Anyone use rainbarrells under there downspouts?

[TEXACMAN]

I am looking into this or other ideas for my house and shop . We have metal roofs on both and thought it would be nice to use this for our garden and etc... Any pointers or ideas? Thanks.

 

[TEXACMAN]

I had seen something where someone had some kind of storage tanks and pump setup . Might could use it while we are in a drought to wash cars etc...
I don't know just an idea, we have had water restrictions over the last few years.

 

[december45]

im interested in this also, finding reasonable prices tank/barrels is the problem so far

 

[texasOFT]

My brother lives out in the boondocks east of Austin. He captures all water coming off the roof of the house and large carport. The gutter system runs into 2 - 9,000 gallon (210 bbl) fiberglass tanks. The water from the tanks goes through a prefilter, a pump which maintains 60-70 psi on the house side, then through low micron filter system and into the house. He has had in place about five years and only had to truck water in once. The ground water on his place has very high sulpher content - they use it for watering lawn, garden, etc. Apparently this type of system is used alot around Austin due to sulpher in water out east and no ground water in places to the west.

 

[Teken]

Costco has them on sale right now. They have that fake granite look, and really does look decent. It's going for about $50.00 right now and they are huge. It has a built in screen so those bastage Hulk sized mosqueetoe's cant breed and grow!

I was considering buying two of them, but got side tracked when I was looking at that SS 52" tool chest they have had on sale for $599.00 . . .

 

[Scout Driver]

We use a big plastic trash barrel that matches the color of the house. Open it up when it rains, close it up to keep bugs & debris out.

Scott

 

[superfish]

Be careful. In some parts of the US its illegal to "interrupt the natural flow" of the water. In this case the barrels for rain water. Sorry I can't remember the details. I believe a woman got in trouble for watering outside with saved shower water. Water should go into the waste system to be used down stream. -- lots of water.

Fortunately I live in Vermont -- lots of water.

 

[metal1313]

i have a few 400gallon tanks in the basement that are hooked to our downspouts. we only use it to water some plants and our herb garden, as the plants like the water better. i run it through a particulat filter and just use a cheap pool pump to water the plants.

(my dad and mom are sorta hippies when it comes to food, organic local grown is where its at)

 

[stroked93]

herb garden wink wink...

 

[mad57]

Yes go for it o.p... we use 55 gal juice barrels here in nj to collect rain water off the roof for my dads concrete statuary business,keeps him from going over the water limit, and in the bahamas we have a huge tank called a cistern same idea to collect rain water and pump through the home works great when it doesnt leak

 

[metal1313]

hey hey... we all love to cook. and my dad loves to garden, we have a large french style garden, and several fruit trees. nothing is better than real fresh herbs or salad greens

 

[Lhorn]

I like the idea a lot, but here in Northern California we might not get rain from April til october. I couldn't possibly have enough barrels (or afford that many), that it would make a dent in my needs. It's too bad because in the winter we get a ton of rain. But my wife would not be ok with junking up our yard with a dozen barrels.

 

[azotto]

Be careful. In some parts of the US its illegal to "interrupt the natural flow" of the water. In this case the barrels for rain water. Sorry I can't remember the details. I believe a woman got in trouble for watering outside with saved shower water. Water should go into the waste system to be used down stream. -- lots of water.

Fortunately I live in Vermont -- lots of water.

I looked into this last year and found out it's not legal to do in Colorado. Basically, they say you are stealing the water from who ever owns the water rights for the property. I don't think they have any "rain barrel police" but if they happen to catch you it's a pretty stiff fine.

 

[Lhorn]

I wonder if they are really worried about who ever owns the water right or if they are worried that you won't have to pay them as much each month for water?

 

[smedly]

I had no idea there were restrictions on this. HOA stuff sure, but water rights?

The gov't telling you that you can't catch and save the water falling from the sky?

 

[Kevin54]

I looked into this last year and found out it's not legal to do in Colorado. Basically, they say you are stealing the water from who ever owns the water rights for the property. I don't think they have any "rain barrel police" but if they happen to catch you it's a pretty stiff fine.

I'd like to see a copy of this. Not that I am doubting your word, but that has got to be one of the stupidest things on the books. All I ever heard is how one should conserve water by using low flow this and low flow that. So if you capture rain water then that is a big no-no? What in the hell is this world coming to?

As far as rain barrels, a search will turn up quite a bit. A lot of garden places carry them, but it is one of those things that even though they should be cheap they are not. You can get the blue 55 gallon, plastic drums for around $10 used, but when it comes to a gardening supply, the brown color and fake woodgrain adds about another $90 to it. But they do have a hose fitting.

I did a quick search. Type in "Making a rain barrel" and you will get all kinds of ideas and hits.

I went back and did a search on illegal rain barrels and low and behold....illegal in Colorado at least but they say it may be changing
http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/06/07/rain-barrels-illegal-in-colorado-but-tide-may-be-changing/

http://www.dvorak.org/blog/2009/03/...-go-to-jail-rain-barrels-illegal-in-colorado/

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/371529_rain21.html

 

[jrj3rd]

Went the rainbarrel route last year. Picked up white 55 gal plastic drums from the local car wash (ship soap in them) for $7 each. Washed them out and bainted beige using the krylon plastic paint. Plumbed them all together with pex and installed one of the Harbor Freight shallow well pumps. Added a hose bib and a diverter for the downspout and was ready to go. Just have thme gathering water form the back roof of my garage. 165 gallons does not take long to fill in a rain. Wife used the hose to water her foundation plantings all last summer with no problems.

I think putting in a pump makes the world of difference. I know my wife loved the idea of the "free water" but there was no way she was watering with a bucket.

Probably have $150 in the complete setup and can add more 55 gal drums for about $15 each by the time I paint and plumb them in.

John

 

[michael Mccoy]

For the past 2 yrs Georgia homeowners were getting white rain barrels from our local Government to help you conserve water. They were used Coca Cola 55 gal drums already fitted with a brass spigot for $20
How does one state help you set up a rain barrel and another state wants to fine you for catching Gods water? What a country we live in.

 

[Tscott]

I thought about it, but we live out in the country and we are on a well. The well had a separate meter for a few years and we discovered that the cost of our well power was around $1.50 a month. So the payback is not really there for us. If we lived in town and were on city water then it would be a no brainer.

I am going to investigate a solar water heater for the shop though. I don't really need hot water bad enough to pay for it on a monthly basis, but solar heater might just do the trick.

Tom

 

[W_KY]

Recently "The Family Handyman" had an article about doing this very thing. In the setup they proposed, it consisted of two large trashcans sitting on a wooden platform about 2 ft off the ground. Keep in mind the platform was pretty heavy built as the weight of the water was decent. The extra height allowed you to more easily fill a bucket. They basically just had the two trashcans plumbed together so one could flow into the other. I tried to find the article on their website but didn't have any luck. I'd imagine you could see a copy at your local library. (I think it was within the last couple months) Personally I like the idea of the pump being added as long as you have power close by.

 

[jeepnut24]

Its illegal here in CO... Stupid water rights....

 

[Friartuck]

I currently use two 55 Gal drums in tandem that are elevated off the ground about 3 feet and gravity feed 100 feet to a rose garden. It really needs a helper pump though. Makes a nice reduction on my city water/sewer bill. Like John said, it doesn't take much to fill and you seem to go through it quickly as well, 50-100 Gal doesn't go far.
I'll be building the new homestead in PA this year that has a well and planning on using at least 550 Gal tanks from Tractor Supply. Thinking of burying them and insulating around them to protect from freezing.

 

[Ironcrow]

What the Colorado law says to me is hide the barrels in the basement. Screw em.

 

[Rubicon]

there where some very nice planes in the family handyman last month for a set up

 

[Teken]

Can you guys clarify this water right thing for me? I am having a real hard time understanding how you can get fined $ for catching rain water from the heavens?

Suppose there is a dry season? Suppose there is a huge wet season? All of this is controlled by Mother Nature . . . It's like how some country's want to say they own *** in space . . .

You know what, you can't own something that was never yours to give!

 

[jeepnut24]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainwater_tank#Colorado_law

Pretty sure its a $500 fine currently.

 

[Teken]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainwater_tank#Colorado_law

Pretty sure its a $500 fine currently.

Thank you for the link . . . Sorry I just don't buy it, or would accept that sort of bull **** to be honest.

It says :

the movement and holding of rainwater is inextricably linked with ownership of water rights and is enshrined in the constitution of the State of Colorado. The use of water in Colorado and other western states is governed by what is known as the prior appropriation doctrine. This system of water allocation controls who uses how much water, the types of uses allowed, and when those waters can be used. This is often referred to as the priority system or "first in time, first in right." Since all water arriving in Colorado has been allocated to "senior water right holders" since the 1850s, rainwater prevented from running downstream may not be available to its rightful owner

The only thing linked would be my foot up someone's aszz if they came down to fine me, or they would be looking at the end of a 45 . . .

Just reminds me why I moved away all these years from America, because of all these stupid aszz laws . . .

 

[Jononon]

Same sort of set-up as Friartuck. Fed from the roof of a 25x25' garage one decent day's rain refills two 55 gallon tanks. 4' head is sufficient to feed a 40' hose to the back of the house and fill up watering cans, a pump would be needed for any kind of irrigation set-up.

The only caveats are making sure that the base is solid, since 800+lbs is distributed over a fairly small area (some ******* down the street elevated theirs on hollow cinder blocks, with predictable consequences), that a split in a tank won't result in a catastrophic flood and that there's a safe overflow, mine divert back into the downspout when full.

Come to England, we actively encourage rainwater collection and HOAs don't exist. On the other hand it rains all the time...

 

[eldirector]

This is my spring project..... setting up 55 gal barrels for collection on the shed and detached garage. The shed will feed the vegetable garden, and the garage will feed a flower garden. I'm going to experiment with small solar cells, a deep-cycle battery, inverter, and small pump on a timer to water everything. The goal is a self-watering garden from May through September. The inverter will also power a security light and interior shed light. Wish me luck!

 

[azotto]

Sorry I didn't get back sooner with the links you guys requested. Haven't been feeling real well and slept for a looong time last night.

The info (links) posted about CO sums it up pretty well. I'm not holding my breath for any changes either. To be honest, I'm not sure we get enough rain to justify the cost of setting up a system.

 

[R6 Racer]

I set this up last year:

It's still set up for winter with the white drain pipes attached.
I have all 5 45gal barrels attached & running into 2 double outlets. One outlet on each side runs into a drip line that has a valve & filter.(stops the drip line from getting clogged) 1 side waters a 12 x 20 veg garden & the other side waters a 30 x 2 flower bed surrounding a deck. I can also fill a pail or whatever from a short unfiltered hose at either end. this set up will water both gardens for apx a week after any normal rainfall.

Steve

 

[Nighttrain]

www.pioneertanks.com.au

This is the system I have out west of Austin. We are 100% on rain water collection for a family of five. The tank is a 30K gallon tank. One of the reasons I built the garage so big (55'x60') roof area was to double our rain harvesting capability. The system circulates the water every night and then when the water is needed for the house it goes through two micron filters then a UV light.

Both the house and garage are metal roofs. You can’t have shingles if you intend to drink the water.

As the earlier post mention there are a lot of people harvesting water here in Texas. Other options are wells but you have to drill deep and the water quality is not the best. This summer when the lakes were drying up, so was the ground water. This meant a lot of wells had to be drilled deeper. $$$

A couple of figures to look at; Austin has on average 32” of rain a year. When I purchased my house the roof was calculated to harvest 60k gallons of water a year. A family of five estimates 90k gallons a year. So by using this calculation I told my wife she would not be able to take long showers if I did not build my garage. I started building that next week.

 

[metal1313]

they also make huge rubber bladers for collecting rain water, but they are really expensive. id like to add a large under ground tank to our system becuase our water isnt cheap, and we do have regular restrictions on watering the yard each summer. i dont care about the grass, but we save alot of money on our veggies from our garden and my dad becomes a pita when he cant fiddle around in the garden

 

[thdewey]

This is my spring project..... setting up 55 gal barrels for collection on the shed and detached garage. The shed will feed the vegetable garden, and the garage will feed a flower garden. I'm going to experiment with small solar cells, a deep-cycle battery, inverter, and small pump on a timer to water everything. The goal is a self-watering garden from May through September. The inverter will also power a security light and interior shed light. Wish me luck!

eldirector

Please start a thread with your Spring project. I'd love to it come together. Take lots of pictures. Maybe I could even steal some ideas. Good luck.

Tom

 

[NWOhioChevyGuy]

Well it is interesting how it is illegal some places.

If you want to get really fancy, look into these links.

http://www.arcsa.org/

http://www.frontierponds.com/

http://www.frontierponds.com/RainXchange.pdf

I get involved in this alittle for my work, many large industrial and commercial buildings put in systems like this.

 

[TEXACMAN]

Thanks guys ! Did'nt know what kind of response I would get to this thread , yall have some great info so far.
Yeah the Government definitely oversteps there bounds , they can't figure out how much water you harvest to tax you on so they make it illegal! I read somewhere they were trying to figure a way tax ranchers for the amount of methane gas a cow expels , how would they figure that?

 

[PhantomEB]

When I get my place I installin a rain barrel every where theres a downspout, lookin for the nice wooden barrel ones, just for watering the lawn and garden.

 

[jeepnut24]

Thanks guys ! Did'nt know what kind of response I would get to this thread , yall have some great info so far.
Yeah the Government definitely oversteps there bounds , they can't figure out how much water you harvest to tax you on so they make it illegal! I read somewhere they were trying to figure a way tax ranchers for the amount of methane gas a cow expels , how would they figure that?

Those laws here in CO are 100 years old.... Before the front range was as populated as it is now.

 

[Boyd Who]

We have one that collects rain from the kitchen roof. I got a stock tank from a local farm supply place for less than $100. It somewhat matches the style of our Victorian farmhouse, plus it reminds me of the one at my grandmother's old place.

I plan to raise it up on some 4x6 blocks this summer and add a hose fitting to the bottom so we can use it to water the veggie garden that's going in next to it.

 

[1320stang]

So if I'm in Colorado, and I collect the rain water to use to water my garden, or take a shower, where does that water end up? Isn't it just delaying the water's eventual course? Especially if I'm on a septic system. If it doesn't end up in a stream, it'll end up in an aquifer.