Finally some pix of my rain barrels.....

mldollins · #1 04/24/10, 06:02 PM

Notice the faucet on the one. I cut up a hose in several lengths and have each one siphoned to the other. The siphons are two way. Also notice the accordian gutter. I cut around a foot of the aluminum gutter and replaced it with the accordian. When the barrels get full, I put the accordian back into the normal gutter downspout.

mldollins · #2 04/24/10, 06:03 PM

water treatment plant......

beaglebiz · #3 04/24/10, 06:16 PM

Lucky you!! I saw a similar barrel at my son's restaurant...it contains hot sauce for making buffalo wings!!

mldollins · #4 04/24/10, 06:24 PM

You can use just about any 55 gallon barrel. Most contain food grade compounds. Some that I have had vanilla while others had chemicals for treating water. Regardless, I really don't think the garden will mind the vanilla smell.

Also, this is part of my preps. As long as their is no water disruption, I will use these for watering the garden. If we lose water, they will be filling up the back of the toilet .....we have a septic tank.

Also, since the main one is the first one, I can easily expand by adding more. I am thinking about adding 4 more.

farmergirl · #5 04/24/10, 06:30 PM

What's the purpose of the large diameter pvc pipe coming out of the first one?

Pennsyltucky · #6 04/24/10, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by farmergirl

What's the purpose of the large diameter pvc pipe coming out of first one?

Looks like an overflow.

meanwhile · #7 04/24/10, 06:46 PM

How does the water get from one barrel to the next? And what is the purpose of the green water hose going from each barrel? It looks great!

mldollins · #8 04/24/10, 07:53 PM

Those are the siphons. I had to wait till the first barrel filled up first. Then, I created a siphon into the second....second into the third...third to fourth. As long as I don't drain the barrels completely dry, the siphon should hold all summer. Again, the siphons can go both ways.

If I water the garden, as the first barrel goes down, the other three will equalize and will in essence be drawing from all. When it rains, it will equalize the other direction.

I decided to try this method instead of drilling holes on the bottom of each barrel and piping them together. I hated messing up a good barrel like this. Also, there is the possibility that the links between the bottom of each barrel could leak. If that happens, you literally have a shot barrel.

Surge223 · #9 04/24/10, 08:13 PM

I think it looks great! The only thing I would have done different is on the overflow. I would have used 1 1/2" drain with a "P" trap. That would keep the mosquitoes out.

uncle Will in In. · #10 04/25/10, 05:06 AM

The problem I see is the first barrel will fill much faster than the hose can draw the water to the next barrel. Most of your water will go out the overflow. If you can get several light showers with a few minutes between them the hoses might keep up.

blooba · #11 04/25/10, 06:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uncle Will in In.

The problem I see is the first barrel will fill much faster than the hose can draw the water to the next barrel. Most of your water will go out the overflow. If you can get several light showers with a few minutes between them the hoses might keep up.

Yea, does look like a pretty big roof although if that does happen you can just add more hoses. Siphons can move a decent amount of water, it was a great idea. I'm in the process of putting gutters on my barn and am going to put a rain barrel, never thought of more than one.

timfromohio · #12 04/25/10, 06:16 AM

Nice setup.

My rainbarrels have lines from one barrel to the next at a level just a big lower than my overflow lines. No siphon needed - barrel 1 fills up and excess water flows into barrel 2, etc. When all levels are equal any excess goes out the overflows (each barrel has its own).

luvrulz · #13 04/25/10, 06:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by farmergirl

What's the purpose of the large diameter pvc pipe coming out of the first one?

Why wouldn't you put the overflow on the last barrell? Wouldn't the water fill up the first one and then go out the overflow?

mldollins · #14 04/25/10, 09:59 AM

If I modify this, like one poster stated, a P trap might be added.

luvrulz · #15 04/25/10, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by timfromohio

Nice setup.

My rainbarrels have lines from one barrel to the next at a level just a big lower than my overflow lines. No siphon needed - barrel 1 fills up and excess water flows into barrel 2, etc. When all levels are equal any excess goes out the overflows (each barrel has its own).

Sounds like my kind of arrangement!

Kstornado11 · #16 04/25/10, 12:33 PM

Love it! I sure could have used those the other day when we had flooding rains! I imagine all the seeds I planted will be sprouting up all along the yard towards the creek where the flood water carried them!

mldollins · #17 04/25/10, 01:29 PM

I looked at this from all angles. I wanted to do as little as possible on hole drilling and modifying. I spent all my energies on one barrel...the first one. I thought about having them connected to each other but that would mean drilling more holes and having a faucet on each one. Again, the potential for leaks. My first barrel shows no leak.....

We also don't get monsoon rains that often. Usually its a steady rain half inch here and there. The siphon hose is half inch and seems to fill all barrels up fine.

For now, this seems to work without a problem. If I want to add 4 barrels, it would take me 5 minutes to set them up and begin another siphon.

I guess I was focused more on ease of expansion.

An elbow pointing down on my overflow more than likely will keep mosquitoes out.

ponyboy123 · #18 04/25/10, 01:52 PM

Hey, that looks great and is a super idea. Could you explain a little more about the siphons? I may try a set up like this myself. A "p" trap may be a good idea to help keep out those pesky skeeters.....

mldollins · #19 04/25/10, 02:32 PM

I assume you understand siphons. I had to make sure the first barrel was completely full so it would be easy to done. I cut up an old hose so that each end would be touching the bottom of each barrel beside it. I shoved the down the hole on top so the water filled up the hose. Put my thumb over the end, kinked it and shoved the other end to the second barrel. It took several tries but finally got it.

Remember, water seeks its own level. So, the second barrel filled up till each barrel leveled. The water remains inside the hose at all times. The only time the siphon will fail is if I empty out the barrel completely.

The siphon thing keeps me from having to cut and drill holes in each of the other barrels.

Regarding the p trap, an elbow downward would more than likely take care of this. Then again, cheap netting covering it will also fix it.

These barrels are out by my pole barn and will be primarily used for the garden unless there is a water disruption, then they will be used for filling up the toilet. I did use some caulk around the overflow so I really do not want to use it for drinking. I would obviously need a berkey before I drank anything.

My project over the next couple of weeks is to make one for the house. I don't plan on using caulk and the drums will be food grade.

I would like

Sonshe · #20 05/01/10, 08:02 AM

[QUOTE=mldollins;4403093]Those are the siphons. I had to wait till the first barrel filled up first. Then, I created a siphon into the second....second into the third...third to fourth. As long as I don't drain the barrels completely dry, the siphon should hold all summer. Again, the siphons can go both ways.

If I water the garden, as the first barrel goes down, the other three will equalize and will in essence be drawing from all. When it rains, it will equalize the other direction.

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Does your siphon system work? How long was the hose that your used for the siphon? Did it hang to the bottom of each barrel? What about overflow?

I purchased two rain barrels and the instructions were to drill a hole 5" from the top and connect them with a tube. I surely don't want to do that and thought your method would work as well.