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  • myhightechsec

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Jul 15, 2016
    649
    18
    The Region
    I just picked up two heavy duty 55 gallon plastic barrels off from Craigslist here in NWI for $35.00. I have to buy the hardware but they sell them as a unit at most hardware stores. I saw them even cheaper but the distance was a bit too far into Illinois.
     

    miguel

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    12   0   0
    Oct 24, 2008
    6,614
    113
    16T
    I made one like this for under $20 with an extra can I had in the garage. Has held up for several years now.
     

    Phase2

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    6   0   0
    Dec 9, 2011
    7,014
    27
    Check Craigslist, Ft Wayne area has 2 Plastic barrel sellers $10.00 each.

    Be careful with re-using barrels. Know what you are using them for (watering plants?) and what was in them before (food? industrial chemicals?). Cheaper barrels are generally the ones that had nasty chemicals and therefore have fewer re-use possibilities, but you might get lucky.
     

    rw02kr43

    Expert
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Oct 22, 2008
    1,151
    38
    Paragon
    I took a free build your own rainbarrel class from a recycling center in Franklin a few years ago. It was free and I now have a rain barrel. I've tried to make 2 others connected to a common outlet. I failed. I think I can fix it, but need the time to do it.

    Jason
     

    4sarge

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    21   0   0
    Mar 19, 2008
    5,894
    99
    FREEDONIA
    Menard's did sell the diverter kit in Lawn & Garden Dept and Food Grade Barrels can be bought on 46 west of Spencer for 10 - 20 dollars. They also have the FG Industrial size containers for sale
     

    CountryBoy19

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 91.7%
    11   1   0
    Nov 10, 2008
    8,412
    63
    Bedford, IN
    How much do you need? Most people don't realize just how much rain comes down in a normal rainfall, or how much they need to water their garden etc.

    Lets say your garden is 20 X 50 (smallish garden) and it's really dry (hasn't rain for a while) so you want to give it the equivalent of 1/2" of rain. 20 X 50 = 1,000 sf 1/2" rain on 1,000 sf is 42 cubic feet, or 312 gallons.

    Just to put this in perspective, I'm not on city water, and my well is low-production so I can't use well-water for watering etc. I have an 8,000 gallon rain-water collection system. I planted 1/4 acre of grass a few weeks ago, right before we were supposed to get a week of rain; we didn't get the rain. I had to water that grass every day, I emptied my 8,000 gallon tank in 5 days, and that was giving the grass the equivalent of 1/10th inch of rain per day. Most people just want to be able to water a few flowers in pots; IMHO, that is the only reasonable use of a rain-water BARREL. If you plan to water anymore than that you need a rainwater TANK.

    ETA, and just in case you can't comprehend the size of an 8,000 gallon tank, most semi-truck tanks on the road are no larger than 6,000 gallons, so my rainwater collection tank hold OVER a semi-load of water.
     

    BigBoxaJunk

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    3   0   0
    Feb 9, 2013
    7,314
    113
    East-ish
    How much do you need? Most people don't realize just how much rain comes down in a normal rainfall, or how much they need to water their garden etc.

    Lets say your garden is 20 X 50 (smallish garden) and it's really dry (hasn't rain for a while) so you want to give it the equivalent of 1/2" of rain. 20 X 50 = 1,000 sf 1/2" rain on 1,000 sf is 42 cubic feet, or 312 gallons.

    Just to put this in perspective, I'm not on city water, and my well is low-production so I can't use well-water for watering etc. I have an 8,000 gallon rain-water collection system. I planted 1/4 acre of grass a few weeks ago, right before we were supposed to get a week of rain; we didn't get the rain. I had to water that grass every day, I emptied my 8,000 gallon tank in 5 days, and that was giving the grass the equivalent of 1/10th inch of rain per day. Most people just want to be able to water a few flowers in pots; IMHO, that is the only reasonable use of a rain-water BARREL. If you plan to water anymore than that you need a rainwater TANK.

    ETA, and just in case you can't comprehend the size of an 8,000 gallon tank, most semi-truck tanks on the road are no larger than 6,000 gallons, so my rainwater collection tank hold OVER a semi-load of water.

    I have a total of about 500 gallons of storage in three different spots on my place. I have planned on getting a big tank, but I was thinking 1,000 gallons big. Now I'm wondering if I should go bigger. I've thought about plumbing in the rain water for showers and for toilets, and it'd be nice to have it available in the winter also. I've considered building a lean-to shed around the tank (which will be up against the back wall of my house) with insulation to see if I can keep it all winter.
     

    CountryBoy19

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 91.7%
    11   1   0
    Nov 10, 2008
    8,412
    63
    Bedford, IN
    I have a total of about 500 gallons of storage in three different spots on my place. I have planned on getting a big tank, but I was thinking 1,000 gallons big. Now I'm wondering if I should go bigger. I've thought about plumbing in the rain water for showers and for toilets, and it'd be nice to have it available in the winter also. I've considered building a lean-to shed around the tank (which will be up against the back wall of my house) with insulation to see if I can keep it all winter.
    I'm not sure I would tie them into your domestic water supply unless you make it a permanent change. The risk of cross-contamination between your clean water and your rain-water systems bears too much risk IMHO. Personally, I wouldn't bath in my rain-water unless I got really desperate. Flushing toilets, that's actually a good idea!

    The below is a response to a member that PMed me about my system, he is thinking about getting a tank too. My system is not cheap by any means, it was installed by a man with more money than he knew what to do with prior to me buying the place.

    My system is completely separate from my well-water. Well is used for domestic (in-the-house) water only. I have 1 outside well spigot if needed. The rainwater is a 2nd water system, setup exactly like a well (submersible well-pump in the tank, pressure tank and pressure switch in the crawlspace) that feeds 4 outside spigots (one on the house and 3 frost-free hydrants around the house). The tank is a 20 X 8 X 8 concrete buried tank. The power and poly water line are buried and go under the house to the pressure tank first. No worries about freezing this way and algae growth in the tank isn't a problem. Well pump, poly line, wire, and pressure tank shouldn't run more than $1500 but I have no idea how much a concrete tank that size would cost, it was here when I moved in. I'm more than willing to answer any questions you may have.

    Who is this place ?

    I think it's a private individual, on the south side of the road near the top of a hill. I've seen them there before too.
     

    BobDaniels

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Jan 7, 2009
    517
    18
    Boone Co
    There is/was a place on US 40 @ SR 39 that sold food grade barrels; they advertised on craigslist, they might have non good grade barrels as well?

    I'm not sure I would tie them into your domestic water supply unless you make it a permanent change. The risk of cross-contamination between your clean water and your rain-water systems bears too much risk IMHO. Personally, I wouldn't bath in my rain-water unless I got really desperate. Flushing toilets, that's actually a good idea!

    The below is a response to a member that PMed me about my system, he is thinking about getting a tank too. My system is not cheap by any means, it was installed by a man with more money than he knew what to do with prior to me buying the place.

    My system is completely separate from my well-water. Well is used for domestic (in-the-house) water only. I have 1 outside well spigot if needed. The rainwater is a 2nd water system, setup exactly like a well (submersible well-pump in the tank, pressure tank and pressure switch in the crawlspace) that feeds 4 outside spigots (one on the house and 3 frost-free hydrants around the house). The tank is a 20 X 8 X 8 concrete buried tank. The power and poly water line are buried and go under the house to the pressure tank first. No worries about freezing this way and algae growth in the tank isn't a problem. Well pump, poly line, wire, and pressure tank shouldn't run more than $1500 but I have no idea how much a concrete tank that size would cost, it was here when I moved in. I'm more than willing to answer any questions you may have.



    I think it's a private individual, on the south side of the road near the top of a hill. I've seen them there before too.

    I may or may not know of the member referenced in this post. :whistle: Thank you again for sharing.

    I think I have a thread asking about the feasibility of a rain water system for potable use and got a real life answer from Shib about DC pumps, but I am still looking for input on making the rainwater potable. Google is my friend but I am also interested in real life experiences from the INGO collective.
     

    BigBoxaJunk

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    3   0   0
    Feb 9, 2013
    7,314
    113
    East-ish
    When connecting multiple drums does it matter if they're connected at the top or bottom ?

    There's pros and cons both ways, but I didn't want to worry about getting a leak around a bottom connection and losing all my water, so I have one set up to overflow into the other one. I prefer to dip my watering cans in to fill them, so my barrels sit right on the ground.
     

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