A number of people have asked me about this system.
I had a dream of having a rain barrel and my husband took it to a whole new level. He said why not 3? I laughed and said why not 6? Challenge accepted!
He set 4x4 posts in concrete and built a stock to hold 6 barrels on their sides. The barrels are food grade with sealed tops and 2 small openings, both the screw lids. By using the two small openings already there, we didn't have to cut any holes into the barrels.
The stock allows the barrels to lay on the sides. A support 2x6 is placed under the middle of each barrel to they don't sag with the weight of the water.
A schedule 40 PVC is used to carry water from the roof gutter to the bottom barrel, but we extended it past the turn so that debris from the roof will collect below the turn. We added a shutoff valve above that drain, so we can flush the line without dumping out too much water.
After the bottom barrel is full, the smaller PVC pipe carries the water up to the next barrel. And again to the top barrel. Originally each side was separated and independent but we found the right side had much less gutter and runoff, so it was difficult to fill. Therefore we connected the overflow on the left to the right side. We added a flexhose to the top on the right side, so when all the barrels are full, the overflow has a place to go. We should have tied it back into the downspout.
Then we painted all of the PVC so the UV sunlight rays wouldn't dry it out as quickly. We could have used UV resistant pipe, but didn't think about it until it was too late. But it's on the north side, so it's ok.
Just before the Christmas freeze, we could either Option 1 - drain the entire system, or we chose option 2, cover the pipes with insulation and heat tape. It worked great!
Found some free fence boards a neighbor gave away to make it a bit prettier. I need to get some more to do the east and west sides
The spigots are high enough that we can put a 5 gallon bucket under them.
The garden is close by and we have enough water for the dogs and the 5 ducks we have, and all of the prefer the rain water over over city water. It's worked so well, that we are talking about putting in a second one close to the shop.
I had a dream of having a rain barrel and my husband took it to a whole new level. He said why not 3? I laughed and said why not 6? Challenge accepted!
He set 4x4 posts in concrete and built a stock to hold 6 barrels on their sides. The barrels are food grade with sealed tops and 2 small openings, both the screw lids. By using the two small openings already there, we didn't have to cut any holes into the barrels.
The stock allows the barrels to lay on the sides. A support 2x6 is placed under the middle of each barrel to they don't sag with the weight of the water.
A schedule 40 PVC is used to carry water from the roof gutter to the bottom barrel, but we extended it past the turn so that debris from the roof will collect below the turn. We added a shutoff valve above that drain, so we can flush the line without dumping out too much water.
After the bottom barrel is full, the smaller PVC pipe carries the water up to the next barrel. And again to the top barrel. Originally each side was separated and independent but we found the right side had much less gutter and runoff, so it was difficult to fill. Therefore we connected the overflow on the left to the right side. We added a flexhose to the top on the right side, so when all the barrels are full, the overflow has a place to go. We should have tied it back into the downspout.
Then we painted all of the PVC so the UV sunlight rays wouldn't dry it out as quickly. We could have used UV resistant pipe, but didn't think about it until it was too late. But it's on the north side, so it's ok.
Just before the Christmas freeze, we could either Option 1 - drain the entire system, or we chose option 2, cover the pipes with insulation and heat tape. It worked great!
Found some free fence boards a neighbor gave away to make it a bit prettier. I need to get some more to do the east and west sides
The spigots are high enough that we can put a 5 gallon bucket under them.
The garden is close by and we have enough water for the dogs and the 5 ducks we have, and all of the prefer the rain water over over city water. It's worked so well, that we are talking about putting in a second one close to the shop.
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