# Best rain water barrels?



## Batty

I need to get my rain water collection system started. I plan to start with one barrel and add more as my budget allows. Suggestions on brands, styles or stores?


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## HuntingHawk

I initially bought blue syrup 55gal barrels for $20 each but the last ones I bought were $25 each. You have to find what is available in your area.


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## tango

Use only food grade barrels. The ones I got were pickle barrels.


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## GTGallop

What are you going to do with it?
Is this drinking water?
Is this for irrigation?
Just to keep the toilets flowing?
How big is your roof (assume same square footage as your house - divide by 2 if 2 story)?


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## Batty

Mostly to water garden & animals but also as back-up drinking water. We have the house gutters plus several outbuildings to use, as well as the barn. Ideally, I'd like to set up several different rain collection areas as the different animals are spread across the property.


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## HuntingHawk

Mine is mostly for gardening but realsized it may have to be for human use so went with food grade. Water going into the barrels is only screened. I have separate filter systems to purify the water for human use which is ceramic filter with activated charcoal. My thought is why wear out filter for water to be used for gardening, flushing toilet, etc.

My main filter is a 5gal bucket with ceramic filter & 5gal bucket under it for collecting the purified water.


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## RNprepper

N-42040 | 2500 Gallon Water Tank

This is what we have. The roof are of my barn is 36X45 feet. I have a 2500 gal tank on each side of the barn. These tanks will fill completely with less than 2 inches of rain, to give you an idea of how much volume can be collected.

You can place the tanks anywhere you like. They don't have to be right next to the gutter. You can run pipe from the gutter underground, up the side of the tank, and into the tank inlet at the top (or into the side at the top). As long as the tank inlet is 1 inch lower than the gutter, the water will flow into the tank.

At present, we use the water for irrigation. For emergency drinking water, I would either boil it or run it through a biosand filter.


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## HuntingHawk

Hope you have some support under those 2500 gallon tanks as that would be about 20,000lbs.


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## HuntingHawk

.624 gallons of water are collected off every square foot of roof during a 1” rain. You also want to research your annual rainfall.


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## HuntingHawk

I'll use mine as an example:
The tin roof of the shed is 17X22 or 374sqft. 233gal from 1" of rain.
I've eight 55gal barrels that hold the collected water. 440gal maximum.
Average annual rainfall is 50" & lowest rainfall month is 2.5"
So minimum month would be 583 gallons of free water.


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## RNprepper

Yes, Hunting hawk, our water tanks are well supported. We have used them for years. Last year, we got a whopping 6 INCHES of rain - for the entire year. We live in a little "dry vortex" of NW Tucson - the weather skirts around us. Our rain comes basically in two months. Our tanks (13,000 total capacity) filled twice and that is enough for our yearly needs if it were our only source. If your area gets a lot more rain, then less storage capacity is needed. When we lived in Papua New Guinea (300-500 inches per year), we only had a 1,000 gal rainwater tank. That was enough since it was filling almost continuously.


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## HuntingHawk

Yes, the less rainfall you have the more critical it is to collect every drop.


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## HuntingHawk

I figure maximum two toilet flushes per day which would be 300 gallons per month. Even my two months of the year that are under 3" of rain I still easily have that covered SHTF.


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## RNprepper

Awww - luxury to use flush toilets! When the SHTF at our place, it will be the outhouse. Here is a question - maybe a stupid one, but I'm probably not the only one who wonders. Since we have a septic tank, would it work to set up a toilet over the access port? The waste would drop straight into the tank. But since a lot of water would not be flushing with the waste, would this create a big pile accumulating that would end up blocking the whole system? Maybe better to go with a simple outhouse hole???? What do you think?


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## HuntingHawk

Yes, the septic system needs the water or will clogg up. Why do an outhouse when you can use the regular toilet if you have the water for it? Fill the bathtub with water & the water is handy for filling the toilet tank.
You can also do a single solar panel, small controller, battery, & Shurflo 12VDC pump to fill the tub or set it up as demand system like a RV that it automatically fill the toilet bowl.


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## BlackDog

RNprepper said:


> But since a lot of water would not be flushing with the waste, would this create a big pile accumulating that would end up blocking the whole system? Maybe better to go with a simple outhouse hole???? What do you think?


Yes, it would just pile up. Why not just dump water into the toilet, gray water even, to flush?


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## TG

Do you empty the barrels before it gets cold outside or just let the water freeze until spring? I'm new to this.


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## HuntingHawk

Our normal is a freezer every year averaging about 12 hours so I don't worry about here in Florida.

There are some options depending on how severe your winter is. Can cover the barrels with old blankets & quits adding insulation. My guess is in a cold environment you are going to have a wood heater or stove. Heat up some rocks & put them by the barrels at night. If you have an old dutch oven you can put hot ashes in it & then the lid on it & put it by the barrels.


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## HuntingHawk

I know in western Pa most places have a basement & often will have a wood heater as a backup. Put the barrels in the basement & use a pump to move the water.


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## TG

I'm not in a rural area, average city street. It can get -30C, I guess I answered my own question


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## TG

HuntingHawk said:


> I know in western Pa most places have a basement & often will have a wood heater as a backup. Put the barrels in the basement & use a pump to move the water.


I might do that, thanks


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## RNprepper

HuntingHawk said:


> Yes, the septic system needs the water or will clogg up. Why do an outhouse when you can use the regular toilet if you have the water for it? Fill the bathtub with water & the water is handy for filling the toilet tank.
> You can also do a single solar panel, small controller, battery, & Shurflo 12VDC pump to fill the tub or set it up as demand system like a RV that it automatically fill the toilet bowl.


HH, we got 6 INCHES of rainfall last year! I have a family and 3 equines, as well as a garden that needs irrigation. Every drop of collected water is going to be used more purposefully than for flushing waste down the toilet. We simply do not have that luxury. Thanks for the info, however. That's what I suspected would happen to the septic tank.

BTW- the equines (1 horse, 2 mules) are part of the SHTF plan. They are the 4X4 bug out vehicles, the tractors, fuel producers for the methane generator, fuel sources for Dutch oven cooking, home heating sources from highly efficient poo logs, raw material sources for garden compost, and the mode of transportation for goods and services in the new economy. I have 3 years worth of hay stored for them, but they do drink water. Water is for mules before toilets.


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## HuntingHawk

RNprepper, what about using used water to flush with? Use water that has been used for bathing, washing dishes, showers, laundry, etc for the toilet.


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## RNprepper

Good thought, but that gray water will most likely be put on plants. You gotta remember - Arizona. 110 degrees, 6 inches of rain in a year. Best place to be in the winter, but a challenging envirornment June - August.


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## HuntingHawk

TorontoGal, you would have several choices of a pump. You could use a barrel pump like you sometimes see on the back of a truck for pumping diesel fuel. Solar panel, controller, & batteries to run a Shurflo pump. Backup of a stationary bicycle with a 12VDC generator to charge the batteries.


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## HuntingHawk

RNprepper said:


> Good thought, but that gray water will most likely be put on plants. You gotta remember - Arizona. 110 degrees, 6 inches of rain in a year.


Then outhouse will be your best option I think. But there is one more option which would be a composting toilet, not a cheap option though. If you go with an outhouse keep in mind that the deeper it is the longer it will last.


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## HuntingHawk

RNprepper, my neighbors had three horses which I sometimes took care of when they went on vacation. They do consume ALOT of water & I mean alot of water. So bugging out what is the distance to the next water source? If only like a day away, you could rig up a water buffalo like a wagon & have the mules pull it to go get water to bring back to help fill your water tanks. Just think out loud.


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## RNprepper

I am sure the nearest water sources (like golf course ponds) will be ringed by desperate campers who will NOT want me pumping out a tank of water. My home water storage capacity will do us just fine as long as we are careful. Another creative water option is to collect mule pee (like gallons each day) and distill it. It's an awful lot of fluid that is just going into the ground. Could probably water a few good sized vegetable planters. 

If possible, we will consider bugging out to our mountain cabin, but it is 250 miles away and will depend on a lot of factors. If we are already at the cabin when everything falls apart, we have a private well and also a very good spring about a mile away. Right now the well runs off a gas generator. I am looking into putting up a larger solar array that could pump water. If nothing else, the mules would earn their keep hauling water from the spring. 

I have no problem with composting human waste. There are ways to do it safely. An outhouse is a fine option and has served many generations of people.


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## HuntingHawk

I have no problem with composting human waste. There are ways to do it safely.

Having soaker hoses lower then any plant roots. Waste is poured in & water & nutrients will be drawn up to the plants.


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## HuntingHawk

The horse & mule urine if collected can be put in a solar water still to make it palatable & sent right back to them.


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## HuntingHawk

Do you know the voltage & ampere rating of the pump at the cabin? If so I can calculate what you would need for a solar system.


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## HuntingHawk

Just the inverter I would need for my well pump is extremely expensive. 240VAC, 11amp, 60HZ, dual phase.


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## HuntingHawk

240VAC split phase inverter is what I need.


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## HuntingHawk

This is the minimum inverter I can get by with for my well pump:

Aims 4000 Watt 12V 220/240VAC Pure Sine Inverter Charger


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## HuntingHawk

I figure $2,500-3,000 to set up a solar system to run my well pump.


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## HuntingHawk

So what does it take to solar power a 12VDC Shurflo pump?

$110-130 One 80-110watt solar panel
$25-35 One 5-7amp charge controller
$85-100 One deep cycle battery

A large battery case to put the battery & charge controller in. Wire for wiring everything up. Metal for mounting the solar panel. Its low power so you can use regular 12/2 wire unless you have a really long run between the panel & battery or battery to the pump. No inverter needed. 3GPM pump is plenty large enough to move some water around.


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## HuntingHawk

$70 & up for a new shurflo pump from amazon.


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## HuntingHawk

One thing about purchasing barrels is unscrew the plugs & make sure the rubber gasket is there.


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## Oddcaliber

A local supermarket here has rain barrels for $99.00,has a screen on top and fauset on the side. I should get one.


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## tango

You can buy a barrel for about $20.00, a valve and pipe nipple for less than $10.00, and some screen for a couple dollars.
Drill a proper sized hole screw in the valve. Viola!

Check with your local County Extension office, ours holds a class every few months, on water conservation, if you attend the class, they will give you a pre setup barrel.


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