Hello Everyone,

I was just wondering if anyone knows of a local SJ retailer or online reseller who sells 55 gallon water barrels at a descent price? Also does anyone know of a good method to collect rain water in the barrels or is the better to fill them up with a hose for drinking purposes. Thank you for your help!

Most car washes have the 55 blue barrels that soap comes in try a few of those places that's were I got mine .

Find a wine making store near you they will have them . Also dont use a standard garden hose for drinking water ! Next time your in home depot read the label on some 

Lots of information here: http://water.rutgers.edu/Stormwater_Management/rainbarrels.html

 

Here is a locator for finding a barrel http://www.rainreserve.com/locator/index4.php

 

Also this http://njaes.rutgers.edu/environment/rainbarrel-trainerprogram.asp  They often run workshops, and they have videos on how to make your own.

 

RV hoses are for potable water.

Thank you! How do I know if the barrel is safe for drinking water?

Thank you! How do I know if the barrel is safe for drinking water?

thats why go to a wine making store they can only sell you safe containers .

 

 http://www.corradosmarket.com/home/store-wine.html

As for drinking, what is your roof and gutter system. I'd be more worried about those standard and foreign contamination ( bird crap).

Alway filter and treat your water.

 

If to fill in a backup, buy a white rv hose.

As for drinking, what is your roof and gutter system. I'd be more worried about those standard and foreign contamination ( bird crap).

Alway filter and treat your water.

 

If to fill in a backup, buy a white rv hose.

Everything I've read, which I admit hasn't been much, says that rain barrels are not usually for potable water. The roof material and airborne contaminants that have settled on it are the biggest reason. Most places say you shouldn't use that runoff on eatable plants for the same reason.

Is be more apt to drink from a cedar or copper roof than asphalt. Filtered of course.

 

Keep In mind my friends.

1" of rain over 100 sq feet = @ 60 gal. That's not the roof footage, it's the footprint footage.

 Most places say you shouldn't use that runoff on eatable plants for the same reason.

 

Err .. it rains in my garden all the time. Bird poo in it. Bugs pollinate it. My roof water isn't going to be a heck of a lot more different then rain water. 

 

If you want to drink it, definitely purify it, but for gardens it is probably better then tap as it lacks chlorine, fluoride, and actually has micro nutrients and other minerals removed from tap water. Heck, it is also slightly acidic which is also good for your plants. 

Err .. it rains in my garden all the time. Bird poo in it. Bugs pollinate it. My roof water isn't going to be a heck of a lot more different then rain water.

 

I think the issue with roofs is that the repeated rain/dry and their rough texture allows contaminants to build up. The baking/wetting of the shingles cause them to release things you don't want to eat as well. Again I'm not even a novice in this area.

 

My issue is that my roof is not close to my garden so I'd need to figure out how to get the water in the barrel out to the garden. Would rather not use a pump.

Think of it this way, if you roof released enough material to significantly affect anything, it would decompose in a season, not in 20+ years. 

 

Another thing to consider, is that a lot of that runoff goes onto lawns. Lawns then get clipped and put to the curb, taken to a compost facility and sold back to you as garden fertilizer after they mix in some chicken and cow poo in it. Now, I can't get a cow on the roof so that component is out but ... 

Rainwater harvesting has been going on since the third century BC primarily for agriculture. While on a trip to Bermuda I noticed tanks connected to downspouts on new home construction. Turns out that in Bermuda rainwater harvesting is mandatory by their public works act and they have developed special roof, plumbing and tank collection techniques. I'd still want to filter any water to remove organisms, etc.

 

http://www.gov.bm/portal/erver.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_2_18339_922_232665_43/http%3B/ptpublisher.gov.bm%3B7087/publishedcontent/publish/ministry_of_environment/environmental_protection_new/environmental_engineering/reports/water_supply_report1.pdf

I have a tank with roughly 33,000 gallons of lightly chlorinated water in my backyard

I'd still want to filter any water to remove organisms, etc.

This. Boil too.

Thank you! How do I know if the barrel is safe for drinking water?

Fill it 1/3 of the way with water. Put just enough red food coloring in it until you can see the color in the water. Throw in a 7 lb bag of ice, a cat, and a snake. Cover it and check 24 hours later. Post pics.

Fill it 1/3 of the way with water. Put just enough red food coloring in it until you can see the color in the water. Throw in a 7 lb bag of ice, a cat, and a snake. Cover it and check 24 hours later. Post pics.

I am having trouble to stop laughing!  Good one!!!

Fill it 1/3 of the way with water. Put just enough red food coloring in it until you can see the color in the water. Throw in a 7 lb bag of ice, a cat, and a snake. Cover it and check 24 hours later. Post pics.

Tabby or Siamese?

Thank you everyone for the help! I think I am going to inquire at a few local wineries. Are all the barrels from wineries made of wood or do they use plastic barrels as well?

Rainwater harvesting has been going on since the third century BC primarily for agriculture. While on a trip to Bermuda I noticed tanks connected to downspouts on new home construction. Turns out that in Bermuda rainwater harvesting is mandatory by their public works act and they have developed special roof, plumbing and tank collection techniques. I'd still want to filter any water to remove organisms, etc.

 

http://www.gov.bm/portal/erver.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_2_18339_922_232665_43/http%3B/ptpublisher.gov.bm%3B7087/publishedcontent/publish/ministry_of_environment/environmental_protection_new/environmental_engineering/reports/water_supply_report1.pdf

Growing up in the Caribbean I am quite familiar with the rain barrel and had 3 around the yard all fed by diverted rain gutters off a galvanized roof. Now we had to have it simply because most smaller islands have little in the way of a reliable potable water source other than rain water and in times of drought not even that but mainly we used it for watering the garden,flushing toilets and outboard motors ..... very rarely for cooking or drinking and even then after filtering and boiling.

If your intention is to supplement your drinking water supply I would urge you to investigate the implications of your roofing material, local vegetation and wildlife's impact on said runoff and the equipment and procedures required in order to convert run off to drinkable water.

As you've no doubt seen the somewhat nostalgic idea of a rain barrel in the back yard is somewhat less viable after all the ramifications are considered.....

Good luck.

http://www.bae.ncsu.edu/stormwater/PublicationFiles/RooftopRunoff2009.pdf

 

Conclusion: It is not meaningfully different then rain water plus or minus some bird poo. Use it for whatever you want but don't consider it potable unless filtered. The only harm for plants (and you if you consume the plant) MIGHT be zinc, but not very likely, test your soil occasionally. 

I have a tank with roughly 33,000 gallons of lightly chlorinated water in my backyard

Me too, and I use it to water stuff all the time. Especially this year since I didn't open it so it isn't overly chlorinated. Even when I'm keeping it up the chemical levels are not far off from municipal water.

Be careful collecting your rainwater!  Check local laws first:  http://www.naturalnews.com/046359_oregon_rainwater_collection_big_governemnt.html#

Be careful collecting your rainwater!  Check local laws first:  http://www.naturalnews.com/046359_oregon_rainwater_collection_big_governemnt.html#

Yeah I read about this but then again this guy amassed 13 million gallons in 3 ponds/lakes.....he's way passed the simple rain barrel stage.

I wasn't sure how thirsty the O.P. was. 

What I would do, if the idea is to store water in case of a disruption to the supply, is buy a handful of stainless or food grade plastic barrels, fill them from the tap or some other potable supply and set them aside.

 

No need to worry about contamination and no need to wait for rain.

Be careful collecting your rainwater!  Check local laws first:  http://www.naturalnews.com/046359_oregon_rainwater_collection_big_governemnt.html#

 

Yes, in drought land this is an issue, in NJ you are encouraged to collect rain water. 

I wasn't sure how thirsty the O.P. was. 

Gotcha........................