It was time for a new rain barrel. The old one was a commercially made product and was quite worthwhile. However, it was an open top design with a snap on lid that never quite fit. Mosquitoes found it to be a truly hospitable environment. Mosquito bits helped, but only a little. Various forms of algae also made it home. Basically, it stank. Now, on to the new. We started with a blue food grade barrel that formerly contained aloe. This ensured it would be safe for the garden plants. The New Barrel The large hole was cut to allow a way to get the pump into the barrel. The three smaller holes were drilled with a hole saw to allow water to enter from the downspout on the gutter. Using three holes allowed for some support for the screen while allowing plenty of opening for water to get in. ( photo / image / picture from Evil Roy's Garden ) These show how the hole was cut to the right size and shape. A piece of 1/2" hose was attached to the bottom of the pump housing and the pump was lowered into the barrel. Clamps were used on both ends to make sure that the hose doesn't dislodge. ( photo / image / picture from Evil Roy's Garden ) ( photo / image / picture from Evil Roy's Garden ) This shows the pump in place during an early test. I wanted to make sure the pump would supply the correct pressure. Too much pressure would have made the water spray out to fast to capture for use in the garden. ( photo / image / picture from Evil Roy's Garden ) These show the input and pump installed. The metal ring is a "toilet flange spacer ring". Screen wire is placed under both the ring and the hand pump. Silicone rubber (Loctite Clear Silicone Waterproof Sealant) was used to seal around the ring and under the screen wire. This makes sure the mosquitoes can't get in. A hole was made in the screen to allow the hose to pass, and a slit was made in the edge to allow the power cord to exit. Both the hole and the slit were sealed with silicone. Deck screws were used to hold everything in place. Deck screws are designed to resist rust and should outlast the barrel itself. ( photo / image / picture from Evil Roy's Garden ) ( photo / image / picture from Evil Roy's Garden ) Here it is plugged in and operational. We filled it with the garden hose to test it, and to place weight on the base to settle it into place. ( photo / image / picture from Evil Roy's Garden ) ( photo / image / picture from Evil Roy's Garden ) Here's one more from a different angle. ( photo / image / picture from Evil Roy's Garden ) Now, a little about the pumps. The hand pump (called a pitcher pump) is from Harbor Freight. It's good for the price, but the internals seem to contain lead (the instructions say it's not safe for drinking water) and it's not a self priming pump. I removed all the internals for this application. Only the outside cosmetic parts are used. It's still worth the price. The electric pump is from Lowes. The initial rating is 210 gallons per hour. Those are U.S. gallons, I have no idea how to convert that to furlongs per fortnight for those of you not in "The States." Fortunately, the pump comes with a chart that shows that the flow drops drastically when the pump is used to pump water vertically. This chart shows the flow rate at different heights using a 1/2" tube. For our purposes, I had to factor in the weight of the water as it expanded into the pitcher pump housing. I was quite happy when it all worked correctly. I've included a copy of the chart that came with the pump. ( photo / image / picture from Evil Roy's Garden )
Great step-by-step Randy. All logically explained and with great photos. Toni must be very chuffed with her new toy! Thanks for sharing.
Toni must be over the moon with her new rain barrel Randy - I know I would!! Now she won't have to worry about breeding mossies or having algae growing on the surface of the water. Great Job!!
awesome job!!!!! & i am totally jealous!....have had a rain barrel project in the works for a couple of years(slow moving brother), but with the limited rain this year, not too upset by the slow progress. seeing yours gives me a bit more gumption to get it done!
I love the new barrel...now all we need is some rain!! The pump was bought a couple of years ago, he is the one who taught me the concept of.....'get it now cause you might need it someday' He likes the way this one came out so much that he is going to redo the original rain barrel out back so it is more mosquito proof. And by the way, using the "toilet flange spacer ring" was my idea. The other one had a hose attached to the spigot near the bottom which meant to get water out I had to either squat down and bend over holding the hose to get water into a pail...that wasn't comfortable on my back at all after working in the yard. Now I just have to flip a switch. YEA! He is going to make a fence panel using some of the fence pickets I bought at the junk barn last May to hide it from view so the neighbors and city won't complain about the bright blue thing in the yard. And of course I have a couple of decorative items to hang on it for pretty.
I love it!! I better Toni looks forward to using it just because it's so darn cute. Great job Randy... and great instructions as usual.
My wish for rain to fill the new barrel was granted yesterday. Nothing heavy just a steady drizzle for close to 10 hours was enough to do the job. It is amazing how much water your can collect from a small roof area, our house is less than 1000 square feet. The two barrels out front were filled from less than half of the front slope of roof area and out back one was refilled, the other two topped off by less than half of the back slope of roof. I think that means I need more barrels connected to the other half of the roof front and back. Randy has the process perfected now so repeating it on 3 more barrels shouldn't be a problem
With 3 more barrels... I don't think you'll have to worry to much about water restrictions next summer. But, there will be a problem.... how are you going to top the "cuteness factor" of this one?
It definitely won't be My Little Pony or Hello Kitty....I don't do pink it makes me shutter!!! mmmmmm, will have to start thinking about this
The next three barrels will involve an old percolator, an old copper kettle and an old (but clean) Kerosene can and several cans of paint
OMG! I have all of that. I have the iron pump from my grandmothers kitchen sink. I have water pump and a barrel and a hubby.What do you think, can I make this work.
Get to it Donna. Do you have gutters on your house to attach it to? Photo #6 shows a partial view of the downspout from the gutter and the flexible green bit going to that to the filler hole.
