Rain Barrel

A rain barrel is a container that collects and stores rainwater from downspouts and rooftops for future use watering lawns and gardens. Generally a rain barrel is made using a 55-gallon drum, a vinyl garden hose, PVC couplings, a screen grate to remove debris and keep insects out, and other materials found at most hardware stores.

Each UV protected polyethylene rain barrel is manufactured in the USA from a recycled shipping barrel that stands 39" tall by 24" wide and weighs 20 lbs. empty. The barrel comes complete with overflow fitting, drain plug, screw on cover, and a threaded spigot positioned 14" from ground level. Attach your garden hose to the spigot and water your garden or lawn, even wash your car. Our rain barrel arrives with simple instructions for fast and easy installation. For additional water storage simply link two and three barrels together with a short piece of 3/4" garden hose. Barrels can be shipped anywhere in the continental US.

Until the 1940s, the rain barrel was a common sight at farms and homes throughout rural America. Rainwater often was softer than pipe-supplied water, and wooden feed-barrels scattered beneath the steep roof of a barn could catch hundreds of gallons of water during a brief shower. But with modern plumbing, the rain barrel became unnecessary. Today, what many city folks know about rain barrels comes from reruns of "Petticoat Junction" and an old children's song that asks a playmate to "shout down my rain barrel; slide down my cellar door."

Steps to make a rain barrel:

Start with a large, food-quality, plastic barrel and drill a hole in the cap of the barrel with a large, 3/4-inch drill bit. While plastic is preferred because it won't rust, any large, waterproof container will work well. Drill a second hole nearby along the side of the container about 1 or 2 inches from the top. Flip the barrel over and drill a third hole into the base. Determine the number of pipe adaptors (male) and couplings (female) needed to span the distance from the hole at the barrel base to the outer edge of the barrel. Wrap each threaded adaptor end of piping with plumber's tape for a watertight seal. Screw the sections together, making sure they're secure and tight.

Rainbarrels are not designed to be used as a storm surge buffer. They are designed to capture and hold water for later use. If you want something to capture water to take the edge off a storm surge, ideally it would be empty when the storm starts. Rain barrels are supposed to be as full as possible so you have water when that drought hits. I suppose you could run outside and empty it when you see a storm coming, but if rain barrels could really hold enough water to offset a storm surge, everyone emptying their rain barrels at once would be just as bad as the storm.

For a rain barrel, you need nothing more than a standard spigot or short length of hose installed near the bottom of the barrel, with an on/off valve. Then you let gravity do the work. You can attach a longer hose to reach your garden, or just use the spigot to fill watering cans.

Article Directory: http://www.everyonesarticles.com

Read About Asthma Symptoms Also Read about Fruit Vegetable and Vitamins and Fast Weight Loss, Quick Weight Loss

Please Rate this Article

5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5 

Not yet Rated