Making a Rain Barrel

Making a rain barrel has got so many advantages over just going to the store and purchasing one. There are a few important things you need to know first though.

Firstly, the use of rain barrels is not only great for the environment but also great for your garden. Every drop of rain water that you collect from your roof and store in a rain barrel for your garden is a drop of water that doesn't have to come from your local water reservoir. Your garden will also benefit from the rain water that you store especially if you grow vegetables as it's well known that rain water doesn't contain additives and contaminants as water from your garden tap often does.

Making a rain barrel also gives you the opportunity to recycle an old plastic barrel. There is no better way of recycling that to turn one plastic product into another plastic product that requires the minimum amount of recycling as it's virtually just a case of modifying a plastic barrel rather turning it into a completely new plastic product. Just be careful though, select a plastic barrel that hasn't been used to store chemicals or contaminants when making your rain barrel.

The other great thing about making a rain barrel instead of just buying one is that you can save quite a bit of money in doing so. Used plastic barrels can be sourced relatively inexpensively and in some cases for free. When I made my own rain barrels I was able to easily make two rain barrels for about the price of one.

When making a rain barrel you also have the opportunity to design it the way you want. Therefore it is possible to make a rain barrel that works better than one you can buy.

When you make your own rain barrel there are three main parts to take into consideration, the inlet, the outlet and the overflow.

When designing the inlet ensure that it is sealed so as to keep out mosquitoes and other debris. One way of doing this is to add a wire screen and if possible make sure it is sealed so water doesn't splash over this side of the rain barrel during heavy rainfall. This can lead to water pooling on the ground around the base, which is not desirable. The inlet should also be higher than the overflow so the excess rainwater is directed to the overflow first and doesn't backflow through the inlet which is also undesirable.

The overflow also needs to be the same size or larger than the inlet when making a rain barrel. This ensures that the excess rain water can escape easily during heavy rainfall. The design of the overflow should also allow rain water to be easily diverted away from the rain barrel. If possible excess rain water can be diverted into the garden or back into the downspout. One of the most important features of the overflow is that it should exit from the top of the rain barrel. One of the commonest mistakes made when making a rain barrel is to exit the overflow from the side. This invariably reduces the amount of rain water the rain barrel can store and in some cases, depending on the size of the overflow, may reduce the storage capacity of the rain barrel by up to 10%.

Therefore fit the overflow to the top of the rain barrel and by ensuring that the inlet is higher, the excess rain water will easily escape via the overflow first and you'll be able to store more rain water.

Another common problem often seen when making a rain barrel is the incorrect placement of the outlet or spigot. Many rain barrel designs often come with a spigot fitted to the side of the rain barrel which invariably means that any water below the level of the spigot is in accessible. In many cases though, this may appear to be a small amount of water but if you are using all the water in your rain barrel between each time it fills then this can add up to be quite a considerable amount of rain water that's inaccessible to you over the course of a year. The best place to fit your spigot when making a rain barrel is on the lowest point or the bottom of the rain barrel.

Many people use 55 gallon plastic drums when making a rain barrel but invariably what they end up with is a rain barrel that only stores 50 gallons or less. Therefore correct placement of the overflow and outlet is important to maximise the storage capacity when making a rain barrel.

So if you're contemplating adding a rain barrel or two to your home so you can harvest and store rain water, consider making your own rain barrel. Your garden will flourish without using the water from your local water reservoir, it will be great for the environment and by making a rain barrel or two you'll save some money as well.