Questions tagged [rain-barrel]

Barrel for collecting rain water to provide irrigation at a future date.

Rain barrels collect rainwater (typically from a building's gutter system) to be used at a future date for irrigation. Such systems typically feed drip irrigation systems, or a tap for hand watering (e.g. via hosepipe or watering can) because a typical barrel can only hold a limited volume of water.

Rain barrels are very useful in drier parts of the world where they can be used to water plant pots and smaller areas during drought restrictions; and are even used in wet temperate areas (e.g. the UK) where a barrel or two can keep a garden green during the height of summer.

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Is rain water better than tap water for plants?

Is it better to water your plants with rain water collected in water butts? I mean is that better than water straight from the tap? And is it just a matter of temperature (presumably plants don't like to be soaked with very cold water (as mains tap…
Tea Drinker
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Is rust from a steel rainwater barrel harmful to edible plants?

We are using a used steel drum barrel as a rainwater container. Someone else in our house brought it from work, and we haven't bothered replacing with a plastic one yet. Supposing that there is no harmful residue of the previous content in it: It…
anderas
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Any reason not to add a spigot to the bottom of my rain barrel?

I got a rain barrel that has a spigot coming out of the side about 5" above the bottom. This seems inefficient, since it means that there's always going to be 5" of standing water in the barrel below the level of the spigot. I imagine the water acts…
iLikeDirt
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What are the absolute most water-thirsty plants?

I have a balcony that gets about 4 hours 1 hour of direct sunlight a day (but several many hours of indirect sunlight bouncing off a building in front) that has an A/C unit where the water condensate drain line from the unit can only go into a…
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Why does the water in my rain barrel evaporate quickly?

I have some rain barrels in my yard. After a certain amount of tinkering, they collect rain water well. However, I notice that a day or two after the rain, most of the water is gone. I've checked for leaks in the barrels and their hoses without…
Portabella
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How can I pump water from a rain barrel to my balcony?

I live in an apartment with a porch that is one story off of the ground. I plan on container gardening on the porch, but I don't have a spigot outside to connect a hose. There is, however, a gutter drain near the porch at ground level that I could…
mbeasley
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Which US states restrict rain water harvesting?

Does anyone have an up-to-date list of which US states require a permit or otherwise restrict land owners from harvesting water? I know Washington, Utah, and Colorado were on the list at one point.
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Could rain barrels be considered suitable substitutes for rain gardens?

My county requires rainwater management to be incorporated into lot plans for new construction if a certain percentage of the lot is impervious. This seems a sensible measure. We are under the impression that rain gardens are the only approved…
Jeromy French
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Will mosquitoes fly through this overflow hose to breed in a rain barrel?

I've got this rain barrel setup with an overflow hose that drains into the bushes. To deter mosquitoes from breeding inside the barrel, I have a screen on the top of the barrel where water enters. I used to also have a small section of screen inside…
Mike Eng
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How long can rain water be stored in tanks?

I plan to collect rainfall (this autumn or next spring) from roof into plastic tanks (1 m3 capacity) and use collected water later for watering vegetables. My question is for how long can rain water be stored in such tanks? Will it be safe for…
False Identity
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Should I clean out my rain barrel before using the water on my vegetables?

I am concerned about the quality of the water in my rain barrel, but I am not sure if it is harmful or helpful to plants - especially in my vegetable garden. It would be pretty simple to clean it out - which would remove the smell and appearance,…
jorb
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How best to connect multiple water butts?

I've just come into possession of two 120L water butts to connect up to my shed on my allotment plot, but as it is a pent roof I need to connect the water butts together as there is only one downpipe. From what I have read there are two methods of…
AvieRose
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How much rainwater should I collect for the garden?

What are the steps to calculate how much rainwater I should collect for my garden? Let's reason in liters/square meter of plants, to make it generic. Let's use this for the statistics of rainfall:…
FarO
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Soaker hose with a rain barrel

I have a simple setup with a rain barrel, and I'd like to run a soaker hose from it to water some flowers at my house. I am hoping to find a soaker hose that will be reliable enough to use for a few years at least, and I'd like to avoid the…
Mike Eng
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Correct name for Water Butt / Rain Barrell Tap/Valve/Shutoff Fitting?

Its difficult to find a suitable tap/valve/shutoff for water butts. This is also made worse by most tap/valves not having a backing flange which allows proper sealing up against the water butt. What is the correct name for this fitting with the…
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