Minneapolis/St. Paul Nesties
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Rain Barrel?

Hi all - I think that this has been asked but I can't find it so I'm asking again!  Does anyone have good recommendations for a place that sells rain barrels?  DH and I had our house re-sided and we're going to be re-hanging gutters this weekend.  I want to add a rain barrel to one side of the back of our house to use for watering my vegetable garden.

Does anyone have a rain barrel and have good tips for using/maintaining them?  I do know you have to be a little careful about mosquito larvae but that is about the extent of my knowledge.  If you have one - do you love it or is it more of a pain than its worth?  I'd love honest feedback!

Re: Rain Barrel?

  • Be sure you get one with a mesh cover of some sort over the hole that the water goes into.  That will take care of the mosquito problem.

    If you get a plastic one, empty it at the end of the fall and put it in the garage/shed or tip it upside down so water doesn't freeze inside and crack it.   Not sure how to maintain wood ones. 

    Other than that, they're pretty low maintenance.  We like ours so much that we got another one. 

    image
    Tired after a long morning of hiking and swimming.
  • We have 5 rain barrels - got them though the RAM sale in the spring. I've seen them at Midwest Brewing, occasionally at Costco, and also at places like HD & Menards.

    We have the brown plastic style. It has a screen on the top, that completely prevents larvae from getting into the water. Make sure you save the cut pieces of gutter so you can reattach them in the fall/winter. Make sure you use extra zip ties when attaching the overflow tube. If you put them up on stones/blocks/patio pavers - you'll get more water pressure from the extra gravity assistance.

    We love ours! 

    image
    jack | born 9.13.12 at 40w4d | 9 lbs 12 oz | 23 in
    Lilypie First Birthday tickers
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    my puppy loves - chloe & jenson
    pregnancy blog | chart
  • We got ours at Menards, and it's had very little upkeep.  Just fully draining it before winter and maybe a scrub with a stiff brush every once in awhile for cleaning. 
  • ::waves hi at anita!::

     Whole Foods has the wooden ones that I think are really pretty, they run like $100 apiece though...

    Brought home an extra special souvenir from vacation! Lilypie - Personal pictureLilypie First Birthday tickers
  • Thanks all!  It seems that everyone is pretty happy with their rain barrels!  After getting DH over the "you want to do what now?!" reaction, I think he's on board with it too.  Rain barrel - here we come.
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