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For many of you who live in an area with more rain, this may not be of interest to you. However, for those of us who have sporadic rain, or infrequent rains, harvesting rainwater can be very beneficial.
Here is our set-up with two large 250 gal. cubes catching rainwater from the barn roof:
The cubes are fiberglass with a spigot at the bottom. We got them for free from a machine shop that has them for washing parts. The soap that the cubes contained was biodegradable, and we flushed the containers until the water ran clear. The hens also drink the rainwater. Right now collecting rainwater is not cost-effective, but when there are water usage restrictions, and we have water for our gardens,hang the cost of guttering!
We also have smaller collection containers--these are 55 gal. fiberglass barrels that we get from the local water facility. They contained chlorine, which we let "off gas" for a week, then rinsed thoroughly. This one catches rain from our roof, and we have another large 250 gal. cube that collects rain from the garage roof. There is another barrel that gets the rain from the workshop. If we get 1/2" of rain, we collect about 900 gal. of water.
The cubes need support--we used 4'x4' supported by concrete blocks. The barrels don't need support, but if you have much wind, I strongly suggest anchoring the downspout with wire. You will notice a small hole about 18" above the barrel--that is for overflow. If the barrel fills and can't overflow around the rim fast enough, the water will climb up the downspout and cause overflow all along the roof gutter. No big problem, but the water can make a trough in the soil below.
We use 1/4 of a mosquito dunk on the open barrels, and 1/2 of a dunk for the large cubes. The dunks are bacillus theringensus (please forgive the spelling) and are available at any big-box store. We don't have a mosquito problem.
These are dip and carry water collectors. Some folks have made adaptations for hoses, but I prefer to water the plants that need it while visiting with my garden greenery.
Here is our set-up with two large 250 gal. cubes catching rainwater from the barn roof:
The cubes are fiberglass with a spigot at the bottom. We got them for free from a machine shop that has them for washing parts. The soap that the cubes contained was biodegradable, and we flushed the containers until the water ran clear. The hens also drink the rainwater. Right now collecting rainwater is not cost-effective, but when there are water usage restrictions, and we have water for our gardens,hang the cost of guttering!
We also have smaller collection containers--these are 55 gal. fiberglass barrels that we get from the local water facility. They contained chlorine, which we let "off gas" for a week, then rinsed thoroughly. This one catches rain from our roof, and we have another large 250 gal. cube that collects rain from the garage roof. There is another barrel that gets the rain from the workshop. If we get 1/2" of rain, we collect about 900 gal. of water.
The cubes need support--we used 4'x4' supported by concrete blocks. The barrels don't need support, but if you have much wind, I strongly suggest anchoring the downspout with wire. You will notice a small hole about 18" above the barrel--that is for overflow. If the barrel fills and can't overflow around the rim fast enough, the water will climb up the downspout and cause overflow all along the roof gutter. No big problem, but the water can make a trough in the soil below.
We use 1/4 of a mosquito dunk on the open barrels, and 1/2 of a dunk for the large cubes. The dunks are bacillus theringensus (please forgive the spelling) and are available at any big-box store. We don't have a mosquito problem.
These are dip and carry water collectors. Some folks have made adaptations for hoses, but I prefer to water the plants that need it while visiting with my garden greenery.
