Help me NJGF, you are my only hope.

 

Rain barrels. Anyone here have one?

 

Costco had nice looking one on sale and the wife and I picked one up. The plan is it will just be used to water the garden and such.

 

Trying to decide the best way to set one up.

 

Is a diverter necessary or just preferred? I was going to just run the gutter directly into the barrel, but not sure if that's the best way.

 

Also, how high does it need to be off the ground? I bought two big pavers (they are bigger than the footprint of the barrel and a lot 1.5" thick) and was going to stack them, but I am not sure that 3" will get it high enough.

 

All experience and all insights are welcome!

HE, I read some comments on a few models by purchasers on Amazon.

 

One suggestion was to elevate the barrel. I believe to make the spigot more accessible.  They used something similar to cinder blocks.

 

Also mentioned was cascading them.  Your roof will dump a lot of rain ...unless you live in one of those mini-trailer homes.... and you will go through water quickly.  So multiple barrels seem to be the game plan for the serious water catcher types.

 

http://www.amazon.com/RTS-Accents-50-Gallon-Collection-Barrel/dp/B001AYKERO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1463515642&sr=8-3&keywords=rain+barrels

 

Comment by "Shawn" was pretty thorough.

Pool stores sell cloth screens that would probably catch the grit from roof shingles pretty well. $10 for a pack of 5.  You could pull-tie whatever you use for that.

 

Good point Nick.

I think everyone is overthinking this.  Everything on your roof came from the outdoors.  It's the same stuff that is going to end up in the rain water that waters your garden anyway. 

 

I prefer to let my rain water run down through my 100' sand-based water filtration system into the aquifer I pump clean water from.   Running the pump costs less than buying a rain water collection system.

two words....bird poop.

I've read that you need a screen or cloth at the top to keep bugs/mosquitoes from spawning in it. Also the runoff from a shingle roof cannot be used for consumption or watering anything that will be consumed.

 

 

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We get them free here, some sort of program in conjunction with Coca Cola bottling company. You might want to check the NJDEP website and call up their bureau of water and see if they have a program.

 

No idea why you would use it to water plants unless you are a tree hugger. It's not going to save you any real money.

 

During the extended power outage after Sandy I put buckets under the roof leaders to generate water. I would settle it and treat it and use it for washing dishes and flushing toilets. Keep in mind that grocery stores were stripped bare. I did not have a DC pump sufficient to get water from my well, although I could have used a foot valve if I ran out of drinking water.

Rutgers has a traveling workshop on the subject, in which they teach you how to make them and use them and then you get to take one home:

 

 

http://www.water.rutgers.edu/Stormwater_Management/rainbarrels.html

 

Dunno where their next stop/workshop is but the page has lots of information on the subject

The question I've always had is how you get the water from the barrel to the garden/plants. You're not going to get much flow from the hose. Especially if your plants are spread around the house/yard.

 

 

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Submersible 1/4 hp pump.   $48 on AMZN.  Decent flow.  

 

Bigger options available.  Had one that lasted three years.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Superior-Pump-91250-Thermoplastic-Submersible/dp/B000X05G1A?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00

 

From the little I've read, people seem to use it to water landscaping and to some extent, lawns.  But lawns need a lot more water than you'd collect in rain barrels.

 

Saw somewhere in an ad, looked like mountainous areas of Colorado, where a company installed underground water storage tanks.  Like 8000 or 10,000 gallon tanks.  Maybe bigger.   Not sure where the water came from.  Could be a combination or rain water, snow run off and well.  Dunno.  Tank was friggin huge....  

 

A link for anyone curious

 

http://www.rainharvestingsupplies.com/underground-water-tanks/

 

From some other site... examples of their installs.

 

Sayreville Center (New Jersey): Underground fiberglass storage tanks for commercial landscape irrigation from rainwater harvesting / 35,000 gallons

 

The question I've always had is how you get the water from the barrel to the garden/plants. You're not going to get much flow from the hose. Especially if your plants are spread around the house/yard.

 

 

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A few feet of head will give you quite a flow of water. It won't get to 80 psig, or operate a sprinkler, but you can get more than comes out of your tap with a larger fitting.

 

Why you would want to use rain water to water your garden is a different issue. Makes zero sense to me. I look at it more as a survival tool.

 

Submersible 1/4 hp pump.   $48 on AMZN.  Decent flow.  

 

Bigger options available.  Had one that lasted three years.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Superior-Pump-91250-Thermoplastic-Submersible/dp/B000X05G1A?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00

 

From the little I've read, people seem to use it to water landscaping and to some extent, lawns.  But lawns need a lot more water than you'd collect in rain barrels.

 

Saw somewhere in an ad, looked like mountainous areas of Colorado, where a company installed underground water storage tanks.  Like 8000 or 10,000 gallon tanks.  Maybe bigger.   Not sure where the water came from.  Could be a combination or rain water, snow run off and well.  Dunno.  Tank was friggin huge....  

 

A link for anyone curious

 

http://www.rainharvestingsupplies.com/underground-water-tanks/

 

From some other site... examples of their installs.

 

Sayreville Center (New Jersey): Underground fiberglass storage tanks for commercial landscape irrigation from rainwater harvesting / 35,000 gallons

 

Cool stuff, thanks for the link. Would be awesome to have in a survival complex of sorts. 2500 gallons of drinking water can last quite some time, and something like this wouldn't take space like a few hundred cases of water would, haha.

The 'only' thing I do not like about them is that I would not use that water to water a vegetable garden.......  Other than that normal plants etc fine......

 

 

1. Why?

 

2. General question: How do you keep the water from growing stuff, or do you?

On the other hand it rains on my garden fairly regularly, birds and bugs poop in it, etc, etc.  One can take the fear of chemicals in the collected rain waters too far.  

 

Yes, your roof can collect more bacteria and bird poop then the birds will poop directly in your garden, so don't spray it on the growing vegetables, let it soak into the ground, the plants act as bacteria filters.  Yes your roof can have some contaminants from the roofing materials, so look at water barrel systems that allow material to settle and do not draw from the very top or very bottom and occasionally flush your system. 

 

It is not as if most of the food we eat was watered with fresh glacier melt or something, quite the opposite, and then it is sprayed with oceans of pesticides and herbicides and preservatives before they show up "fresh" in ShopRite. I'm betting your roof water might actually be better for your plants then what you buy at the store. 

 

The other thing is that natural rain water is rich in all sorts of nutrients your plants crave, where you hose water from the municipal plant might not be. Ever notice how you can water the crap out of your plants but they do better after a little rain? Well water might help more, but not all of us have that. 

The other thing is that natural rain water is rich in all sorts of nutrients your plants crave

 

Sorry that just reminded me of Brawndo...

Sorry that just reminded me of Brawndo...

You just made me snort coffee out my nose!!! Lmao!

Sorry that just reminded me of Brawndo...

 

You think that was accidental? You think that air you are breathing? Hmm. 

two words....bird poop.

I have a buzzard or two using my roof as a dinner table. I'm always finding carcasses from squirrels, smaller birds and other animals on my roof.

#6 shot

Thinkin' #2.  They're pretty big.

Because of the possibility of introducing additional man made contaminants to the water that might adversly effect the plant material that I will be eating.  Note the links that I provided for above that show toxins etc in the water run off from roof and/or the potential thereof.

 

I do not think you can, the plant absorbs nutrient and moisture from the water soil mix to assist in growth right?  So introduce other contaminants that maybe in the water, why take a chance?

 

My well is 180ft deep and the water, thankfully is crystal clear.  However, surface water even over in Glenwood, is not something that I would trust due to all the lawns, vehicles etc. from the oils fertilizer road salts etc.  A friend of mind even complained about the lagoons in south Jersey being contaminated from the lawn care groups and actually stopped eating crabs caught in those waters

 

Considering this is NOT for a survival situation, why take the risk for your family?  If this is a survival situation you do what you need to do, but then you take other measures, boiling other filtration etc.  That is why I have on hand a https://www.katadyn.com/us/us/470-8013618-katadyn-pocket_usa at a minimum and I am saving for this - https://www.katadyn.com/us/us/257-8016389-katadyn-expedition

 

(also in response to subsequent posts)

 

 

1. Roofing materials are not soluble in water. Otherwise the shingles would weaken and/or wash away. 

2. Even if leachable chemicals were present, eventually they'd leach out

3. Chances of your plants soaking up those leachables even if they existed is very slim. Glues, epoxies, asphalt...plants don't take up that crap

4. Bird poop and dead squirrel crap on the soil feeding your veggies...organic matter. 

5. You're not afraid of miracle grow right?

replace your roof with copper.

problem solved.

 

 

snark aside, i've plans to eventually install water capturing and treatment equipment to make potable water, the majority of the equipment would be designed to be unpowered.  only intended powered equipment would be lift pumps to then let gravity do its job.  partially to create a backup in case SHTF (again) and partially because I want to see how far off the various utlities I can get.

Does anybody water their gardens with water that was exposed to the chemicals in a rubber of their garden hose?  That was transported through the Poly-Vinyl-Chloride pipes from the well, or that comes from a waste water treatment plant that separates water from people poop, dumps in chlorine to kill what they couldn't separate, and pumps it back to your house? 

 

I'll eat the crabs, even if somebody said the water is contaminated.   Yum, crabs.

I know where you can get some crabs. Her name is Cincinnati Cinnamon and she works in Salem County.

Does anybody water their gardens with water that was exposed to the chemicals in a rubber of their garden hose?  That was transported through the Poly-Vinyl-Chloride pipes from the well, or that comes from a waste water treatment plant that separates water from people poop, dumps in chlorine to kill what they couldn't separate, and pumps it back to your house? 

 

I'll eat the crabs, even if somebody said the water is contaminated.   Yum, crabs.

 

 

please. the iron content in my water is outstanding.  I'll never be iron deficient!

Read where there are some tax rebates for using water barrel program.............

This may be of some interest.........  https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/documents/1403003.pdf

 

http://www.harvestingrainwater.com/2014/07/08/hidden-toxins-in-roofing-materials-from-which-we-harvest-water/

 

http://www.improvementcenter.com/blog/metal-roofs-making-comeback-asphalt-roofs-toxic-lead.html

 

I personally would not use roof runoff water direct from the roof for potable use for food (veggies) or pet/human use without adequate filtration.

 

I would not want to consume liquid that was run off my roofing system...  YMMV

 

 

Cool links (well mostly the first one) I had been looking for stuff like that. 

 

Taken from them, runoff from a moder algae resistant asphalt shingle primarily had issues with arsenic. NO lead, no zinc, no copper, no cadmium. 

 

The arsenic was 0.3 ug/L which is 0.0003mg/L 1ppm of water is 1mg/L  The acceptable levels for arsenic in drinking water are 10ppb. which is 0.010 parts per million. THe runoff tested well below the levels for drinking water on modern shingles for our general region (test was PA). 

 

So....

 

For those I'd be more concerned about bird poop and communicable diseases. 

I know where you can get some crabs. Her name is Cincinnati Cinnamon and she works in Salem County.

Off topic!

 

 

(...Pls PM details...)

I know where you can get some crabs. Her name is Cincinnati Cinnamon and she works in Salem County.

 When I get crabs from Salem, I prefer Marty's in Quinton.  But Cincinnati Cinnamon sounds nice too.