How to Build Rain Barrels

Want to save water and help your garden? You don't have to spend $150 or more on a rainbarrel - you can make your own with just a few tools.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Jig saw, coping saw, or saber saw
• Drill
• ¾ inch drill bit
• Household clothes iron
• Teflon tape
• PVC Glue
• Atrium grate or pond basket (used in garden ponds and swimming pools
• Fine mesh screen, nylon
• One ½ inch threaded PVC male adapter
• One ½ inch by ¾ inch adapter, threaded male on the ¾ inch side – to accept the hose
• A short piece of PVC pipe, about 1 ¼ inch long and ½ inch diameter
• One 3 to 5 foot section of garden hose
• Shutoff valve for the end of the hose
• Flexible downspout or PVC pipe to fit to your gutter

1. Where to find barrels.
   
   You will need food-grade barrels. The easiest way to find them is to call up a soft-drink bottling plant. You can also try other food packaging companies. Some places might charge a small fee, but in most cases the company will be happy to give the barrels away. Food safety laws require the barrels to be thrown away or recycled after a single use.

2. 
   Cut a short piece of PVC pipe to connect the two drain fittings. The ½ inch male end will screw into the base of the barrel, and the ¾ inch end is where you will attach the short length of hose.

   Prepare your fittings.
   
   For the inlet, use an atrium grate or a pond basket. (See Figure 1) These are used in pools or decorative ponds and are not hard to find at larger hardware stores. An atrium grate has an opening that’s about 4 inches in diameter. A pond basket is similar to an atrium grate but with a larger opening.
   
   Add fine mesh screen into the grate to keep mosquitoes and debris out of your barrel. You can glue it in with PVC glue, but you will get a more durable bond if you melt the nylon screen to the plastic of your atrium grate or pond basket. You can use a regular household iron to melt the screen.
   
   Use two PVC adaptors for the drain. One should accept a ½ inch pipe on one side and be ½ inch threaded male on the other side. The other adaptor should be ½ inch female on one side and ¾ inch male threaded (to accept the hose) on the other. Use the short piece of ½ inch PVC pipe to connect the two adaptors. (See figure 2)
   
   Glue the small section of pipe into the ½ inch threaded adaptor on one side and into the ¾ inch threaded adaptor on the other side. Let it dry overnight.

3. 
   I used atrium grates for my barrels.

   Cut the holes.
   
   For the drain hole, drill a ¾ inch hole in the side of the barrel, about an inch from the bottom.
   
   For the inlet hole, take a look at your atrium grate or pond basket. The top should be wider than the bottom. Cut a hole that is wide enough to allow the grate to fit in, but narrow enough that the lip or rim of the grate will hold it in place. Turn the atrium grate upside down and trace a circle around the top. With the saber saw, cut the circle out (staying just inside the lines to make up for the width of the plastic top), and the grate should fit perfectly.

4. Prepare the gutters
   
   You can buy a flexible downspout that’s ready-made to fit into a gutter and use this as your downspout. Fasten one end to the gutter drain and fit the other into the atrium grate. To clean the inlet, simply pull the downspout and remove the atrium grate.
   
   Plan to put the regular downspout back during the winter months and replace the barrels in the spring. Freezing, expanding water will damage the barrels.

5. 
   This drain is ready to go.

   Attach the drain assembly to the barrel.
   
   Take a look at your drain assembly. The ½ inch threaded side will go into the barrel, and the ¾ inch threaded side will accept the hose.
   
   Thread the ½ inch side into the drain hole. The threads will cut into the soft plastic of the barrel and hold the adapter in place.
   
   Once you’ve cut threads into the barrel, unscrew the assembly. Wrap some Teflon tape around the threads, put PVC cement on it and screw it back in.
   
   Let the cement dry for 24 hours before you do anything else.

6. Finishing up
   
   The next day, attach the short hose section to your drain assembly, and put a shutoff valve at the end. This is here simply to keep pressure off the drain when you attach and remove your garden hose. (See figure 3)
   
   Place your barrel under the downspout. You will need to elevate it above the level of your lawn or garden for the water to drain properly.
   
   Be certain it is level. 55 gallons of water weighs about ---- pounds – you won’t want it to tip over. (See figure 4)
   
   When temperatures drop below freezing, remove your barrels from the downspouts. Clean them out and turn them upside down until next spring.
   
   You can paint your completed rain barrel, or camouflage it with plants.

Tips & Warnings

• How much water will your roof collect? 1000 square feet of collection area collects 630 gallons of rainwater per inch of rain.
• How do you calculate your collection area? Measure the square footage of your house (from the outside, to include the thickness of the walls) and add in any extra overhang from eaves and gutters. Don’t worry about the angle of the roof – it adds nothing to the collection area.
• -Pollution in the rain or high acid rain – call your local EPA office or Department of Natural Resources.
• -If your roof is treated to prevent moss, this will affect some plants when you water them.
• -Some types of roofs: treated wood, old tar and gravel roofs, or asbestos roofs should not be used to collect rainwater.
• -Lead solder in your gutter system.
• If the water you collect is too polluted for your vegetable garden, you can still do Mother Nature a favor and use it to water your lawn and flowers.

Resources

• Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center
• South River Federation
• Find the Average Yearly Rainfall in Your Area