We received two free barrels through a local non-profit rain catchment program (clean valley.org) who got barrels from a Coca Cola plant where we live. At minimum, any rain barrels you get to DIY your rain catchment system should be “food-grade” meaning that they were used for material safe for human consumption and not from barrels containing material for industrial use.
Cleaning Used Barrels
Our barrels were “sealed” meaning that the top was fixed and was not removable. But there were two bung holes with threaded plugs in the top of each barrel. So I squirted a small amount of Dawn dishwashing liquid in each barrel and filled them about a third full of water. I put the plug back in the bung hole and rolled each barrel around the yard to get the inside throughly coated to remove any remaining residue from the syrup. After giving them both a good flush with water to get the soap completely out of the barrels, they were ready to install the necessary hardware.
Also, see the cleaning instructions below as recommended by the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, an integral component of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.
Brass Spigots for Rain Barrels
I wanted brass spigots because I had read that plastic spigots can get brittle in the sun after several seasons and tend to crack or break off of the barrel. So I settled on the Rainpal RBS024 Brass Rain Barrel Spigot. It feels beefy and gives the sense that it will perform for years to come.
When installing the spigot on the wall of the barrel near the bottom, they recommend keeping the spigot about three inches up the wall from the bottom. After drilling the hole make sure you use a knife or file to clean off any plastic shards that might prevent a water-tight seal around the valve you’re installing.
Now, you may be wondering, as did I, how are you going to get the inside part of the valve inside the barrel when the top won’t come off? After all, it’s a “sealed” barrel! I could explain it but I found a one-minute video on YouTube that shows you what to do. Click here to watch the video. It’s amazing what you can do with a piece of string, right?
Rain Diverter Systems
I also did some extensive research on rain diverter systems. Many of them require the cutting out of a section of the downspout to allow a space to install the diverter. That wasn’t practical for my downspouts. So I decided to use the Flexfit Universal Diverter System. All that it requires is the drilling of a hole in the broad side of the downspout to insert the rain diverter plug. What’s cool about this system is that water flows into the barrel until it is full and then the excess flows into the downspout and out wherever you have it directed, usually into your yard. This system requires a “closed” or “sealed” barrel which is a benefit because you don’t need to have an overflow tube running out of the top of your barrel — the Flexfit Universal Diverter System is designed to do that for you inside your existing downspout. And this System comes with both drill bits you need to drill into your downspout and into your rain barrel to connect the diverter hose.
Connecting Rain Barrels to the Downspout
Think about where you want to position your rain barrels so that the downspouts will work for you and that the location is as close to your garden as is practical. I built some barrel stands out of pressure-treated 2x4s to get the barrels at an easy height to fill up my watering cans.
OK, you have the valve installed, now the rain barrel needs to be connected to the downspout. I won’t go into great detail about this installation because the Flexfit Universal Diverter System has good installation instructions in the package. It is a quick and easy install. BUT, pay attention to making the hose connection to the downspout and the rain barrel as level as possible. Water has to flow both ways and can only effectively do that if the two connections are fairly level. This is explained in the Flexfit instructions.
Downspout Extenders for Excess Rain Runoff
I want to talk real quick about these cool, flat downspout extenders to funnel the excess water away from your rain barrel if it is in a spot that doesn’t allow you to use a regular piece of downspout for rain runoff. I needed to get the excess water about 8 feet away from my rain barrel and under a fence with almost no clearance. I had to keep the downspout extender at the ground level so the water wouldn’t pool on the outside of the fence. This system came with a transition piece to go from a dimensional downspout to this flat version. It works great, looks good, and just barely tucked under my fence. Check it out at Home Depot.
Rain Barrel Success!
Here is my first rain barrel connected to the downspout near my carport.
Alternative Locations for Rain Barrels
Initially, I had another rain barrel out in our yard near our raised vegetable garden beds for easy watering. I had connected two large funnels to the top of the barrel with the expectation that, in a good, steady rain, the barrel would fill up, albeit at a slower rate than the barrel connected to our roof downspout. Bad idea. It hardly captured any rain water and I ended up filling the barrel from our garden hose several times over the growing season — water I had to pay for!
Alternative Locations for Rain Barrels Connecting to Downspout
We have another downspout that I wanted to connect a rain barrel to but there are complications. The downspout has another downspout piggy-backed to it which carries vented radon gas from our basement up and out beyond the roof line. (Radon gas mitigation is an interesting and very necessary process but I won’t go into detail here. Contact us if you want the value of our experience.) There wasn’t enough open space where just the rain downspout was available to install a rain diverter with the barrel standing upright. I didn’t want to move the radon exhaust pipe because it is a sealed system and I was worried I wouldn’t get it sealed back correctly — and I didn’t want to pay a vendor to do it.
So, after some research, I found a way to use the same Flexfit Universal Diverter System with the barrel laying on its side versus standing upright.
- I used the same wooden stand that I had built when the barrel was standing upright out in the yard and added a curved cradle on both ends for the horizontal barrel to lay in.
- I turned the valve around that we’ll use to drain out the water so it pointed in the correct direction.
- I drilled out one of the bung hole covers to fit the water tube and then installed the diverter system to the downspout just like the other rain barrel I have.
- I have an overflow valve on this barrel because it was a stand-alone barrel in the yard. I didn’t remove it and patch the hole closed because I can just leave it in place and keep the valve closed at all times. Hence, this barrel is now a “closed” system.
Added Bonus
Recently we snagged two free rain barrels from clean valley.org that I plan to connect to our existing rain barrels to double our capacity. And I did that today! Here’s how I did it:
Horizontal Rain Barrels
So, I built another stand like the first one with a cradle on each end to hold the round barrel. I used pressure-treated, ground-contact 2x4s to withstand the four seasons.
I was worried that the distance from each barrel was too long for a flexible tube to carry water from one barrel to the other without sagging, hence impending the flow, so I used PVC pipe instead.
The holes in the top of the barrels are called bung holes. In the center of the bung hole cover there is a 3/4″ threaded hole that is sealed with a pop-out. So I popped it out and inserted a threaded PVC adapter to receive a 3/4″ piece of PVC pipe. I feel more confident that this will hold up better for the water transfer from the main barrel to the secondary barrel.
In my research there were some examples of connecting the barrels at the top and some connecting at the bottom. If I had connected them at the top I would have had to install another valve on the second barrel to siphon out the water. By connecting them at the bottom, the existing valve will draw from both barrels evenly, so no need for a valve on the second barrel.
By the way, the device on the right connected to our house foundation in the above photo is the fan that runs 24/7/365 for radon gas mitigation.
Vertical Rain Barrels
For the vertical barrels I also built another stand and connected the two barrels, also at the bottom, with another product from Earthminded through Amazon. Given the short distance between the two barrels I thought the flexible tubing should work just fine.
Now, we can’t wait for all of that free water to start flowing from the sky!
Special Note:
I recommend you connect with whatever town or city you live in to learn if there are any regulations or restrictions on residential rain barrels. Here’s why:
- Although my research indicates that the regulations in Denver, Colorado have since changed for the better, when we lived there back in the 1980s and 1990s, if the rain water hit your roof, it belonged to the City of Denver by law. Water is a premium in that part of the country and the city was going to keep every drop it could that fell from the sky. So rain barrels catching water off roofs from the gutter and downspout was illegal.
- In contrast, we now live in a town adjacent to Roanoke, Virginia which highly promotes the use of rain barrels (rain catchment systems). Being in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Roanoke has a flooding problem during hard rains. Roanoke has a program to get rain barrels in the hands of residents for rain catchment purposes to redirect rain water for other uses and ease the burden on their stormwater system.
So check on any regulations in your community to ensure you are legally setting up your rain barrel system.
Maintaining Your Rain Barrels
Cold season storage
We’ve only lived near Roanoke for the last five years and the winters have been pretty mild. Last winter each tank was about half full when it got cold but with room for expansion as the water froze, I didn’t feel the need to empty the barrels and lose the value of that water. And the barrels, with that water in them, came through the winter issue-free. Just use good judgement regarding where you live as to whether you think you should empty them when your growing season is over or not.
Algae growth
Also, you will likely have some algae grow inside if the barrel is in direct sunlight for most of the day. If your barrels are translucent, allowing sunlight to penetrate to the water, you might consider painting your barrels a dark color to block the sun. Other ways of mitigating algae growth is by following the directions listed below.
Best Practices for Making Rain Water Safe:
These are recommendations for pathogen treatment and best practices for utilizing collected rain water to irrigate vegetable/herb gardens from the website of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, an integral component of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey:
Cleaning the barrel
Rain barrel users should make sure to clean the barrel with a 3% bleach solution before collecting water to irrigate a vegetable/herb garden. Household, unscented bleach with a 5–6% chlorine solution can be added at the rate of 1/8 teaspoon (8 drops) of bleach per gallon of water.
Sanitizing the rain water
A typical 55 gallon rain barrel would need approximately one ounce of bleach added on a monthly basis. During periods of frequent rainfall, bimonthly treatment may be necessary. Wait approximately 24 hours after the addition of bleach to allow the chlorine to dissipate before using the water. Note that household bleach is not labeled for use in water treatment by the Food and Drug Administration although it is frequently recommended for emergency disinfection of drinking water (USEPA, 2006b).
Rain water use for vegetable gardens
When using harvested water to irrigate a vegetable garden, care should be taken to avoid getting water on the plant itself. Harvested rainwater should only be applied to the soil, possibly through drip irrigation. A watering can may be used, as long as the water does not get directly on the plant.
When to water
Water should be applied in the morning only. Produce harvesting should not take place right after watering in order to benefit from leaf drying and ultraviolet light disinfection.
You Can’t Beat Free Water
So I hope this outline of how we got our rain catchment system started will be of value to you and help you get started with setting up your rain barrels. Once that is done you’ll want to sit back on your patio and relax, observing the fruit of your labor. And what better way to do that than by enjoying a fruity adult beverage created by our resident mixologist for warm weather patio enjoyment. Check out these options: Lavender Lounger, Patio Bourdon Sipper, and/or Blue Colada. And chase any of these cocktails with a tasty snack from our Patio Food recipes such as Sausage Wonton Cups, Homemade Egg Rolls, or a rendition of the classic Creamy Onion Dip with potato chips.
And remember, every day is Friday on the patio.
Rain Barrel FAQs
Are rain barrels worth the money?
Outfitting a house with a rain barrel does more than collect and conserve rainwater: It saves money, too. Well-placed rain barrels help cut utility costs by collecting free water for gardening, lawn watering or even washing the car.
How big of a rain barrel do I need?
The size of rain barrel you choose depends on how much water you want to store and the size of your roof. Common sizes for residential use are 50 gallons to 90 gallons. Rain barrels can fill up very quickly.
Why do rain barrels need to be elevated?
Typically, rain barrels are elevated 12 to 36 inches above the ground. This creates enough pressure to move water through a spigot to fill a watering can or hose or use drip irrigation. For every 1 foot of elevation, you gain approximately 0.4 pounds of pressure (PSI).
How to sanitize rain barrel water?
Water in a typical 55 gallon rain barrel should be treated with approximately 1 ounce of bleach. Do not use any scented bleach. Wait approximately 24 hours after the addition of bleach to allow the chlorine to dissipate before using the water.
How do I keep my rain barrel mosquito free?
Mosquitoes can breed in as little as 10 days. In rain barrels that allow mosquitoes to enter, therefore, rain barrels should be emptied in less than 10 days. Another potential solution is to screen the rainwater inlet so mosquitoes don’t enter in the first place. Finally, a sealed or closed rain barrel system will prevent mosquitoes from using a rain barrel as a breeding spot.
Why does algae grow in my rain barrel?
- Algae are microscopic, photosynthetic plants.
- Rain barrels with open or screened tops or that allow light to penetrate will provide more light inside the barrels. Therefore, open and/or light colored rain barrels would be more likely to contribute to algal growth. On the other hand, rain barrels with openings limited to the size of the downspout or gutter tube would allow less light to reach water stored inside. Therefore, partially closed and/or darker rain barrels would be less likely to contribute to algal growth.
- Water temperature may be relatively high when rain barrels are placed in full sun, thus increasing the risk of algal growth. Placing rain barrels in shade can reduce this risk.
Please Leave a Comment
Leave a comment below and tell us if this information was of value to you or tell us what we missed and can add to this post. Do you have rain barrels? Did you buy them pre-made or did you DIY? How beneficial do you feel having a rain barrel is for you and your garden? Please share a photo of your rain barrel so we can “Wow” at your rain catchment system.
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