Rain Barrel Project

All of us must do what we can to conserve resources and reduce our footprint on Earth. I made a small baby step in that direction yesterday by purchasing a rain barrel kit. More detailed instructions can be downloaded from the Cobb County, GA Water Department, which is the county where I live.

I was so excited that as soon as I got home I began work immediately. In following the instructions I wish to share two lessons learned:

• Make sure you get all the plastic shavings out from the drilling. Otherwise they may clog the faucet.
• When you put the screen mesh over the drain cover, make sure you leave plenty of extra overlap. Otherwise the screen will come out of the zip tie when you try to put the assembly in the hole.

Once installed in my backyard, I tested the rain barrel by spraying water on the roof. Viola! It worked. However, I quickly had a big surprise — as the rain barrel begin filling it started leaning forward and almost fell. I remedied the problem by adding another brick near the front.

The drain plug (the little black thing at the bottom) allows you to drain out all the gook at the bottom on occasion. This is stuff that settles below the faucet.

This is perfect for my garden, which is downhill from the rain barrel. All I need to do is hook up a hose and I can easily irrigate my vegetables.

Below are instructions:

Obtain the following materials:

• a sturdy barrel
• mesh screen
• plastic faucet
• steel washer
• o-ring
• long zip tie
• plastic elbow
• plastic drain cover
• down spout flex elbow
• #1 or #2 plug

Tools/Equipment needed:

• drill
• 7/8” paddle bit
• 5/8” paddle bit
• jig saw
• scissors
• channel lock

Step 1. Cut an opening in the top of the barrel the size of the drain cover.

Step 2. Cut a piece of mesh screen slightly larger than the drain cover. Secure the mesh screen
to the drain cover with the zip tie. Insert the drain cover into the opening on top of the
barrel.

Step 3. Drill one hole at the bottom to drain the barrel. Put the plug in the bottom hole.

Step 4. Drill a hole for the faucet, approximately 6 inches from the bottom.

Step 5. Placing a large steel washer over the faucet threads. Slide an o-ring over the faucet
threads. Place the faucet into the hole in the barrel and screw a plastic elbow onto the
assembly from the inside of the barrel.

Step 6. Cut the downspout to just above the rain barrel. Attach the downspout flex elbow to the downspout.

Step 7. Slide the rain barrel under the spout lining up the mesh screen opening with the spout. Spray water on the roof and check to make sure the rain barrel and mesh opening are in
the right location.

Step 8. Optional: paint your rainbarrel using Krylon Fusion paint.

Step 9. Use water collected with rain barrel for gardening purposes.