I ran my rainwater catchment wrong for 2 years before a 5-minute fix changed everything

I set up a 500-gallon rain barrel system off my shop roof back in 2021. Thought I was being smart by piping the overflow straight into a French drain. After a few heavy storms my barrels were always nearly empty and I couldn't figure out why. Turns out I had the overflow pipe connected at the top of the barrel but the intake was below it so all the water just siphoned right back out. A 50 cent check valve from the hardware store fixed it overnight. Anyone else discover a dumb plumbing mistake way later than they should have?

3 comments

3 Comments

cole_flores448d ago

Dude I had basically the same problem with my 55 gallon rain barrel off the back porch. Set it up all proud and then after a storm I'd check it and there'd be like 5 gallons in there. Took me a full year and a half before I realized the hose from the downspout was pushed too far into the barrel and it was acting like a straw sucking the water back out every time it stopped raining. I felt like such an idiot when my neighbor pointed it out while we were having beers. Cut the hose back an inch and it worked perfect ever since. Made me wonder what other dumb stuff I've been doing wrong around the house for years without knowing it.

nguyen.morgan7d ago

Yep did the same exact thing with mine. Felt so dumb.

aaronsullivan7d ago

cole flores44 I get the frustration but honestly that hose thing sounds like user error not plumbing.