tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-170910123533962522024-09-14T07:41:17.660-05:00Information about rain water collection and distributionRain Barrel Collectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837980539413012624noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17091012353396252.post-69632898595446822532012-08-12T22:33:00.000-05:002012-08-12T22:33:19.763-05:00

Oh, that's just wonderful.  Gary Harrington went to an Oregon jail on Wednesday because he was collecting rain water on his own property.  They claim he was diverting water from streams. I'm sure his lawyer already provided an interesting assortment of arguments. Here's the story at CNSNews.

Rain Barrel Collectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837980539413012624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17091012353396252.post-83086511374374244682012-03-19T20:16:00.003-05:002012-03-19T20:16:50.531-05:00

I took a few minutes last weekend to get my barrels ready for the predicted rain the next day.  I unwrapped the weather covers, then removed the winter bypass tubes.  As expected, on the last day of astronomical winter, a wave of rainclouds approached. Then the oncoming pretties changed into a Severe Thunderstorm Warning. Two minutes after the wonderfully heavy rain started, there was

Rain Barrel Collectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837980539413012624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17091012353396252.post-90258961084749232392011-12-17T09:00:00.000-06:002011-12-17T09:00:07.829-06:00

Santa, all I want for Christmas is some rainwater.

Rain Barrel Collectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837980539413012624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17091012353396252.post-37500552987600861032011-12-15T11:40:00.001-06:002011-12-15T11:41:41.640-06:00

I hadn't thought of this... If you're in a place which doesn't get as much cold weather as Minnesota does, you can use your rain barrel to protect your outdoor potted plants.  The water in a barrel tends to stay warm at night, so having potted plants near or on the barrel helps protect them from frost, especially if you cover it all with a tarp at night. Thanks, StAugustine.com

Rain Barrel Collectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837980539413012624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17091012353396252.post-28894991595366378972011-08-30T12:13:00.002-05:002011-08-30T12:13:00.333-05:00

Remember that it's State Fair season, and many local rain barrel providers are having sales because the end of the gardening season is approaching.  If you're going to a fair, watch for rain barrel ideas and offers in the horticulture, gardening, and small business buildings. Some exhibitors only offer sales at the fair, while others offer it to all, such as the Barrel Depot.  Watch

Rain Barrel Collectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837980539413012624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17091012353396252.post-55407331438570982402011-08-28T12:58:00.000-05:002011-08-28T12:58:29.118-05:00

Delaware, Ohio: Rain barrel tips and raffle today. Rochester, NY, multiple dates: Learn to save water via rain barrels and other ‘green’ stuff for you and your kids at the Rochester Museum & Science Center—Rochester, NY Learn How to Make Your Own Rain Barrel   August 30th, 2011 @ 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM, Raeford, NC. September 20-22, 2011: If you're near London, Ohio,

Rain Barrel Collectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837980539413012624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17091012353396252.post-71931837514503447502011-07-11T11:47:00.002-05:002011-07-11T13:26:27.790-05:00

source on Crunchyroll.com

Rain Barrel Collectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837980539413012624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17091012353396252.post-40303578086639625582011-07-10T09:57:00.001-05:002011-07-10T18:53:11.318-05:00

In my preceding post "Rain barrel design using two bunghole system": The cross-section of a two-inch pipe is 3.14 square inches (if you're doing the math, remember the radius of a 2-inch diameter pipe is 1 inch).  The cross-section of a 3/4 inch pipe is 0.44 square inches.  If you have a 2-inch bottom pipe then it can feed 7 or 8 pipes with a 3/4 inch diameter. I'm actually going

Rain Barrel Collectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837980539413012624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17091012353396252.post-58899468429130834142011-07-09T23:38:00.002-05:002011-07-26T22:26:15.817-05:00

I have some barrels that I'm going to put on their sides, so I can use them without making new holes.  The barrels can be filled and emptied using the two bungholes. Sorry for the crude drawing, I hope it shows the design well enough. First of all, why not only use the bungholes on the bottom?  Because air has to be able to escape.  You can see that in this design, the top are

Rain Barrel Collectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837980539413012624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17091012353396252.post-61718090916806008772011-06-12T10:58:00.075-05:002011-06-12T15:02:10.405-05:00

When looking at possibilities for electrically-powered pumps, I encountered several options that I want to remember in case I decide to add an electric pump to my rain water system.  There are several types of pumps, but I haven't explored what is presently popular for the actual part which moves water. What I did take note of is that one type of pump assembly would be convenient for many

Rain Barrel Collectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837980539413012624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17091012353396252.post-91686112408442732962011-06-11T08:47:00.003-05:002011-06-11T08:55:24.667-05:00

I've decided to catch the rain from the drainpipe by using barrels with a large open top, so I know that I'll be able to get the first 50 gallons of a sudden cloudburst.  Well, 50 gallons per barrel if they're empty.  I have some 20-gallon barrels that I'll also be connecting in the system, and figuring out how to connect them has been fun. While I'd like to have two-inch pipe running

Rain Barrel Collectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837980539413012624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17091012353396252.post-88254156915519945342011-06-06T10:45:00.001-05:002011-06-06T10:45:00.734-05:00

The openings into a rain barrel system need to be covered to keep out animals.  Some "hardware cloth" coarse screening will keep out most rodents, and many people also use mosquito screen to keep out smaller insects and debris.  Some people use mosquito control tablets to kill the larvae.  Some people put fish in the barrel to eat the insects, although if you have to winterize then

Rain Barrel Collectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837980539413012624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17091012353396252.post-74534918816485136652011-06-05T20:39:00.000-05:002011-06-05T20:39:01.712-05:00

I've seen some sketches for rain barrel systems where the designer forgot to supply an air vent. A bottom-filling sealed barrel won't hold much rainwater if air can't get out of the barrel.  Add a vent to the top, and remember to have the vent opening be higher than your diverter or collector barrel. A sealed barrel system which fills near the top can also encounter problems if air can't

Rain Barrel Collectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837980539413012624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17091012353396252.post-44583920683384953722011-06-04T11:22:00.005-05:002011-06-04T22:32:53.032-05:00

Yay!  My bung wrench arrived! When making (or cleaning) rain barrels, if you want to open the two-inch bungs on barrels, the tool for the job is a bung wrench.  I chose a plastic wrench instead of metal because I expect I'll have little enough use for it that it will last a long time. Bungs have two kinds of thread When you're tinkering with the barrels, be aware that most of them have

Rain Barrel Collectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837980539413012624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17091012353396252.post-44899295923420264922011-06-03T21:30:00.001-05:002011-06-04T11:29:14.565-05:00

Although it's not on the market yet, architect Carolyn Moss came up with a different design for rain storage.  It's not shaped like a rain barrel.  CISTA is designed to be shipped as several U-shaped sheet metal pieces, brackets, and a 100-gallon bladder.  The brackets are bolted to a building, the metal sides mount on the brackets above each other to form an eight-foot-tall tank,

Rain Barrel Collectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837980539413012624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17091012353396252.post-28853913435187289182011-06-02T11:16:00.001-05:002011-06-02T11:16:00.624-05:00

Some of my barrels will be white plastic, and I'd like to have something less stark.  I'm open to suggestions. Let's see... First I found some barrel covers.  Umm...  They're covers for quarter horse barrel racing.  Zebra striping or blue camo is a little bolder look than I'm after.  That's hardly surprising, as these are supposed to be visible to the racers. Well, a

Rain Barrel Collectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837980539413012624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17091012353396252.post-80517602332850111072011-06-01T16:20:00.001-05:002011-06-01T16:20:00.124-05:00

I had to look up what to call some of the pieces involved with gutters.  From top to bottom, here is a glossary of some terms: Rain deflector:  Not actually part of a gutter but rather it is a metal guide which is installed on the roof over a door to guide water sideways and thus reduces water falling over the door.  Often not needed over a gutter system. Drip edge flashing: Metal

Rain Barrel Collectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837980539413012624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17091012353396252.post-13392838659408956192011-05-31T11:16:00.008-05:002011-06-02T10:36:46.146-05:00

It turned out that deciding how to get the water into the barrel was a major issue. There are two main issues: Open or sealed barrel system?  A sealed barrel system uses watertight connections everywhere.  An open barrel system usually has water entering through the open top of a barrel. Diverter or open barrel top?  Should water enter the system through the top of a barrel, or

Rain Barrel Collectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837980539413012624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17091012353396252.post-79613060922166519662011-05-30T22:20:00.000-05:002011-05-30T22:20:08.010-05:00

Oh, great. Utah requires a "valid water right" in order for you to use rain water that falls on your property. I'm glad I'm not in Utah.Catching rain water is against the law - ksl.com

Rain Barrel Collectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837980539413012624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17091012353396252.post-52471527409737421842011-05-30T18:56:00.113-05:002011-05-30T18:56:00.559-05:00

I want to use rainwater in my garden, but how much might I get?  Will one 55 gallon barrel be more than enough, or can I expect more water than that? Calculating how much water is available The formula for calculating how much water my roof will collect is: [ Collection area (in square feet) x 144 (square inches per foot) x Rainfall (inches of rain water depth) ] / 231 (cubic inches

Rain Barrel Collectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837980539413012624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17091012353396252.post-6401604607573120532011-05-30T12:03:00.001-05:002011-05-30T12:06:09.625-05:00

I'll revisit pumping later, but before I forget I'll mention that I just noticed the RainPerfect solar-powered rain barrel pump.  It has a battery to store the electric power from its solar cells, able to power pumping of up to 100 gallons at 13 psi. The design requires that the control box with the battery and pump (actually I suspect the pump is inside the barrel) are to be mounted on top

Rain Barrel Collectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837980539413012624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17091012353396252.post-77044587876270163072011-05-30T10:17:00.000-05:002011-05-30T10:17:22.253-05:00

I know that urban rainwater is considered to not be potable, but I did consider whether to use it on my few vegetable plants.  I decided not to use it on my tomatoes and other veggies. Dust and ash (from incinerators and coal power plants) are one source of contamination.  During a dry period, windblown dust accumulates on roofs.  Ash accumulates year-round, depending upon wind

Rain Barrel Collectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837980539413012624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17091012353396252.post-42671784590603672352011-05-29T20:56:00.000-05:002011-05-29T20:56:44.525-05:00

I have a small garden area and a flower box that have trouble staying green.  There is sand under the topsoil, so I started by adding more organic matter to the dirt so it would retain water better.  But it's a shame to run the sprinkler every few days when we tend to get rain once a week.  So I started looking at collecting the rain water so I can make use of it. As we all do, I

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