Posted: 7/16/2009 10:36:33 AM EDT
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Hi all I have been watching youtube.com about rain barrels. I have found two videos that I really liked. The first one was by a guy named PackRatt556 and the other by Lowes.
PackRatt556 used blue barrels and then painted in como. I really liked his as it was just as simple and Im sure cheaper then the one Lowes made. First Video by PackRat556 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbwPRYIS-os Second Video by PackRat556 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNgZafRfXgk Lowes took trash cans and used them and they worked great for this. I didnt think about big outdoor trash cans as being used for them. Lowes Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueNXj...eature=related I went to Lowes web site looking for the printable directions on building one but I can not find it. Does anyone have a site that uses the trash cans and blue barrels with directions that can be printed out. I wouldnt mind making them for around the house and for my grandmother who has a small gardden. She is 86 and I hate to see her trying to water her plants when we are not there. So if anyone has plans on how to do this that I can print out that would be great. Thanks all for your help. |
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Not plans per se, but you could get some good ideas from these. The underground system is my favorite....just a bit out of my price range. http://www.instructables.com/id/Need-Free-Water%3F––Build-a-Rain-Barrel/ http://www.rainbarrelsingeorgia.com/products.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwswA6_9qBw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUUFRE9aQQE&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvWginV0el4&feature=user http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWyLrbsSO74 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5Y09_ow9y4&NR=1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6ndwzVu8Pw&NR=1 Underground rainwater storage and catchment - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRRHVMsWcA0&feature=related |
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Quoted:
First Video by PackRat556 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbwPRYIS-os Second Video by PackRat556 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNgZafRfXgk Those are really nice how-to vids! Nice to see somebody taking the time to put those together. I do have two observations though: 1) See how his PVC valve assembly flexes like mad just with opening the valve? This will be a failure point at some point down the road––it'll leak. Ace HArdware sells a plastic adapter that is specifically made to go though the side of a barrel. It's much bigger and has more bearing surface than what is shown in the vid. It's also contoured to fit the curvature of a barrel. It costs about $5 but is well worth it. 2) The other thing I noticed is that he didn't finish the barrel, he only got it halfway there.  You have to make an overflow port unless you want to be running out every time it rains to drain the barrel. If you don't do that, the overflow water just drains out the top of the barrel.......right onto the foundation of your house. An overflow can be as simple as putting some fittings through the side of the barrel an inch or so from the top and attaching a garden hose to it. A single 3/4" overflow line won't keep up with the inflow in a downpour, but it's reasonably effective. There are other ways to do overflow lines as well that are external to the collector but just going through the side of a 55 gallon barrel is pretty easy.
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Hey thanks for the links guys and the info. I will check them all out. I guess really finding a source for the barrels localy is my next step. I know I posted on a few boards and Im told to get food barrels but who would you clean them.
Thanks for the info and keep it coming. |
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The food barrels kind of depend on your nose sensitivity and what the barrel was used for.
I recall posts where someone has some Dr. Pepper barrels from pepsi or whoever does dr. pepper stuff and they can still smell it a little bit in the barrel. I got some open top food barrels that came with bags of spaghetti sauce in them and once they were rinsed a few times with a lot of water and a little bleach they don't smell anymore that I can tell. I left them in the sun and messed with them a lot when rinsing them out. Depending on what you want the water for they may not need much cleaning, I figure if plumbed into a system and always being flushed they would self clean in time eventually if you get most of the stuff out to start with. Some searches will give you ideas on cleaning stuff. From baking soda to bleach it all works to some extent but it does kind of depend on what was in the barrels. |