Gravity Gardener, I am grateful for your directions – the Rain Barrel II is up and ready for precipitation.
Mine cost a little more than 10 dollars, though. The trash can was $10, the two male connectors were $1, the two hoses together were $9, the 1-inch spade bit (because my spade bits were the wrong size) was $5, and the downspout connector was $8. Oh, and the adhesive/sealant was $3, but it’s probably not the right stuff, so it might be worthless. That makes the whole thing….. a hundred dollars, right? Math is hard.
Anyway, the process was hastened along by the arrival of Lloyd’s brothers! We actually expected them tomorrow, but I’m glad they were here tonight. Somebody had to hold that downspout while I devalued it, right? (And also be brave enough to be near that gross stuff that was hidden by said downspout.)
So, the whole process was pretty slick. It was incredibly easy to drill through the plastic. (I wanted to just keep making holes, but knew that would be wrong.) I ran out of pipe tape for the top hole, but…. eh. The adhesive I bought said ‘watertight seal – great for aquariums!’, but in the fine print said, “Not recommended for underwater use.” Do they know what aquariums are for? Whatever. I put a gob on the outside of each spout, so we’ll see how that goes.
This was finished in the nick of time. I saw my first mosquito tonight. (The buckets are what I transferred the original water to. I’ll move that water when the adhesive sets up.)
I think I should get something vine-y to grow up around it, huh?
UPDATE: It rained Friday night! 32 gallons of watery goodness. The photo isn’t great, but I don’t mind.
UPDATE UPDATE: Um, I’m probably going to have to do something about the overflow hose. It’s been raining pretty hard around here lately, the barrel is already full, and I don’t think that the hose’s small diameter can handle the amount of water from the gutters. I’ll do some experimenting and make an update post.
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Is the upper hose the “overflow”?
I don’t know that you can screen that with plants. I might suggest camoflaging it by painting the bottom part to look like bricks and the top part to look like siding.
Yes, it’s the “overflow” – as opposed to the “underflow”, which is the possible leaky seal at the bottom.
If I can’t do plants or paint, I think it’s a pretty good potential robot, right? Some more jointed arms and a laser head?
Now that you’ve done your prototype, will you help me do one? Unless it will cost a hundred dollars, then never mind.
Yes, but I will not cut your downspout. That part has to be done by a homeowner. Lawsuits and everything, y’know.
Wow!! You got that
stillrain bucket put together in no time flat!! Very impressive!!! You the woman!!(BTW: I went shopping the other day for camoflaged pants…but I didn’t see any. Ba-dump-bump)
Our 5 year old, wearing green camo pants called me into the bathroom (grey & white) the other day to point out – “You can’t see me because I am wearing camouflage!” I heard a voice, but where was the kid????
It’s really something… I’m inspired, although not enough to get to work… yet.
I was thinking the same thing, Deanne. Acutally, the post made me tired. I think I’ll take a nap.
Clever!
Looking good… I already had the hoses and tools, but hey, you are ready to build the next one.
Congrats on a job well done!
Thank you!