Dry Well Down Spout System

[Richwon4]

Hey Guys,
I am considering using either...

1. 55 Gallon Blue Plastic drum as a dry well on my down spouts or ...
2. 250-350 Gallon Ag Plastic Chemical Tank inside the aluminum housing for a dry well.

Does anyone have any experience with either of these....I want to know how they are doing say...5-10 years from install. Thanks
Perhaps someone has a completely different alternative...?

 

[johntheplinker]

I'd go with the big tank. Always better to have too much than run dry.

 

[gregkl]

Is this to catch water for use later?

I'm curious about what a dry well is for and how it is used. Connected to one of your downspouts?

I know it would take one rain down here to fill a 300 gallon tank. What happens after it's full? Is there a bypass of sorts?

 

[ditcherman]

Fun fact, there are 27154 gallons of water in an inch of rain on an acre.
There are 43560 square feet in an acre in case you didn’t know that.
If you have 1800 square feet of roof area, (just an example), you will have 1122 gallons of water off your roof.

Now you can apply evaporation rates if you’re thinking that the water will get away that way. I don’t know anything about evaporation rates, because my answer is always “no, that won’t work and I won’t have anything to do with it” so I haven’t learned anything about it. It might work in Arizona, but not in Indiana.

You can apply absorption rates, that will vary greatly depending on soil types. Up north, in the sand it might work, vs central with heavy clay, no way.
I guess my point, besides education, is that you are literally talking about a drop in the bucket.

Having an outlet is where it’s at.

Editing to add: we have a lot of various type of minibulks in use on our farm, and I’ve never seen a white plastic tank in a cage last more than a year in a way that could be trusted, due to UV degradation.