In this video we go over rain barrel basics and how to use a simple setup with a portable plug-in pump to deliver a supplemental water source to your garden.
On demand pump would be perfect here. And float valve connected to solenoid connected to house/well water as a back up for droughts. Put a timer and landscape irrigation on garden side of the pump and you have a hands free system. Use free rain water when rainy, use house water when barrels dry but barrel self fill with float valve/solenoid. Add solar panel if you really want a fancy set up to run pump/solenoid. Thats what ive got
I agree that this is a pretty sweet setup. Your purpose is for the garden or non-consumption for humans. For myself, I'm looking to set up a backup system for the well, (as well as rain catchment) in the event of extended power failure. I'll need filters and all that happy jazz because 1) our mosquito population is very prolific; and 2) our well water is unpleasant to taste. But I like how you actually Got It Done on a purely barebones level - it's DONE! An accomplishment. You can always do improvements later, if you wish. Have you noticed any problems with algae growth in the white barrels?
Try lowering your overflow, or reuse your upper holes and tie all three together at the over fllow level. This should allow the system to keep up with the excess. Nice job, BTW 🙃
Those pumps aren't meant to be turned on unless water is flowing through them. So every time you close your spray nozzle realistically you should shut off your pump. On demand pump would be much better for you. They sense the drop in water pressure when you open your spray nozzle and instantly turn on.
Good effective, flexible configuration. It should serve you well. I'm surprised you use only 30 gal per watering for what appears to be a substantial size garden.
This a sweet simple setup. I have 5 barrels. Two in front and three in back of house, separately hooked up. I have been using the top of barrel method, like you did, and am not happy with maintenance and hassle.The brittle black vinyl corrogated hose sucks. Always breaking. We live in Ottawa, Ontario so I have to put the barrels away for the winter. Just wondering how you made use of the various hose connectors. Did you use hose fitting that you installed yourself, and how. My attempts have always leaked.
I joined my rain barrels together the same way that is shown in this video by using garden hose to link the barrels together. My hose does not leak, but it does take a long time to fill the adjoining barrels in a heavy rain.
I completely agree and I would love to have a drip irrigation system, but unfortunately I think it’s going to be on the to do list for a while because we have so much going on right now. It would easily save me about an hour everyday in the summer on top of the water itself. Hopefully I’ll be making a video on installing one in the near future! Thanks for the recommendation and stay tuned!
Nice setup. Did you consider using a submersible/sump pump instead of your transfer pump? If so, what was the deciding factor(s) in choosing the transfer pump? One plus I can think of in favor of the submersible is that the noise would be a bit muffled. Thanks.
Thanks for the question! I did not consider a sump pump due to their price and the added steps and resources of installing it compared to simplicity of this little transfer pump.
I have a submersible pump and a setup like this but I can’t draw water from all 3 barrels at the same time I figure. The pressure from the pump I assume would go into the other barrels.
Hey Bryan. So for psi calculations, every 2.31 ft of fall equals 1 psi of pressure. You are correct that water is a self leveling entity and will flow to lower points, but it’s the difference between a slow trickle or a nice pressurized stream. I would guess that the little pump here is creating 10-15 psi consistently at the nozzle through 100ft of hose.
@@moonacreshomestead6610 would it be possible to connect a 30 ft' pvc pipe to the middle barrel then put it upright/perpendicular, connecting a hose to the top which would then create 10-15 psi naturally after you created a siphon?
@@uniteentierly2773 It is a pump with a built-in pressure switch. Which means that when the garden hose nozzle is opened the pump starts pumping automatically and when the nozzle is shut the pump stops pumping automatically so the pump is not being deadheaded.
How did you find the barrels? I have been looking at doing something similar but have not been able to find anywhere that sells them at a reasonable price.
I used to work at a brewery and we had a lot of these. They are commonly used to hold chemicals, so if you know someone who works in an industrial setting you may want to check with them. I washed mine several times to make sure any residual was gone before use.
The water flows from the first barrel to the others through the pipe setup at the bottom. With all of the valves open, the water level will always be the same across all the barrels. Simple physics.
Hey Tim. Our water demands are much lower in the winter so if we have sustained temps below freezing forecasted, the best thing you can do is just drain it.
Yes, in excess of 1/2 ton when full. It could be problematic if those center 4x4s were merely sitting on soil especially were the ground to become wet but they are likely sitting on massive concrete piers.
@@victorwadsworth821 Water is 8 lbs / gallon. When wet, the surface area needed to support a full barrel is about the equivalent of the base of the barrel.
@@victorwadsworth821 8 pounds for 1 US gallon. 10 pounds for 1 British Imperial gallon ( British Imperial measuring system was used in numerous countries before the metric system ).
You straight up don't know how this whole barrel thing works. You need a screen on top for one thing, not just for bugs but for other stuff that comes off the roof. The valves on the bottom even out the levels. You leave them open all the time. The openings on the top are there for overflow to make sure it goes away from the foundation.
@@robertlong7723 yes! I have instal a few barrels I find that the 275 gal tanks is the way to go. Those 55 gal take so much space and hassle installing those pipes.
Ty for building something simple and not a mini water treatment plant. This is easy to recreate
On your other barrels, I'd recommend drilling some smallish holes at the top of each barrel to prevent a vacuum pressure from happening.
Excellent info, may try to work this into our remodel project
I really like this system the best out of the other videos I've watched pertaining to hooking up several rain barrels. Thanks! I subbed and liked.
great design thank you for sharing!
Great job buddy 👍😎👍
It looks easy thanks for sharing
Great video
1st time on your channel 💪🏽👍👍
Love it❤
On demand pump would be perfect here. And float valve connected to solenoid connected to house/well water as a back up for droughts. Put a timer and landscape irrigation on garden side of the pump and you have a hands free system. Use free rain water when rainy, use house water when barrels dry but barrel self fill with float valve/solenoid. Add solar panel if you really want a fancy set up to run pump/solenoid. Thats what ive got
I like the way you think
Obrigado
Boa ideia!
I agree that this is a pretty sweet setup. Your purpose is for the garden or non-consumption for humans. For myself, I'm looking to set up a backup system for the well, (as well as rain catchment) in the event of extended power failure. I'll need filters and all that happy jazz because 1) our mosquito population is very prolific; and 2) our well water is unpleasant to taste. But I like how you actually Got It Done on a purely barebones level - it's DONE! An accomplishment. You can always do improvements later, if you wish. Have you noticed any problems with algae growth in the white barrels?
Good job.
Thanks 😊
Try lowering your overflow, or reuse your upper holes and tie all three together at the over fllow level. This should allow the system to keep up with the excess. Nice job, BTW 🙃
Thanks.
Those pumps aren't meant to be turned on unless water is flowing through them. So every time you close your spray nozzle realistically you should shut off your pump. On demand pump would be much better for you. They sense the drop in water pressure when you open your spray nozzle and instantly turn on.
Good effective, flexible configuration. It should serve you well. I'm surprised you use only 30 gal per watering for what appears to be a substantial size garden.
I have a big backyard and I'll be using the pump to push water to barrels at the end of my garden where they will drip into the garden by gavity fed.
Thats a nice set up, love the pump. Have you thought about setting up an outdoor shower? Im sure the pump would work great for that.
Not a bad idea! Would be good for giving the dogs baths too!
I understand those showers a lot of times don't get the heat you would like but I'm with you, need to think waterless toilets.
The rain water will flow out at a quicker pressure if there is a hole or cap opened at the top of the barrel when watering.
This a sweet simple setup. I have 5 barrels. Two in front and three in back of house, separately hooked up. I have been using the top of barrel method, like you did, and am not happy with maintenance and hassle.The brittle black vinyl corrogated hose sucks. Always breaking. We live in Ottawa, Ontario so I have to put the barrels away for the winter. Just wondering how you made use of the various hose connectors. Did you use hose fitting that you installed yourself, and how. My attempts have always leaked.
I joined my rain barrels together the same way that is shown in this video by using garden hose to link the barrels together. My hose does not leak, but it does take a long time to fill the adjoining barrels in a heavy rain.
How did you get the nut started and tightened on the inside of your barrels?
Good proyect, but i think you need to install a first water tramp. To catch the first and dirty water...
Have you tried Drip Irrigation? You will save A lot more water .
I completely agree and I would love to have a drip irrigation system, but unfortunately I think it’s going to be on the to do list for a while because we have so much going on right now. It would easily save me about an hour everyday in the summer on top of the water itself. Hopefully I’ll be making a video on installing one in the near future! Thanks for the recommendation and stay tuned!
Nice setup. Did you consider using a submersible/sump pump instead of your transfer pump? If so, what was the deciding factor(s) in choosing the transfer pump? One plus I can think of in favor of the submersible is that the noise would be a bit muffled. Thanks.
Thanks for the question! I did not consider a sump pump due to their price and the added steps and resources of installing it compared to simplicity of this little transfer pump.
I have a submersible pump and a setup like this but I can’t draw water from all 3 barrels at the same time I figure. The pressure from the pump I assume would go into the other barrels.
How do fill other two barrels on left?
do they back fill to each other the same way
They do as long as the bottom ball valves are open on the barrel(s) you want to be filled.
Great job. New sub so leaving a comment to make sure it sticks. Will swing over later with my other channel too.
If the water collection was higher could you not do away with the pumps all together? Or would it need to be to high to create any pressure?
Hey Bryan. So for psi calculations, every 2.31 ft of fall equals 1 psi of pressure. You are correct that water is a self leveling entity and will flow to lower points, but it’s the difference between a slow trickle or a nice pressurized stream. I would guess that the little pump here is creating 10-15 psi consistently at the nozzle through 100ft of hose.
@@moonacreshomestead6610 would it be possible to connect a 30 ft' pvc pipe to the middle barrel then put it upright/perpendicular, connecting a hose to the top which would then create 10-15 psi naturally after you created a siphon?
@@bryanannett8867 lol
👍🏼. On demand pump would be better for your set up though 🤔
What's an on demand pump?
@@uniteentierly2773 It is a pump with a built-in pressure switch. Which means that when the garden hose nozzle is opened the pump starts pumping automatically and when the nozzle is shut the pump stops pumping automatically so the pump is not being deadheaded.
How did you find the barrels? I have been looking at doing something similar but have not been able to find anywhere that sells them at a reasonable price.
I used to work at a brewery and we had a lot of these. They are commonly used to hold chemicals, so if you know someone who works in an industrial setting you may want to check with them. I washed mine several times to make sure any residual was gone before use.
I find them at local salvage yards.
Try FB Marketplace we got ours there 20 bucks 55 gallon.
I got mine through rainbarrel.ca .
How do you fill the other two barrels with water?
The water flows from the first barrel to the others through the pipe setup at the bottom. With all of the valves open, the water level will always be the same across all the barrels. Simple physics.
Wouldn't be easier to use additional three barrels as stands and perhaps even fill them up instead that wooden shelves ?
How do you winterize your water system?
Hey Tim. Our water demands are much lower in the winter so if we have sustained temps below freezing forecasted, the best thing you can do is just drain it.
If u paint them black .no alge
Drill a tiny hole In the top
Drinking water hoses.
When full, that looks like a lot of weight, I hope you have enough support.
Yes, in excess of 1/2 ton when full. It could be problematic if those center 4x4s were merely sitting on soil especially were the ground to become wet but they are likely sitting on massive concrete piers.
@@65csx83 How many pounds to a gallon? Never thought of wet ground, remember weight dispersment, it's how you can lay on a bed of nails.
@@victorwadsworth821 Water is 8 lbs / gallon. When wet, the surface area needed to support a full barrel is about the equivalent of the base of the barrel.
@@65csx83 Good, I tried find it but couldn't. Maybe base with a rout iron grid?
@@victorwadsworth821
8 pounds for 1 US gallon.
10 pounds for 1 British Imperial gallon ( British Imperial measuring system was used in numerous countries before the metric system ).
You straight up don't know how this whole barrel thing works. You need a screen on top for one thing, not just for bugs but for other stuff that comes off the roof. The valves on the bottom even out the levels. You leave them open all the time. The openings on the top are there for overflow to make sure it goes away from the foundation.
Those y splitter are costly.
Then use pvc pipe and fittings to connect them together.
@@robertlong7723 yes! I have instal a few barrels I find that the 275 gal tanks is the way to go. Those 55 gal take so much space and hassle installing those pipes.
too loud