THE Rain Barrel Thread

[SHAKEnBLAKE]

Here's my new setup. I got the rain barrel from a local company called Rain Brothers. https://www.rainbrothers.com They seem to know what they're doing, and the kit and instructions were great. I built an elevated platform and got it about as high as I could tie into the vertical portion of my downspout. The platform is about 30"x30", which is huge for a 50gal barrel, but I wanted wiggle room to re-position the barrel and to go bigger in the future. Coincidentally, my neighbors threw out a bunk bed the day I made the platform, and the dimensions of these boards were literally perfect to screw on the sides of the posts to enclose the bottom portion of the structure. Took me forever to deconstruct and re-build the drawers to the right width. Next will be a shelf and a door above the drawers. Any input for cheap and easy way to keep water off the shelf is appreciated. I'll probably slope the shelf towards the garage so water doesn't sit on the shelf.

4 new items by Joe Blake

photos.app.goo.gl

 

[SHAKEnBLAKE]

And here's my finished product with a door and latch! Next is a trim board across the bottom.

Then some sort of drip irrigation system! Any suggestions? Someone on here suggested this: https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/sho...ation-systems/49691-gravity-feed-watering-kit

 

[lucasmbarth]

If I have a rain barrel that has algae in it and then i use bleach to kill it, is it then safe to water trees with? I have read 1/4 teaspoon bleach per gal of water is safe for irrigation, but not to use algae water for irrigation. Assuming i kill the bacteria in it, then it should be safe to water with and not harm the plants, right?

 

[Oliver Buckle]

The rain from my back roof used to drain directly into the drain and from there into the septic tank in next doors garden, we are at the end of a down hill cul-de-sac and just too low for the main sewer. There was a diverter that fed some of it into two 200 liter butts, but they wouldn't always fill, and too much water going through a septic tank is not a good thing.
I ran the pipe from the gutter direct into one barrel I left on the patio and moved the other butt half way down the garden, that instantly made the patio look better. I connected these with a copper pipe across the patio at the foot of the house wall and then a MDPE pipe buried under the lawn to the lower one. When the lower one fills there is still about a third of the top one empty so it can absorb a sudden influx of heavy rain. I then brought in a third barrel at the very bottom of the garden. I am still experimenting with that to get it almost to the level of the one above, I have it on a solid base of breeze blocks with paving stones on top. Ultimately any excess I can't contain will overflow at the bottom of the garden where there is a large oak tree, it is very dry under the tree's canopy.

The front roof runs into two connected 100 liter buts and overflows into a soakaway in the front garden, eventually I hope to get it connected to the system, really torrential rain can overflow the top butt before it can get down the pipe and it would be good to connect it to the soakaway, as well as being good to have that extra water. There is also a 100 liter butt collecting from the large greenhouse, that pretty much all goes into the greenhouse and rarely overflows, if it does a hose takes it down to the dry area.

The people before us didn't bother with the garden much, but the original owners had a veg patch down the end, unfortunately the oak has grown in the last forty or so years, so the best bit of earth that was cultivated is now very dry, I have started new beds further up, but it is solid clay and two years hard work piling in sand and compost and burning the clay are only just now beginning to have an effect, so I do need to water that dry bit. I have put in a second, smaller greenhouse over part of it, if I am going to have to water anyway ... but I still have kale, chard, lettuce, tomatoes, and mangetout that all need constant watering, as well as the toms, cues, and chili in the greenhouse.

 

[Sean Regan]

And here's my finished product with a door and latch! Next is a trim board across the bottom.

Then some sort of drip irrigation system! Any suggestions? Someone on here suggested this: https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/sho...ation-systems/49691-gravity-feed-watering-kit

View attachment 63277

Very impressive.

I have a "leaky hose" system for our garden borders.
There's a dedicated tape over the drain under the kitchen window.

This feeds a hose that runs under the patio and comes up behind the former waterfall of the koi pool. There are three sections,

The bed next to the patio,
The rockery
The rest of the bed down to the small one in front of the back fence.

I've two Hoselock three-way valves, so I can water any one, any two, or all three sections.

I've also have a mechanical water meter I can add to set how much water I want to use.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

I've two Hoselock three-way valves, so I can water any one, any two, or all three sections.

Yes, I installed two taps so I could empty the copper part of the system if it was going to freeze. Already it has been good to be able to isolate sections, and I can see it would be great if there were an accident or damage to isolate a part while you worked on it.