Any Rain Barrels out there?
 

Does anyone have experience with installing/using a rain barrel for irrigation? Seems like a no-brainer with all the rain in Florida; however, a brain is needed (at least for me) to figure out how you hook up a drip system, etc. and get the water distributed where you need it. Is there any automatic way to connect it to the sprinkler system to use? Do the sprinkler system people (such as Greenblades, who installed ours) have any experience here?

Anyone?

Anyone remember the old song...Playmate?
 

Seems that cellar doors were mentioned too...I challenge you...who knows the words?

Several months ago the Daily News featured an article and photos about a Villages couple who had installed rain barrels...their landscaping looked beautiful. If I remember correctly they painted the barrels to blend in with the house and plants. I think the county extension service could help with the mechanics.

When you do the math, it doesn't seem very practical. I have a very large yard (9,000 sq ft) and my irrigation usage can be as high as 15,000 gallons a month. Seems like a couple of 50 gallon rain barrels wouldn't even make a dent in my water bill. Even a normal size yard probably uses 5,000+ gallons a month. Check your own water bill for actual usage.

I had to look it up.
 

back to rain barrels
 

Thanks Carla B - I'll try the extension service - we city girls tend not to think of them as a source. I tried to search the Daily Sun archives for the rain barrel article, but didn't find it.

I looked at my last water bill - 5600 gallons - I have a courtyard villa, so once I figure out how to use the water I collect, I think it might make a difference, at least in the backyard. It's just like recycling - every small effort adds to the cause!

to buy them
 

i saw some great rain barrels at home depot; made by fiskars, and they were about $ 92.00 each. and very nice looking.
jeff
:a040:

Thanks Jeff. Interestingly enough, just when I thought this post died, I saw an article in our local (Clintonville neighborhood in Columbus, OH) about a rainbarrel project and emailed to get on the list for a workshop in March. I know Ohio doesn't have the same heat as the yards/landscaping get down in TV, but there should be some crossover. Hopefully I'll hear back and learn some stuff I can share.

I will also contact the extension service in Sumter County this fall when we move down. I think there are also weekly landscape Q & A sessions with master gardeners at one of the rec centers and plan to attend there also, to see what I can pick up. Will do that this April when we are down for a short visit also.

:2excited:
I love old children's songs! Thanks for making the connection.

Oh playmate,
Come out and play with me
And bring your dollies three
Climb up my apple tree

Shout down my rain barrel
Slide down my cellar door
And we'll be jolly friends
Forever more more more more more

Say, say, oh playmate
I cannot play with you
My dolly's got the flu
Boo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo

Ain't got no rain barrel
Ain't got no cellar door
But we'll be jolly friends
Forever more

Rain barrels
 

I looked at my last water bill - 5600 gallons - I have a courtyard villa, so once I figure out how to use the water I collect, I think it might make a difference, at least in the backyard. It's just like recycling - every small effort adds to the cause![/QUOTE]

In Bermuda we catch the rain from our roof and feed it into a large tank under the house. This provides ALL of our water needs. We get 55" of rain a year, spread fairly evenly each month, and have no need to irrigate our gardens as we grow native species of grass and other plants that survive the climate by themselves.

Maybe the solution for TV is to let us replace the current grass with something requiring less attention.

We can also catch the water from our roof and use it to flush our toilets.

more info soon!
 

I am signed up for a workshop on rain barrels on April 3rd, will post again after that class. Part of the class is getting a rain barrel for $30 (one per household) which I will use in my Ohio backyard. Plan to ask, if it's not part of the workshop, best way to hook up a drip system from the rain barrel, and how to divert the overflow when there is heavy rain. Then, when we move to the Villages this fall, I'll be informed!

gravity feed
 

A friend had a tank in the attic over her garage. I am not quite sure what the details were. The rainwater fed into it with an overflow that went into a tight line drain to the stormwater system. She had it attached to soaker hoses in the beds around the house. This way she could adjust the sprinklers for the lawn so they didn't hit and stain the house stucco and still have nice shrubs and flowers around the house. I think she had some sort of valve to switch them over to city water during a dry spell. memory fails.

Trudy

Rain barrels
 

Quick calculation:

if you have an annual rainfall of 48 inches and you have a 2,000 square foot roof, you have 50,000 gallons of rain falling on your roof each year.

Obviously you can't capture all of that - wind, evaporation etc. - but you can probably get 3,000 gallons a month on average.

As an earlier poster said, you probably need more than rain barrels for storage, but a large plastic tank used for heating oil might be an option. You might not want to put it below ground, as then you would have to pump the water back up to use it, or in your roof as it would weigh a lot when full, but you may have space in your garage or be able to hide it behind a tree. A 5' cube would hold around 800 gallons.

On the way to Altamonte Springs / Orlando via 441 / 436 on the north side of the road on the 436 segment I spotted a place that had very large plastic containers that may have even been plastic cisterns. They would have to be buried and hold a lot of water. Sure it would not provide all the water needed to irrigate the lawn but it sure would help. Next time I am out that way I will stop and check it out.

Come to think of it I think my friend who had one in the attic had added a post in the garage so maybe the weight was an issue and I don't think her tank was big.