Rain barrels

[BridgeRunner]

Should I continue living in my current house, I need something better to do with rainwater than the usual gutter/downspout system.  My garage floor is cracked and a large area is sunk a couple inches.  The walkway next to garage is in very bad shape, and obviously where water from the downspout is pouring in and eroding the ground out from under it.  Lengthening the downspout and directing it away from the house has not been effective enough. 

I'm sure I could figure something out, but I think a rainbarrel (or four) would be a more interesting solution.  Anyone have one?  Anyone built one?  Anyone use a pump with theirs, for pressuring the water?

Best I can find for 55 gallon drums is about $20, plus a tank of gas to pick a couple up and the random bits and a faucet for putting in a tap.  There are commercially made ones at Menard's for $50.  I'm inclined to the DIY approach, but it doesn't appear to be any cheaper and the only cheap barrels I could find don't have removable lids. 

Not a project I'm planning imminently, just curious.

[Fly320s]

Do you want to catch and use the rain runoff from your roof, or do you want to keep the water out of your garage?  The tasks are not mutually exclusive, but I think your approach for each would be different.

If the rain barrels overflow will that allow water to continue to erode around your sidewalk and garage?  Is the soil around your foundation sloped away from your house?  Is there a proper drain along your foundation? Could you pipe your downspouts into a longer, underground pipe to get the water farther from your house?

If you do decide to catch the rain, I saw a nifty plastic rain catcher somewhere.  It is like a large water bed mattress.  It fills with the rain and can then be pumped or gravity fed as needed.  When not in use, it can be folded up and stored.  It was a bit expensive, IIRC.

[Tallpine]

Not totally cheap, but what about a plastic horse trough?

Last I knew, you could get a 100 gallon trough for about $70.

They also have a threaded drain plug near the bottom, so you could adapt a hose bib to it with a bushing.

[BridgeRunner]

Tallpine, the last time I was advised to purchase a plastic horse trough, it was a recommendation from a midwife as a great place to have a baby 

The trouble with those though, is two twofold: drowning hazard and mosquitos.  Need something closed. 

320, I know there are other ways to fix the erosion issue, but this would serve both purposes.  And I can always attach a long hose to the overflow valve and direct it way off someplace else, or even into a long soaker hose.

[Scout26]

My town gives them away (or they are significantly discounted, you know like all bad .gov ideas).  You might want to check with the local PTB.

[CNYCacher]

So, what's the idea?  To use the barrel as a buffer to allow a garden hose time enough to drain all the water 100' from the house?

[BridgeRunner]

So, what's the idea?  To use the barrel as a buffer to allow a garden hose time enough to drain all the water 100' from the house?

For excess.  The first 50 gallons or so is greywater--good for watering the garden (and my herb garden is all under an overhang and never gets any rain at all) and other non-potable uses. 

[Tallpine]

Were you supposed to warm up the water before you had the baby in the horse trough 

 

 

[Stand_watie]

For excess.  The first 50 gallons or so is greywater--good for watering the garden (and my herb garden is all under an overhang and never gets any rain at all) and other non-potable uses. 

  steel drums only seem to provide me a lifecycle of a couple years fwiw. Might consider plastic instead. If you want a larger capacity check into used 275 gallon totes. Google that if you want to see what I'm talking about. I'm to mobile and havent figured out cut/paste.

[AJ Dual]

  steel drums only seem to provide me a lifecycle of a couple years fwiw. Might consider plastic instead. If you want a larger capacity check into used 275 gallon totes. Google that if you want to see what I'm talking about. I'm to mobile and havent figured out cut/paste.

Are those the cube-shaped ones inside a wire reinforced cage, meant for being moved with pallet jacks/fork lifts?

[GigaBuist]

I've thought about doing rain barrels here myself.  I figured I'd mount them on the actual  house, somehow, just below the roof line to give it some pressure.

[Tallpine]

Don't know if you can buy them back there, but they make enclosed tanks to fit in the back of pickups.  They have a top fill and a threaded hole near the bottom on one side.

Usual size is about 200 gallons.

[KD5NRH]

Check with industrial sites; locally, there's one that gives away 250 gallon tanks they get coolant in because it costs more to ship them back than the per-tank deposit.

[Stand_watie]

Are those the cube-shaped ones inside a wire reinforced cage, meant for being moved with pallet jacks/fork lifts?

Yes and they put tons of different liquids in them including stuff thats ok to put on your flowerbeds.

[BridgeRunner]

The 55 gal. drums I'm looking at are the plastic ones.  Wish I could find some with removable tops though. 

Don't really have room on the site for the first one for anything huge.  It's right by the property line, the walk it would sit on may or may not be stable, and with a really big tank I'd have to go on the neighbor's property to get around it or to get the mower into the backyard. 

Buist, I suspect you'll probably find that a pump system for pressurizing the output is not significantly more expensive than figuring out a really good way to attach 500+/- pounds of full water tank to your house, and would provide higher pressure.

[AJ Dual]

The easiest way is just gravity, a stand made out of a stack of cinder blocks, with a spigot/hose attachment drilled and cemented into the bottom of the barrel.

Obviously, this depends on the grade of your yard and the height of any planters you want to be able to water.

[French G.]

The fun way to pressurize something like that is a second bung, shrader valve and an air tank. That's how we transfer methanol out of drums.

[Hawkmoon]

For excess.  The first 50 gallons or so is greywater--good for watering the garden (and my herb garden is all under an overhang and never gets any rain at all) and other non-potable uses. 

Graywater is water that has been used in the house for purposes other than toilets -- such as the water from the kitchen sink after washing the dishes. What good is a 55-gallon rain barrel if you've already used 50 gallons of the capacity for graywater?

[Tallpine]

Seems like it might be cheaper just to put in some of those flexible drain hoses to run the water away from the house 

Seems like most of Michigan has water about four feet down in the ground.  At least everybody I know back there has a sump pump just to keep their basement from filling up with water.

[AmbulanceDriver]

we did rain barrels at our house as the primary catch for our roof gutters.  4 approx 40 gallon barrels.  160 gallons total capacity. 

Did you know that an inch of rain on an 1800 sq ft house generates about 1600 gallons of water???

I didn't....

working on figuring out how to do a french drain in our yard for the diverter off the barrels.....  :)

[BridgeRunner]

Graywater is water that has been used in the house for purposes other than toilets -- such as the water from the kitchen sink after washing the dishes. What good is a 55-gallon rain barrel if you've already used 50 gallons of the capacity for graywater?

To be more precise, I meant that the rainwater is used for the same things that greywater is used for, unless one has a good filtration system installed.

[mtnbkr]

I've heard that you shouldn't use water off your roof for vegetables and such due to the chemicals leaching out of your roof.  Is that true?

Chris

[Tallpine]

I've heard that you shouldn't use water off your roof for vegetables and such due to the chemicals leaching out of your roof.  Is that true?

Chris

I know people out here with no well; they collect rainwater off the roof into a several thousand gallon undergroung tank for household use.

But they have a metal roof, too.

[mtnbkr]

yeah, around here we have asphalt shingles.  If I did this, I would only use it for watering the garden, lawn, etc.

Chris