I have wanted to make a rain barrel since first hearing of the idea in Mother Earth News many years ago. Thanks to help from my dad, my first rain barrel build is a reality. My plan is to use my rain barrel to collect and provide water to my newly established garden. The plan is to deliver the water through a soaker hose, but I am not sure there will be enough pressure to drive the water through the soaker hose. I will post on the establishment of the garden plot and the soaker hose system soon.
Rain Barrel Parts List:
55 gallon plastic barrel with lid & locking ring
Scrap section of ~9" Oustide Diameter PVC Pipe
2-Plastic Water Hose Spigots (1/2" MNPT)
2-Rubber Gaskets (3/4" Inside Diameter)
2-Plastic Finger Tighten 1/2" NPT Nuts
4-Small Stainless Steel Bolts, Washers, Spacers, Lock Washers, & Nuts
3-Cans of Krylon Fusion Spray Paint
A dab of Silicone Sealant
A large hose clamp
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Figure 1. Rain barrel parts
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Catch Basin Fabrication:
A 6" section was cut off the scrap piece of 9" outside diameter PVC pipe. Four holes were then drilled 90 degrees apart and 2" down from one end of the 6" piece of PVC pipe to allow the stainless steel bolts to slide through the pipe wall. The size of the holes allowed the bolts to slide through freely but snug. At this point the spacers, lock washers, and nuts were installed on the stainless steel bolts. The assembled catch basin is shown below in Figure 2.
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| Figure 2. Catch basin |
Once the catch basin was assembled, it was centered on the barrel lid and traced. The hole in the barrel lid was cut using a jig saw. After the hole was cut in the barrel lid, the catch basin could be placed into the hole (resting on lid with the stainless steel bolts) with a majority of the catch basin laying below the lid as shown in Figure 3.
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| Figure 3. Catch basin installed in the lid (after painting of course) |
The bottom of the catch basin was then covered first with a double layer of screen material to prevent debris from entering the rain barrel, and then a double layer of pantyhose to prevent small insects from entering the rain barrel. These filtration layers are shown below in Figures 4 and 5.
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| Figure 4. Addition of 2 layers of screen to the bottom of catch basin |
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| Figure 5. Final addition of 2 layers of pantyhose to the bottom of the catch basin |
Discharge and Overflow Water Hose Spigot Installation:
Near the bottom, the sides of the barrel start to taper, so I chose the location for the discharge spigot just above where the taper began. A 3/4" hole was drilled through the barrel at this point. Using a piece of galvanized steel 1/2" MNPT pipe, threads were cut into the barrel wall by carefully screwing the galvanized pipe into the 3/4" hole. After cutting threads into the barrel wall and removing the galvanized steel pipe, the water hose spigot threads were wrapped in teflon tape and the spigot was screwed into the barrel wall. On the inside of the barrel, the rubber gasket was placed around the spigot threads and the plastic finger tighten nut was screwed onto the spigot threads tightly by hand. A small amount of silicone sealant was used around the base of the spigot where it contacted the outside of the barrel wall for an extra amount of leak protection.
The overflow water hose spigot was installed exactly the same way as the discharge spigot, but it's location was selected to be on the side of the barrel and as near to the top as possible. The barrel wall also tapers near the top, so the discharge spigot was installed just below the top taper.
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Figure 6. Water hose spigots installed on the rain barrel
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Rain Barrel Installation:
The rain barrel was installed on a pedestal of leveled concrete blocks. The block pedestal is 16" high, which leaves plenty of room under the spigot to attach a hose or fill a watering can. The overflow spigot is connected to an underground gutter drain pipe using a short section of water hose. The existing gutter down spout was removed and replaced with a shorter down spout and a couple of elbows connected with a short piece of down spout forming an elongated "S" to route water into the catch basin of the rain barrel.
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| Figure 7. Rain barrel installation |
Final Thoughts:
The rain barrel was tested and there were no leaks. I left some of the test water in the barrel and am waiting on the next rain to fill it up. Once it is full, I will probably test out my garden water delivery ideas.
