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Finally got my rain barrel system working after 3 failed attempts
I used to just run hoses from my gutters out into the yard and hope water soaked in somewhere useful. Last weekend I installed a 55 gallon barrel with a mesh screen and a spigot near my garden beds. It took me about 4 hours with basic tools from Lowes, but I only needed to buy a downspout diverter kit for $25. Now I'm watering my tomatoes with free water and feeling pretty good about it. Has anyone else dealt with overflow problems or built a way to link multiple barrels together?
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jadej5015d ago
Add a piece of old window screen over the mesh, propped up an inch or so with some small rocks or chunks of wood. That way the big junk sits on top and you just lift the whole thing off and shake it clean every week. For linking barrels, I drilled a hole in the side of my first barrel about 4 inches from the top and threaded in a bulkhead fitting, then ran a short piece of flexible tubing to the top of the second barrel. Works like a charm and the overflow from the first barrel just drops straight into the second one.
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shane_hayes15d ago
Your downspout diverter is definitely the way to go for a clean setup. I linked two 50-gallon drums by cutting a hole near the bottom of the first one and running a short hose between them at the top of the second barrel. Still had overflow issues though, so I added a simple hose spigot at the top of the second barrel that drains into a rain garden when both are full. Did you figure out a way to keep your mesh screen from getting clogged with pine needles or tiny debris?
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@shane_hayes yeah it's funny how fixing one problem just creates another, like that clogged screen is life's way of reminding you nothing's ever simple.
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