Reduce, reuse, recycle: Rain barrels do it all

[The Straight Story]

Reduce, reuse, recycle: Rain barrels do it all


Beneath each of the three downspouts that end abruptly halfway up their Worthington home are a pair of white, waist-tall barrels, open at the top with a spigot sticking out at the bottom.

"Literally, within 15 minutes of a normal rain, they're filled," said Mr. Ramey, who built the six containers.

...

The barrels distributed at workshops by Suter's group are faux terra-cotta models that resemble jumbo planters, but retailers sell them in all shapes and sizes - from 55 gallons to 6,000.

The barrels at the workshops are offered at a discount, generally selling for about $50.

People use the water they collect to wash cars and water lawns, and some even use it in toilets, said Jonathan Meier, co-owner of Columbus-based Rain Brothers, a manufacturer of rain barrels. Demand has been rising for several years, Meier said. Just this month, his company has sold about 300 barrels.

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/03/25/reducereuserecycle-rain-barrels-do-it-all.html?sid=101

[NYC_SKP]

1. Very cool! There's also the "rainwater hog":

Slender, modular, versatile, I'm getting some.



http://rainwaterhog.com/

[WhiteTara]

9. nice design

we are planning on building a new deck and will install water tanks under the house that way. We could probably save 2500 gallons at a time. Meanwhile, I'm going to use some steel barrels that we have and put spouts in them.

[PoliticAverse]

2. In some parts of the US it is illegal to collect rainwater. n/t

[Gidney N Cloyd]

4. Isn't that bizarre?

Because the rain will eventually make it to somewhere where someone owns the water rights, trapping it in a rain barrel is 'steeling.'

[kestrel91316]

12. Colorado. It's a major reason why I refuse to consider retiring there.

Effing shortsighted neanderthals.

[jemsan]

14. Here's an article which explains which states

http://www.naturalnews.com/029286_rainwater_collection_water.html

[Kadie]

26. Wow.

from your link...

snip...
You may not be aware of this, but many Western states, including Utah, Washington and Colorado, have long outlawed individuals from collecting rainwater on their own properties because, according to officials, that rain belongs to someone else.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/029286_rainwater_collection_water.html#ixzz1HdAXkYld


:crazy:

[Lucky 13]

21. Very true. I work on this issue...

In the wetter portions of the nation (East Coast, Pacific Northwest), rain barrels are great.

In the arid portions of the country they are strongly discouraged (if not illegal). There are so many demands of the water for irrigation, drinking water etc, that if everyone started storing as much rainwater as they could, the rivers would be that much more diminished downstream.

[niyad]

28. it certainly is illegal in colorado

[Taverner]

3. Excellent way to "get off the grid"

Getting off the grid is not some isolationist fantasy of galtistan - rather it is turning one's home into a home that needs no water, electrical or gas service. You could have an 'off the grid' home in the middle of a city or suburb.

In fact, if things ever get as bad as current futurists predict, the suburban 'off the grid' home could be a beacon in such neighborhoods. A place for neighborhood organization and hope. Exactly the thing the CEOs DO NOT WANT TO HAVE HAPPEN.

[Shagbark Hickory]

5. Rain barrels became very commonplace around here starting in 08 when we had a long drought

There were classes being held to show you how to make one and lowes and home cheapo began selling some made in china ones complete with everything needed to hook them up.

I haven't looked for them lately but in general water is very cheap here so without the complete outdoor water bans that we were under there isn't much incentive to use them.

[msongs]

10. water cheap and rain barrels very expensive unless u just use a trash can with a lid and no spout nt

[Shagbark Hickory]

11. Well see trash cans are made out of plastic and 2011, like in 2008, plastic products

were very expensive due to the cost of oil.

[NightWatcher]

6. proud barreler for three years....that reminds me need to clean my system ahead of spring showers

[dixiegrrrrl]

7. WE use 2 empty big garbage cans, very inexpensive.

They both catch water that comes off the valleys of the roof and which would otherwise splash all over the deck and patio area.
We use the water for the plants near them. With lids, no mosquito problem. Half a cup of bleach gets tossed in whenever the water gets too green.
While they are not gorgeous by any means, they are very convenient for watering.

[Generic Other]

8. I live in Washington state

There are not enough rain barrels to hold all the water! Still, I like the idea of living off the grid.

[Javaman]

13. Meh...

If you really want to save rain water, get a 330 gallon tank. I have two of them and am about to get two more.

In the future we are heading into with climate change, droughts will become a common thing.

A few 55 gallon water barrels won't last all that long.

My two 330 gals, which I have dubbed the "Monster Tanks", lasted me through the summer, but when the drought moved into the fall, they ran out.

Two more on the way.

You can buy them on craigslist anywhere from $90 to $150. I got ours for $120 and the guy delivered.

They come in metal cages due to the full weight. Plant a little vining plant next to them and they vanish.

And FYI, I live in residential suburbia on an 1/8th of an acre.

it's all about space management. ;)

On edit: here is a pic of them when I first installed them...



You can see my old ones next to them. I have since given those away.

[NightWatcher]

15. Wow. Do you use any pumps or simply gravity?

puts my two 55 gall barrels to shame

[Javaman]

17. Just gravity.

the higher you place them, the more pressure you will get.

However, when they dip down below about 100 gallons, the pressure gets very low. It's bucket and watering pale time.

When they are full, the water pressure through the hose is still low. But it's enough to carry the water to my garden and drip system.(need a 5-10psi regulator for that)

One thing I have learned since I put them in over a year ago, is strict water management. I live in Austin, Texas and it gets hot and dry here in the summer.

I treasure every drop of water. So I take painstaking efforts to make sure nothing goes to waste.

Also, on a side note: I have set up a water capturing system for the condensation from my A/C unit. LOL Next will be the gray water from my washing machine.

[NightWatcher]

18. Weekend Project!!!

Thanks alot jerk (I kid), and I was worried I'd get to sit my ass on the sofa this weekend.

I've found a dude on CL that has them. Now I only need to see about getting a gutter ran along side the far end of the house. I modified a pump from a dinky above ground pool to help run the water along the length of hose from the cistern to the plants along the fenceline. We've got vining plants that we can use to camoflage the tanks (but I'm always proud of them and rarely want to conceal them)

Got to get ready to catch those spring showers in a month or so. As for right now it's dry in North Florida and South Georgia is burning. We've smelled the smoke this morning.

[Javaman]

20. Word of advice...

When full, they are very heavy. On the scale of 3000 pounds plus heavy.

What I did, was put in a sand and paving stone base for expansion and contraction during the winter months.

Plus, if you put them on cinder blocks against the ground, they will sink pretty quickly when the ground is saturated.

Also, make sure, if you do put in the pavers, that you are aware of any below the ground water lines: sprinkler lines, water bib lines, etc. I found out the hard way and was lucky I had a water shut off key. LOL

Here's the link to my blog.

http://suburbandweller.blogspot.com/

(if you page back, you will find the post when I first installed them.)
I haven't updated it since november, but I hope to get it back up and running this weekend since I'm planting again.

Good luck with the project! Yeah, I'm a jerk in that sort of way. LOL

[NightWatcher]

24. that's a nice pair of totes

so I've my next Clark Griswold project all lined up for me

[Dappleganger]

23. That would never fly in our HOA.

The tastefully decorated rain barrel does, however.

[Javaman]

25. HOA's are a blight on humanity...

LOL

One day they will come around to reality.

In the mean time, stay with the old standard 55 gals. Just get a lot of them!

Cheers!

[Dappleganger]

27. They certainly are...

we did find one of the least restrictive HOA's in the area, though (FL is HOA hell).

We have 3 drums and they work fabulously. We put them higher up on pavers so that helps w/pressure.

[NeedleCast]

16. Gotta Get new Ones, Ours were Stolen last year

I've got a 20x30 garden plot at a community garden that doesn't have its own water supply. I take my rain barrels up there to water. Left them there over a weekend and they got stolen. Who does that?

[WatsonT]

19. A far better use of green-stimulus funds

would have been to offer 1:1 tax rebates for these kind of improvements. Rain water collection, better insulation, installing double-paned windows, etc all would have yielded greater energy and environmental returns, helped homeowners in the long run, and put Americans to work than the other stuff it was spent on (windmills from China come to mind).

[Dappleganger]

22. We put up three of them last year...

takes care of all our gardening needs, and then some. A guy nearby makes them and sells them on the side of the road, so that's where we picked them up. I have friends who have painted theirs and they are pretty cute.