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If you water your garden or lawn during the summer, a rain barrel is a great way to conserve water while keeping your lawn green. Building your own rain barrel is an easy, fast, and low-cost project that will save money on your water bill. One light rain shower can result in full rain barrels within minutes. You may even want to place a rain barrel (or two) under every downspout of your roof's gutter system. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Obtain a 55-gallon plastic food-grade drum, preferably never used. This is the best material for a rain barrel. If your drum has been used, clean and rinse it thoroughly. Never use a drum that has held toxic chemicals or petroleum products.
2. Use the skimmer basket (available at gardening or pool supply stores) to draw a circle on the top of the barrel. Draw another circle 1/2 inch smaller inside the first circle. Drill a hole in the center of the circles using the 1-inch drill bit. With a utility knife, expand the hole to the size of the smaller circle you've drawn. Place the basket in the hole you've cut and using a 1/8-inch drill bit, drill pilot holes through the rim of the basket and barrel. Attach the basket with small screws. Apply caulk along the rim of the basket to create a seal. Cut a square of window screening to cover the basket and attach with more small screws.
3. Drill a 1-inch hole in the side of the barrel 1 to 2 inches from the top and another hole 1 to 2 inches from the bottom. These are your top and bottom drains. Screw the plastic spigots into these holes, then remove them, wrap plumbing tape around the threads and reattach the spigots. Caulk along the seams where the spigots meet the barrel. The top spigot should be left in the open or "On" position to allow overflow water to drain out. Keep the bottom spigot in the "Closed" or "Off" position until it's ready to use. A garden hose can be attached to the bottom drain when you are ready to use the collected rain water.
4. Build a stable platform for your rain barrel with cinder blocks. Keep in mind that a full rain barrel will be very heavy. The barrel should sit at least 12 inches off the ground and should be placed under a downspout on your roof's gutter system to collect the optimal amount of rain water. You may need to adjust your downspout to direct water run-off into the skimmer basket. There should be at least 4 inches of space between the downspout and the barrel.
Tags: rain barrel, downspout your, downspout your roof, full rain, gutter system, inches from, least inches