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Make Your Own Rain Barrel Water Harvester

Start Saving Water and Money While Lowering Your Water Footprint

It's clear to most people that water is wasted with little regard to preserving this resource which is becoming scarcer over time. Here is a rain barrel how to, for those who want to make their own rain catcher. Whether it's a collapsible rain barrel or just a way to harvest rain water, this article can help. By purchasing or making your own rain barrel you can harvest and re-use water without it having to be processed by your city. Simply capturing the run-off from your roof and drainage into a barrel and then using a hose to distribute the captured rain water onto your yard and garden can make a big difference, which adds up.

Rainwater is unchlorinated, oxygenated and bacteria free, making it a much better source for watering yards, gardens and house plants.

The first thing you'll need is a barrel. You can contact local food processors or manufacturers and ask if they have a plastic barrel they will give you or sell you inexpensively. You'll want to use either a 50 gallon rain barrel or 60 gallon barrel for storage, anything less is likely to fill up too fast. Using plastic is a good idea because it reduces the potential for contamination by bacteria. Make sure that the barrel has a flat and wide enough bottom that it can be seated securely on the ground when the water is low. Also, keep in mind that finding 'food grade' plastic is important so that there is no leaching of chemicals which could damage your plants or poison your soil.

You should secure the barrel by wrapping a thin strip of aluminum around it which is bolted to an exterior wall of your home. If your barrel does not include a lid, you'll want to place either a mesh screen or lid over it to prevent animals from falling and debris from collecting in the water.

Position your barrel to sit at the base of your downspout. You may have to reset the downspout height by removing and replacing the bottom segment. You can also purchase a downspout diverter.

Next you will also need a 'Y' hose adapter that can be attached into the base of the barrel with enable/disable switches for each side of the 'Y'. The 'Y' will serve to allow for outflow from the barrel and support two hoses. You will also need a short piece of threaded iron pipe to fit into the barrel base of the barrel and attach the 'Y' adapter to. Growandmake.com sells rain barrel kits containing these components.

2-3 Inches from the bottom of the barrel drill a hole which is compatible with the iron pipe threading. Be sure to use some plumbers tape to coat the threads prior to inserting in the barrel, so that you don't have a leak. After installing the pipe connect your 'Y' connector. After the pipe and connector are installed you should use a liquid adhesive sealant to coat the connection point to further ensure leaking is avoided.

If you anticipate that your barrel will have overflow, you'll want to make sure to either have an extra barrel or a way to siphon the overflow to a proper location for disposal. You can use the y adapter for the overflow or with a diverter at the downspout the overflow can automatically go to another barrel or into a hose attached to the diverter. You can also place a hole toward the top of the side for a diversion hose to run off into another barrel or for overflow.

You'll want to make sure that you keep your barrel either at a high elevation location on your property or elevated to ensure that the water can drain efficiently.