Rain Barrel Project

My family has a large number of plants growing on our property, which need a lot of water.

So, in an effort to reduce the amount of water we had to use to maintain these plants,

we worked on installing a rain barrel. 

A rain barrel is a great project for quarantine time,

and can save a lot of money on your water bill while at home!

The first main consideration one must make when creating a rain barrel is its location.

A rain barrel works by collecting water that is flowing past a certain point on your gutters.

In most cases, placing the barrel so that it feeds from a downspout is a good option.

For our roof, we chose an inside corner between two large areas of roof to install the barrel.

The spigot opening at the bottom of the barrel should also be placed at a higher elevation

than what you wish to water. For our yard, this is made possible by the sloping angle

of our property as well as the stones the barrel is propped up on.

Once you’ve decided on the best location, you must decide on the best materials.

There are many options for barrels and water delivery systems,

ranging from very cheap to costly. Given that our optimal barrel location

is at the front of the house, we chose an aesthetically pleasing, albeit more expensive option.

Our Barrel is made from a used Whiskey barrel, which can be found for around $100,

but comes with no spigot or opening at the top, which both need to be installed separately.

A plastic irrigation barrel is much cheaper, lighter, and comes with an included spigot. 

As for the water delivery system, we again went for the more aesthetically pleasing option.

A Rain chain only works if the barrel is placed directly below the gutter you wish

to collect water from. Installation involves drilling a hole in the gutter

and attaching the chain. Other options include plastic tubing that can be

attached to the downspout. 

Our Barrel is usually able to be filled completely by a sufficiently large storm,

and is perfect for watering plants from spring to summer.

Since we installed it 1 year ago, we’ve been able to fill and empty it about 12 times,

saving around 650 gallons of water total![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]