Rain Barrel Anyone?

holdn5

Our backyard is a hot mess and is going to require a LOT of watering and maintenance this summer in hopes of brining it back or come fall, some sod. I like to water our yard, but 1. hate paying the water bill and 2.know it's not always best. I'd like to get something LIKE THIS add a motor in order to use a sprinkler.

Does anyone have a rain barrel? I'm curious as to how much water we'd actually go through in term of the gallon size we'd need. Heck, I have no idea how many gallons I use for an hours worth of watering. Any feedback would be appreciated!

alliapistor

I got a rain barrel last year and it only really worked for the plants that were near the barrel.  There just wasn't enough pressure to supply my soaker hose or push the water into a long hose.  Maybe with a motor, it would solve that problem?  With a motor, you'll need to position it near an outlet.

Attached to a downspout, they can fill up very quickly so you'll need some method of dealing with the overflow.

As for how much water - one estimate I read indicated 240 gallons for an hour with a home "sprinkler system."  Not sure with a standard, single sprinkler. 

Jennrs

alliapistor:

I got a rain barrel last year and it only really worked for the plants that were near the barrel.  There just wasn't enough pressure to supply my soaker hose or push the water into a long hose.  Maybe with a motor, it would solve that problem?  With a motor, you'll need to position it near an outlet.

Attached to a downspout, they can fill up very quickly so you'll need some method of dealing with the overflow.

As for how much water - one estimate I read indicated 240 gallons for an hour with a home "sprinkler system."  Not sure with a standard, single sprinkler. 

How big is your barrel? Do you have a method for dealing with the overflow? We're thinking about getting a barrel too. I'm trying to determine how big it will need to be and I'm worried about overflow.