rain barrels

[Woodpecker]

i was thinking of getting some rain barrels. i have a couple of questions though. i know the rain is harvested off the roof. my only concern is the bird droppings would they contaimenate the water? would it then be safe to use on veggies, flowers ect. tyia

[chas]

I mix manure in rain barrels to get manure tea,but don't use the fresh manure tea within a week or so of eating the veggies.
Chas

[fantasymaker]

if you look at many old homes you will see a "Y" at the bottom of the downspout.That is whats called a roof washer all it does is divert the rain away fron storage till some has fallen and washed the roof

[pixelphotograph]

manure would be good for the veggies unless you have a flock of nesting birds by the hundreds on your roof I doubt the ammount of bird poop you get off your roof is enough to be concerned about. a bird could just as easily fly over your garden and let out as much . LOL
You will be safe.

[Woodpecker]

Originally Posted by pixelphotograph

manure would be good for the veggies unless you have a flock of nesting birds by the hundreds on your roof I doubt the ammount of bird poop you get off your roof is enough to be concerned about. a bird could just as easily fly over your garden and let out as much . LOL
You will be safe.

lol i didnt think of that. fantasymaker do you have any pics of the "Y" that sounds like a cool idea. thanks everyone

[Tricky Grama]

My concern is more for mosquitos. How does everyone keep them from breeding in your rainwater barrels?

Patty

[pheasantplucker]

Downspout through the top of the barrel and cover any other gaps with window screen.

[DenverGirlie]

Originally Posted by Tricky Grama

My concern is more for mosquitos. How does everyone keep them from breeding in your rainwater barrels?

Patty

I drop or two of bleach or kitchen dish soap. Not enough to hurt the veggies, but just enough to stop breeding.

[Terry W]

There are also filters available for roof collected water systems. My Aunt had a cistern where the water source was her roof. The filter was in a barrel mounted over the cistern cover( which also doubled as a patio) I found some nice inexpensive filters at Gander Mountain last fall that would suit for the purpose of removing parasites and other nasties from collected water. These were designed for campers who were spending a lot of time roughing it.

[Woodpecker]

i know they have screens to filter out derbris but i nevers saw a filter.

[Tricky Grama]

Thanks, Denvergirlie, pheasantplucker, & Terry.

Patty

[Boleyz]

I use these barrels as toilet flushing water since I don't have runningwater at my hunting retreat.

We carry our dinking water, and I use clean barels inside that are filled from a neighbor's well for washing up and bathing inside. I put them up on a rack and use gravity flow to a mop sink.

The barrels in this picture are joined by a 1 1/2" plastic pipe at the top. When the first barrel (Where the downspout is) fills up, it spills into the scond barrel until it is full...then it runs out on the ground. I'm thinking of adding a third barrel.

These are situated at the end of the porch, and you just take a 5 gallon bucket, dip it full, carry it inside, and dump it in the toilet tank. Then, you can flush.

[Jenn]

10 years back I had 2500 gal barrels (bigger ones too tall to fit under my eaves). Black ones so algae wouldn't grow. Did nothing about mosquitoes but would've dropped a Bt floater or an inch of oil in each one if I noticed them more.

I did not bother with roof washing, and had a squirrel skeleton (poor thing) in one out by the barn when I emptied it to sell. In 2500 gal rain water no foul odor though.

But here's how to do a roof washer: have the spout go above a large PVC tube which goes down to the ground- 6" diam maybe- plumbed leak proof into the system- before going into the rain barrel. The rain will fill the PVC tube before it starts filling the barrel. If it rains so often the PVC tube never evaporates then you may not need much roof rinsing. Or you could put a manual drain plug/tap into the roof washer to empty it once in a while. Not clear on details so research idea more or at least be sure water flow does what I have described before gluing.

[WolfWalksSoftly]

I use rain barrels, and put pantyhose on the end of the downspout to collect the shingle gravel, and put a screen over the top of the barrel to keep the mosquitos out. I would recomend using two barrels per downspout as they fill up quick. Just use a hose towards the top and one near the bottom between the two barrels

[Countrystyle]

Here's a real basic filter :www.geocities.com/aliciainelpaso/survivalh2o.htm

[Ohiogal]

I use feeder fish from the pet store to control the mosquitoes.

[Woodpecker]

nice place boleyz thanks for the pic. jenn thanks for the description of the roof washer ill have to do some research. countrystyle thanks for the link says its unavalible though

[suburbanite]

Hm. People put chicken manure on their garden but are worried about bird poop in the water from the roof?

You do realize that birds can fly over your garden and poop on it any time they want, right?

[whistler]

Originally Posted by Boleyz

These are situated at the end of the porch, and you just take a 5 gallon bucket, dip it full, carry it inside, and dump it in the toilet tank. Then, you can flush.

Why don't you just dump it in the bowl?

[Boleyz]

Originally Posted by whistler

Why don't you just dump it in the bowl?

2 reasons:

First, if you dump it in the tank, you can flush immediately upon completion of the job and not stink up theplace so bad (open-topped "bathroom").

Secondly, the toilet seems to flush better when it comes in as per the design. I don't know why it makes a difference, but it does.