How to build a rain water collector

Step 42 Final thoughts

This is it.

A few final thoughts:

• The hose that drains from the top to the bottom barrel would benefit from being wider. Water can only pass through as fast as the smallest opening can handle. If I were to re-do it, I'd try to drill or cut a wider hole to accept wider fittings and tubing.
• There is most likely a way to pressurize the system with an air compressor for applications that need more pressure than gravity such as sprinkler systems.
• The bottom barrel would most likely benefit from a small hole drilled above the water line to let out air as it gets replaced with water. This will allow the top barrel to drain into the bottom barrel faster and at a more steady rate.

Comments

[Discojess]

This is amazing. I've been planning to put a system in, this one is very attractive. I was also wondering about the air hole situation, so, as you have it, the air I'm assuming just escapes through the gutter? Also, if you drilled a hole in the top of the bottom barrel, would it then squirt out of that hole once the top barrel starts to fill, since the pressure will be coming from higher than the hole? maybe some kind of a hose that goes from the air hole to above the highest barrel... this is awesome.

[iPodGuy]

Not quite. The air escapes through the very top bung. There is about 1/4 inch clearance with the inlet pipe and the top bung. The air comes out of there as well as extra water. So, the only thing the gutter does is divert the water to the barrels. I guess if you put a hose from the top edge of the bottom barrel to the top edge of the top barrel, it would cause the bottom one to fill more. It's not something I'm going to try however since it already saves me enough. If you are really concerned with getting every single possible drop, then try making a system with upright barrels.

[jeffeb3]

Upright barrels is a good idea. Keep in mind, that no matter what the shape of the container, the final pressure of a gravity powered tank is proportional to the depth, assuming no resistance in that hose. So a vertical system could possibly be much more pressure.

For your implementation, you can just add a hose from the top-back of the bottom barrel to any place in the top barrel (it doesn't have to be in the upper bucket air pocket). This will serve two purposes 1) allow water to fill in the upper part of the bottom barrel; 2) increase the amount of flow from the top barrel to the bottom.

Great instructible, I know it's old. I'd be interested in you updating it with a follow up.

I plan to buy a couple barrels, and then convince my wife to let me do something like this.

[iPodGuy]

Thanks for the comment.

What would you like to be updated on?

[jeveda12]

hey you getting your barrel only half way full, you should load the watter from the back.  rigth?
just a sugestion . i will do my like that.
thanks

[iPodGuy]

You can load it from any way you want.

[W6LSN]

Nice! 

If you want to take advantage of the full drum volume, add a "dip tube" so that the water is deposited in the bottom of the drum rather than at the top.  Problem w/dip tube in your configuration is the bending force it would put on the bung. 

I'd love to do this and this looks nice enough my wife would approve.  Too bad we get the majority of our rain in just a few months time.

[corter0id]

iPodGuy, te felicito!!! Muy bueno

[dykhouse]

I like your idea to stack them vertically to save space. Your end result looks very nice!

What about an overflow (or did I miss that)? I recently built some rain barrels and found out the hard way that you need to expect to overflow these things, and plan for where you want that water to go. In planning for my barrels, I read that 1" of rain on a 1000 sq. ft. roof is about 650 gal. (That isn't that much rain on that big of a roof. Potentially, half of that rain on half of that roof would still overflow your barrels.) I originally just connected a 3/4" garden hose near the top of my barrel, but even that gets overwhelmed during a spring deluge.

I ended up plumbing the side near the top for a 2" (I think) PVC drain that directs the flow nicely away from the base of my stand and barrels.

I assume from your note about lower Michigan that you live there, so I also wonder about redirected water out of your barrels to store for the winter. I'm afraid if you leave water in there all winter, you might be posting again next spring on the rebuild/replacement of barrels.

[iPodGuy]

Overflow - Yes, you missed that part of the instructable.  There are two ways for the extra water to run out and even in heavy rains I have no problems with flooding or gutter backup.

I do not live in Michigan.  I'm in New Jersey and I do not use my barrels during the winter for the reason you stated.

[charlessenf-gm]

Great project. One question: "Why are the barrels not level?" Or, is it an optical delusion I'm having?

[gwalker107]

I think that it aids the water in going to the right places. That way gravity is doing the work of moving the water.

[charlessenf-gm]

OK, understand your intent. But it is not necessary. Water seeks its own level irrespective of the shape of the vessel/container. In effect, you have diminished the holding capacity of the barrels significantly. They can hold no more water than indicated by a level line drawn from the bottom of the outlet through the barrel.

[Discojess]

well, I think that if it did diminish the holding capacity, all he would have to do is drill a hole in the top of the bottom barrel, install a hose, and run that hose higher than the second barrel. Then the second barrels water wouldn' t push past it's own height.

[SpiroExDeus]

Following on from that to ensure both barrels are completely filled you would have to rack the second barrel a bit higher so that the bottom of the tilted top barrel was slightly higher than the top of the tilted bottom one. The water would then have to go from gutter to top of the back of the top barrel then out of the bottom at the front of the same barrel and into the top at the back of the bottom barrel. However it's only a slight tilt and it's two barrels so is it worth the extra bother for just a tiny bit more storage capacity? Consider that if you're using this constantly for your garden there's not often going to be times when it reaches full capacity anyway...

[charlessenf-gm]

"not often going to be times when it reaches full capacity anyway" Actually, that is not the case. When you have rain, you need not water your garden - often for several days thereafter.. Thus, the barrel remains full, once filled, until the need for watering next arises. Then a portion is drained off for that purpose. One hopes that, with every rain, their barrels reach full capacity. Thus full capacity is a regular occurrence most fondly to be wished for so that empty barrels are not the norm. A barrel half full. (;harles

[charlessenf-gm]

The barrels appear to be canted, with th "bottoms" higher than the "tops." All the plumbing is routed into and out of, the respective "tops" of the two barrels. Thus, there would be captive air at teh rear "bottom" of each barrel ad neither would be able to hold its rated capacity. I was simply asking "why" this design feature. A query, not a criticism. If, for instance, the barrels had been mounted level, or even with the "bottoms" lower than the "tops," this (captive air) would not occur.

[iPodGuy]

Maybe I can clear this up. The barrels are at an angle and yes, the design does cause the barrels to trap air. Connecting a line to the bottom air pocket and the top air pocket would most likely take away all of the air pocket in the bottom barrel since the air (and any extra water) would just vent back to the top barrel. I tilted them so they would drain more completely, thus reducing my chances of growing algae, mosquitoes or a buildup of muck. With my design, could you eliminate the top pocket of air too? Probably, but it would involve moving the inlet to the back of my system.

[a rigger]

First, I'll say that I used this design myself and I really like it. The Bunk-bed style is definitely superior. This summer I'm hoping to make a triple decker! I debated the angle for a while and now I'll ask this of the 'ibles community: If you tilt them more they'll get emptier but not as full. If you tilt them less, they'll get fuller but not as empty. My barrels even have a little diagram the depicts emptying the barrel at 30* for most efficient emptying. I went with about 10-15* to find the the happiest medium. can any of you mathmagicians give me the best answer? What is the optimal angle to get the most usable volume and still empty as completely as possible?

[charlessenf-gm]

You can determine the remaining water level easily enough using a scale drawing of your barrel viewed as a simple rectangle with the bottom of the opening of the discharge port held steady as you raise the rar of the "barrel" diagram. At level, the remaining water volume would be represented by a line parallel to the line representing the side (now "bottom" of your barrel) at a height equal to that of teh height to the bottom of your discharge port.

Assuming (for the purposes of this discussion) that your discharge port is at the RIGHT and you raise the left end of the barrel 15 degrees, the line from the bottom of the discharge opening will, now, intersect the line representing the bottom of the barrel forming a triangle. As you increase the incline/slope (to say 25 degrees), this triangular area is reduced in size (and implicitly, volume).

Following this exercise through the natural progression (increasing the angle) will continually reduce the area of the triangle (and, implicitly, the volume), until the angle is nearly 90 degrees.

Try it.

The best way to evacuate a horizontal barrel would be to have the discharge opening pierce the side of the barrel and be welded to the exterior so that no part of the discharge pipe intrudes into the barrel itself. With such an approach the barrel could be level or tilted but two degrees to accomplish what you desire.

Draw a circle. If you put the drain at any point above the very bottom of the circle, your vessel will retain that much more fluid.

What you could do, is to weld/braze a female threaded bit of pipe fitting to the outside of your barrel. Then, use a drill bit as large as will comfortably fit through this fitting* (w/o touching the threads!) and bore a hole into the barrel.

Then, screw your discharge piping to this fitting. THis should put your discharge a the lowest point in the barrel and require but a degree or two of "tilt" to fully evacuate the vessel.

• If you buy a 1.5" fitting, you will be able to bore a pretty decent sized hole through the barrel proper. Them, use a reducer fitting to get to the 3/4 inch or 1/2 inch piping you prefer to use.
  

Of course, if you search Craigslist (or similar), or check the Tractor Supply online catalog, you may find a 275 gallon container in a steel cage for as little as 60 - 75 bucks. They come with a six-inch top opening a 2-inch valve and consume about four square feet of real estate and are about four foot tall.

This equates to a stack of five (5) fifty-five gallon steel drums.

[chrismartinwc]

If the gutter feed were attached to the high side (top back) of the barrell, in addition to the connection from the bottom barrell air pocket, you would probably kill two birds with one stone. The water flow would be stronger and it would be using the gutter feed as the air escape (which would cause the airflow naturally). Just a thought. I like the design, it's simple and effective. Chris

[Bernie99]

iPOD guy... loved your images. I want to build similar to that to water my vegetable garden. You only need one thing to clear air from the lower barrel - an air vent. You can use a Watts FV4-M1 or similar. The one i mentioned is by Watts Regulator. It's cheap too. Put it on the high point of the bottom barrel. It will vent when air is present and close when water forces it's way up. It's usually used on heating radiators. Cheers, Bernie

[Tzimovo]

Nice looking water reservoir and a nice Instructable. But I'd suggest to use metal "shoes" for the wooden poles. Wood directly within concrete/soil will quickly rot, the metal shoes are used so that the wood can dry off after rain and thus it lasts a lot longer.

[peverbian]

A hole in the bottom barrel will let the top barrel empty into the bottom completely, and out that hole. One solution would be to put a hose from that hole and have the open end higher than any of the barrels in the system. As for pressure, making it higher would increase the pressure, this is why we have water towers. A one way valve on the bottom barrel and an air compressor would be another solution (you don't want the air pressure pushing water up out the top. Gotta love hydro/pneumatics

[Jural]

Very good Instructable. You may want to add a "Y" in the drain line. Fast flowing water will go past, but once the barrels are filled it will vent the excess out the open leg of the "Y".