My Rain Barrels

I didn't know where to post this, so here it is !
I was given three 50 gal. metal drums last spring, I've used them in the GH over winter as a heat sink, worked OK.
I have set them up on the south side of the house, the garden is in front of them.
I raised them 2 feet so I will have a little more pressure, hope the stand hold up ^_^
I bought a 1 inch metal hole saw bit to cut the holes, inserted 3/4" fittings, threaded male and female, with a rubber washer inside. I put about a foot of water in them and found a leak at the spicket, must tighten that up.

Looks good!

GH?

greenhouse

They llook great-and so functional!! Hope they work well for your garden.

I love that you painted them the same color as the wall behind them...I have 2 rain barrels (love 'em!) and they're dark green, I'd like to paint them but they're plastic, so I don't know if it would last long enough to be worth it.

Lynnie,

Krylon released a new paint for plastic.

Right after I took the pic., I filled them with a foot of water, just to see if I had any leaks.
Oh Yes, the joint around the spicket started leaking. So I had to drain them and redo that connection.
I'm glad I did not glue the connecting pipes together, I was able to just tap them apart to do the repair. Every thing is OK now, just waiting for Rain. ^_^
The official Forecast says 30 to 50 % chance of rain the rest of the week, (guess it will be hot and dry).
I have some 20"x30" poster board in the garage and plan to cut a stencil of leaves ect. and spray paint it. Then maybe free hand some stems flowers, butterflys, some grass at the bottom,
who knows ??
I will post a shot when I get around to painting them.

Thanks Qinx I'll check it out!

I have a couple of 50 gallon plastic ones. I need to take some pics and see if anyone has any suggestions on how best to utilize them.

I'm pretty new to gardening in general....I assume you use rain barrels to water plants somehow?
Can anyone explain in more detail for me?

Here you go Alayah check out this link....
http://www.nerainbarrel.com/Benefits.html

Something I didn't think of....the water in my rain barrels is pretty warm, almost hot. Is it ok to use hot water to water plants? It's like bathwater. And this was only yesterday, it was still May!

oops...I see by the newspaper that it IS still May...where's that coffee?? lol

My Barrels are full and over flowing.
I would heat would be a problem, mine are mostly in the shade.
Lynnie, from your link above I find from 1" of rain, my run off would be right at 150 gallons,
just right for 3, 50 gal barrels.
I'm slowly getting some art work painted on them, more to do.
My wife was stopped at the supermarket and the lady remarked about the rain barrels.
We are on a corner lot and the barrels face both roads.
Look how much the Sun Flower had grown, hard to paint the detail on the barrels ^_^


This message was edited May 31, 2009 8:38 AM

I have a few cups of coffee in me, it's safe for me to post lol...my husband pointed out the hot water was sitting in the hose, he felt the water in the rainbarrel & it was cool.... and Rentman if I could stencil like that I wouldn't need to plant anything I'd just paint the flowers on the house! lol

Awesome job.....Where the gutter goes in the top is it screened somehow to keep the mosquitos out?

Yes it has a screen, Jen, don't want no skitters here. ^_^
If...no, when the screen gets filled with leaves I will have to clean it.
Just pull it out and clean the screen. But the lid on one of the barrels is warped and I will try and correct that.....maybe tomorrow.

tag. I have 2 barrels I have not done anything with yet. I plan to attach them to gutters, I have to put the gutters up first though.

I see that you have the 3 barrels connected at the bottom. Does the water back-fill to the 2 barrels that don't have a downspout going to them?

That's correct Cathy, each barrel has the same level of water. Only one overflow.
I used 3/4" pvc pipe for all the pluming.

Looks GREAT! I have to say I'm invious. This gives me some ideas. I've been wanting to do something like this and make some water barrels for a few years now, just haven't had the time yet. Thanks for the ideas and best of luck with your rain barrels.