Building a Rain Barrel

 

We built our first two rain barrels to see how they work for us and if we like them. It rained the day after we built them and we filled two 55 gallon wine barrels in about 5 hours of constant rain. As soon as we saw they were full, we both got excited about how much rain we could harvest and everything we can do with it. With a new vegetable garden we'll be able to water our plants without worrying about a high water bill. 

We chose used wine barrels for a few reasons. We think they look better than large plastic barrels, especially the blue ones. It's reusing the barrels after they can no longer be used for wine, and the price is reasonable. The barrels costs $60 each, the hardware and fittings are about $10.

We re-routed our down spout to the top of the barrel. There is a 3" hole in the top, with a screen mesh covering it to keep out large debris. The mesh was a piece of screen from a screen door. Next we drilled a 3/4" hole near the bottom and installed the water valve with a rubber washer behind it. There are two screws holding it to the barrel. On the side of the barrel, there is a 90 degree elbow and clear tube attached to measure the level of the water inside the barrel. The final step that is not in the photo is an overflow pipe connected to the top of the barrel on the side and it runs back to the old downspout drain pipe. 

In the future, I'd like to add a "first flush" to the down spout. This allows the water from the first rain of the season to bypass the barrel. This water is usually the dirtiest water and this will divert this water. We as found it is better to use metal fittings when screwing into the wood barrel instead of plastic fittings.

IMPORTANT: Do not connect the overflow tube to the end of the level tube. Once the barrel fills up it will siphon the water out of the level tube and drain about half of the barrel. First I thought it was a leaking barrel, but both barrels were exactly the same.

Author: Dan