rain barrels

i am off to make one tonight!! will let you know how it goes

Good luck Linda. I am rainwater certified but, embarrassingly, have yet to put one together!

what does it mean to be "rainwater certified"?
got the rainbarrel put together at the class and it is now in my garage--since it isn't going to rain for a while i can take a little time reading up on how to set it up etc--

I have several and never went to a class didn't even know there was such a thing ,wish I would have went to one mine were all fixed using the trial and error method ..For a base I highly recommend the use of concrete blocks a lot less work than the wooden structure I built for the first one ..If I can offer any advise let me know ...

thanks--i just might need some when i get ready to set up

Linda, was this class offered by the City of Plano? They give frequent "water wise" classes and I think are on the forefront of educating their citizens about water usage.

Carla

yes it was--for plano residents cost was 20 dollars with a 25 dollar credit on your water bill!!

I have attended the two hours class offered by the city of Irving on "rain water harvesting". For $20 I learnt so much and I received a rain barrel. I took my husband with me, so I got two rain barrels.
They came in fluorecent blue color. I sprayed them with plastic spray to match my house.
Here are my two rain barrels, connected to each other.
Together they harvest 110 gallons, and they are full after 20 minutes or less of rain.

I have connected the barrels to the rain gather.
I used a "rain gather diverter" with a switch.
I flip the switch when the barrels are full and the water go back on the regular rain gather, in order to not overspill out of the barrel and make a mess.

Interesting... Is the top barrel just setting up there, or is it attached or supported somehow?

The two barrels fit each other.
The bottom barrel has a lid.

I like the way you stacked them .. mine are next to each other with my over flow going to a french drain to keep the water away from the house.. I wish I had a set at every down spout.. nice to know the plastic paint works as well as it does on them I searched and searched till I found white ones cause I didnt want the blue ones.. I bet your water presaure from them is pretty good for most of the time with as tall as they are.

very nice set up! That was a a great idea to spray paint. It all looks so neat! OK drthor, can I entice you to come give me some ideas for mine?

Nice setup, drthor. Have you considered sealing around the hole in the bottom barrel where the hose enters it? This way you would not need to close the top valve when the bottom barrel is full. The spray foam available at most home centers would work great and, once dried, can be trimmed and painted. Doesn't take much though. Once out of the can it expands and swells to seal. A little goes a long way!

bananna, if you do spray yours be sure that what you get is a plastic type spray. It has a rubbery or plastic feel to it once it dries. Regular spray paints will not throughly stick to the plastic barrels and, while looking good initially, will begin peeling after a few months in the weather.

Thanks stevesivek.
The paint I used is for plastic. I bough it at Lowe's. So far so good.
The hose in the bottom is already been sealed. Thanks

Viewing your pictures I could tell which paint you used. Was just making sure that banana got the right one. How many cans did it take? I know that paint does not go near as far a regular spray paint! With the good job done on the barrels I should have known you had the snap to seal the hole! :)

I spent lot of money on paints. I first painted the barrels with a cream color (remember those barrels are blue fluerecents) and after I used the stone color. Maybe 3 cans each color. I also sealed the paint with a clear coat. So far so good. Nobody even notice those barrels in my back yard unles I mention them.

Mine were already a good color an a different kind. (Although not as nice as stone spray paint!)Will post it soon.

my rainbarrel is on the side of my house that faces our street--it is a somewhat bright blue--it is under a tree in the shade and not completely out in the open but visible

yesterday a neighbor who i don't really know walked over to ask about it--he said he had admired it for a while and wanted to know how to make one etc when i told him i hadn't painted it and it wasn't pretty to look at he said he just sees it as someone doing something extra and never as an eyesore
and i must admit --i like his "god bless johnny cash" car stickers too!

Instead of going to the trouble to paint it, you could just buy a few yards of green canvas and put a nylon drawstring in the top edge. Would that work?

Actually there are some company that sell a kind of mesh fabric already sewn for rain barrels. I think it costs around $35 !! Ir comes in many colors. Persinally it looks junky to me ... but a fast cover up. I like my old tuscany look on my rain barrels.

they do look great with the stone paint ..its well worth the extra time and money in MHO.. wish I had done something like that with mine but I would have had a heck of a time connecting them to the french drain for the overflow because of the height and they would have been in front of my bedroom window..lol.

I hid mine behind a screen made out of lattice and some scrap plywood the third one has yet to get any form of Camoflage but I do plan to paint it with some el cheapo latex paint from wally world as I have with other planters I have made from the plastic barrels

drthor how is the bottum barrel vented as I am thinking it must be or would be hard to fill

The bottom barrel has a lid secured by the metal seal.
The top barrel drain on the bottom barrel. Very easy.

I've been harvesting my own rainwater since I began the whole vision of Farming and businesses. I started in early 2005 and use rain 80 percent of the time to water everything I grow which has shrunk greatly over the last 2 years. I am also going to fire up my bottling line and offer free bottles of water for people that come out to my farm.

there you go...hope the bottles are glass...re-cycleable.

Actually I use E Bottles made from Corn!

This is one of my rainbarrels. Although I like the color, I am not happy with the placement. I am not handy at all, so I had the gutter guys cut the downspout, but they oriented the barrel with the faucet facing into the bed. When I turned it , it ended up out on the driveway. I guess eventually I will move the downspout. I wish I would have made sure the barrel was on level and solid ground. It gets heavy with water! If anyone has a solution, let me know.

perko--tell about your farm--i live close enough to visit it

bananna18 first of all you might want to elevate it to get better water pressure when using it.. I have mine on 2 concrete blocks so its tall enough I can get my watering can under it..

to adjust for the placement of the downspout look for one of the flexible downspouts you can get at HD or Lowes.. they run about 10.00 I think... they come in green or white and maybe brown. that way you can place it just where you want it.. the flexible hose will make it easy for you.. the down spout stays in place. you might have to flip the curve around or just take it off, you attach the flex downspout to the downspout then move the barrel to where it meets and its how you want it.. you might have to put a couple of screws into the metal downspout to hold the flexible one in place
just my 2 cents and hope it helps

I think I know what you are referring to.I am not sure if I keep the flexible part to sit on the barrel. Hopefully I can put the downspout back together when I take it apart (tend to strip screws!) Thanks for the suggestion.

Linda

My farm is in the stages of being fired back up but not in Frisco. I cannot operate a full line of product's over in this part of Texas. My vision started in March of 2005 in Ben Wheeler which is in Van Zandt County and that is where I am going to be firing up all my other lines. I am soon to be buying 10 to 15 acres around Canton, Edom, Ben Wheeler area and moving the Chili's I am growing here in Frisco. My 'Farm' is only referencing that which I used to have and am working back to get.

You may be bored to see what I have in Frisco the moment seeing how My wife and I just moved here 3 weeks ago. I can share about what I am soon to be launching and all if you want to hear that.

sure--would love to hear about it

I will get all my files together later today and send ya a nice mail.

bananna 18.. I cant see what the top of the barrel looks like but you might think about taking a dremel and enlarging the opening that the water flows into so the flex downspout fits inside.. I cut a hole slight bigger than the downspout for mine..