rain barrels for water off roof?

[shade2u2]

I am considering placing some rain barrels, like seen here: http://www.sprucecreekrainsaver.com/barrel.html
at some of my downspouts instead of running drain pipes from them to a burried tank (sistern). I wonder if anyone else has done this?
Here are the pros I see:
1 - don't have the time & expense of installing drains.
2 - save the water for plants & garden. Our county water is pricey.
3 - save the electric use required to pump from tank. Our coop electric is very high.
4 - nastalgic country appearance of some barrels.
5 - would have water at every barrel if I put them at garage & barn.
6 - I could wear my "green hat" once in a while
Here are some cons:
1 - what about water drainage in the winter? will the barrels break if frozen (here in Ohio)? Would I have to have winter drainage anyway?
2 - How much water will my roof produce (36x30 @ 6/12 pitch)? It seems that a pair of 55 gal barrels may have to be emptied frequently during rainy periods.
3 - Odor & bugs from barrels if water is not used enough?

Any advise or opinions would be appreciated...
(also posted on CBN)

 

[gws]

What are you going to do with the water after you get it? 55gal is not much water and depending on your roofing materials might not be potable. If your looking at watering the plants then its not enough but the smallest of gardens.

IO have a 2000gal cistern that feeds from the roof. That water is ok for watering the plants and if you really had to use it you could after boiling it, but for general use its not usable inside the house.

 

[kokopelli2]

you can seal off the barrel around the downspout, this will help wiht the bugs and smell.

you can drain some of the water before winter to keep if from breaking during the freeze. if it rais alot, drain it.

this is a great way to water flower gardens. i used to do this for my bonsai trees. it works really well. have fun.

 

[PhilNH5]

Shade,
This mon'th's Mother Earth News has a good article on harvesting rainwater. You can read it here.At the very end is a table to calculate how much containmaint you need.

Hope it helps.

Phil

 

[mathey]

I agree that the 55 gal version is way too small...a light sprinkle would fill that up quickly (depending on the roof size). I used to have a plastic 55 gal drum but switched over to a 330 gal container now. (see photos) the green barrels are old apple juice concentrate containers and the 330 model had Hawaiian Punch concentrate in it. You could ask around and see if you could get these in your area. Both are plastic...the 330 froze solid this past winter with no damage...and just adding a cup of bleach every now and then will kill the algae. The larger one is nice since it had a valve on the bottom that i was able to adapt to accept a garden hose.

 

[shade2u2]

Thanx to all for the info. It appears that the drums only may work at my garage & barn downspouts where there is less roof area. A burried cistern may work well for the house downspouts. We would only use the water for watering plants, garden, maybe animals, & washing the tractor if it could supply the power washer with enough water. I heard that septic tanks were good to use for underground storage if you can get one.

 

[TonyC]

We use rain barrels extensively to catch water. Our main purpose is to use this water to maintain the landscape plants as well as indoor house plants. Besides water conservation, my wife and I have proven that plants flourish on rainwater and grow better and healthier than with the county water.

One advantage we have is that we have a number of out buildings including a greenhouse. All in all we collect 500 gallons in barrels and believe it or not you can harldy notice they are there. We put them on the back side of the shop, shed and greenhouse. The house barrels are under a deck which was the perfect height. I use a pump in the greenhouse to water and mist in there. I also paint them to blend in which helps a lot. If you do this, I would not waste the money on fancy barrels. I use the standard blue 55 gallon plastic drums, painted of course. With the proper connections which are simple, no bugs get in. Now of course there is overflow which I run through old garden hose to wherever I'd like it to go.

Anyway, just some rambling thoughts but it is a topic I have experience with. Good luck!

 

[daedong]

Please excuse my ignorance but in australia we use poly rain water tank.(This is mine). Do you not have them in the US

In the country almost every house has a tank Storage rangeing from 1000gal to 8000gal and in some cases several of these tanks.

 

[shade2u2]

I haven't seen anything quite like that myself. One issue that we have to contend with in my area is freezing. Maybe one like that could be heated. Most tanks would be underground, and anyone having a rain collection tank or cistern is the exception here...

 

[daedong]

I don't see why you could not bury the whole tank particularly with some minnor changes eg poly side struts placed inside.

By the way that tank of mine is 7000 gal and is buried about 3'6" in the ground. all the stormwater pipes (thats what it is called here) 90mm (4"?) pvc is glued and sealed. by doing this the pipe comes from the gutter down the wall of the house then underground and back up into the tank. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gifhope this made sence. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
Today i will take a photo of some tanks at a house not far from here.