pretty cool man, pretty cool. I bought one of them barrels a while back and forgot about it. Now that we have "idalia" coming to the panhandle id like to collect some of that rain maybe I can sell it , lol . plants are gonna be happy. great vid, thanks.
The back of barrel actually has a dedicated peg for a 3/4” ID hose to attach for the overflow but it has to be drilled out by the owner if wanted. OP installed his own in lower than the designated overflow location. Not sure which is better, I was planning the peg option simply because it was designed that way but it doesn’t include a valve that way unlike OP’s.
You can make your own by getting a $10 55 gallon drum and adding a few fixtures. Your setup cost $80 for just the barrel. Also that water is full of muck. It's not potable. Keep in mind that 55 gallon is not a lot of water. You can drain that like in one day watering a medium sized garden. What I use it for now is to divert the water away from the house during rain storms, so that I don't have soggy lawn right around the house. As said in the video, my two 55 gallon drums can fill up in 5-10 minutes.
I always thought that the two pipes out the back of the top of those were for overflow/fill. Mine had rubber covers over them, and I just found that they are solid. What are those things for????
I'm having the same problem today with overflow on this barrel. How did you drill and attach the overflow spigot? Do you just screw in from the front with teflon tape?
If you use a rubber trash can for your rain barrel, you can use a hole saw. Rain barrel stores sell spigots and amazon sells both plastic and metal ones. The plastic one can be attached from the outside.
It helps from the top, but there's an overflow hole on the front of the barrel, and if you don't install your own screen in there, you will absolutely get mosquitoes.
Even if you don't see the physical particles from the asphalt shingles, the water that is run over them is still affected. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) release from asphalt shingles into rain water as it flows over it. While PAH are mostly nonpolar, (so they don't dissolve well into the water), rainwater is acidic, and often has other molecules in the water. This can boost solubilization of PAH into the water. An easy way to tell if the water has solubilized PAH is that it will look yellow. Even still, it is not advised to drink (untreated) water that has flowed over asphalt shingles, because PAH causes DNA damage when metabolized. Nevertheless, it's not like the water is useless! If you wanted to turn it into drinking water, proper carbon and reverse osmosis systems work like a charm. And, it turns out that there's no harm in using that water to water your plants, as long as you are watering at the base of the plant, and not getting the water on any leaves or fruit that you might consume :)
Yes, there is an overflow opening on the front, and if you don't install your own screen, it's just open to the water. Any still day means Paradise for mosquitoes in there.
Fill water jugs during the winter to keep for the Spring garden
pretty cool man, pretty cool. I bought one of them barrels a while back and forgot about it. Now that we have "idalia" coming to the panhandle id like to collect some of that rain maybe I can sell it , lol . plants are gonna be happy. great vid, thanks.
Thanks for sharing this. I was wondering about daisy-chaining a couple of these but wasn't sure it was possible (easily) until I saw your video.
could you show how you installed the overflow spigot?
The back of barrel actually has a dedicated peg for a 3/4” ID hose to attach for the overflow but it has to be drilled out by the owner if wanted. OP installed his own in lower than the designated overflow location. Not sure which is better, I was planning the peg option simply because it was designed that way but it doesn’t include a valve that way unlike OP’s.
You can make your own by getting a $10 55 gallon drum and adding a few fixtures. Your setup cost $80 for just the barrel. Also that water is full of muck. It's not potable. Keep in mind that 55 gallon is not a lot of water. You can drain that like in one day watering a medium sized garden. What I use it for now is to divert the water away from the house during rain storms, so that I don't have soggy lawn right around the house. As said in the video, my two 55 gallon drums can fill up in 5-10 minutes.
I always thought that the two pipes out the back of the top of those were for overflow/fill. Mine had rubber covers over them, and I just found that they are solid. What are those things for????
I'm having the same problem today with overflow on this barrel. How did you drill and attach the overflow spigot? Do you just screw in from the front with teflon tape?
If you use a rubber trash can for your rain barrel, you can use a hole saw. Rain barrel stores sell spigots and amazon sells both plastic and metal ones. The plastic one can be attached from the outside.
Great video everything I wanted to know was answered
Why didn’t you cut the white pipe and 45 degree elbow or 90 into the barrel
Great info! Thanks for sharing!
Does the mesh keep out mosquitos?
It helped quite a bit
It helps from the top, but there's an overflow hole on the front of the barrel, and if you don't install your own screen in there, you will absolutely get mosquitoes.
Does the asphalt particles from the roof shingles go right thru that mesh or does it keep them from getting into the water? Thanks!
It catches most of it, but you’ll want to flush it out occasionally I’m sure.
Even if you don't see the physical particles from the asphalt shingles, the water that is run over them is still affected. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) release from asphalt shingles into rain water as it flows over it. While PAH are mostly nonpolar, (so they don't dissolve well into the water), rainwater is acidic, and often has other molecules in the water. This can boost solubilization of PAH into the water. An easy way to tell if the water has solubilized PAH is that it will look yellow. Even still, it is not advised to drink (untreated) water that has flowed over asphalt shingles, because PAH causes DNA damage when metabolized. Nevertheless, it's not like the water is useless! If you wanted to turn it into drinking water, proper carbon and reverse osmosis systems work like a charm. And, it turns out that there's no harm in using that water to water your plants, as long as you are watering at the base of the plant, and not getting the water on any leaves or fruit that you might consume :)
I want to attach a waterfall to the overflow opening of this but it leaks even though I used silicon around the attaching screws. Help.
What about joining another barrel to it how would I go about doing that?
Should work good
Everyone uses cinder blocks the wrong way...
Yes, I think upright is stronger than laid flat.
You dont have to pour water out. You do have to treat it periodically.
Why didn’t you just open the spigot during strong storms?
Thnxs 4 sharing
While I can see using a rain barrel for watering landscaping, putting water mixed with asphalt in a food garden is gross.
Mosquitoes get inside?
I bought one, mosquitoes absolutely getting inside
Get mosquito dunks
Yes, there is an overflow opening on the front, and if you don't install your own screen, it's just open to the water. Any still day means Paradise for mosquitoes in there.