What is the best rain barrel system for you? That depends upon many factors such as how much you are willing to spend, what sort of uses you anticipate for your new barrel, and of course what sort of yard work you expect to get out of your new barrel. The three things that are most important in determining which is the best barrel system for you are: what you are going to use it for, how much you want to spend, and what type of environment it will be exposed to. Keep reading to learn more about these factors.
First, what is the best rain barrel system for you? There are essentially three options for using your new barrel. You can use it to catch water that falls off your roof or garage roof, catch small debris before they fall to the ground, or to filter large debris after they fall to the ground. Each method has its pros and cons, so consider which technique best suits your needs.
If you want to use your barrel to filter debris before it falls to the ground and starts to decompose, the best rain barrel system for you would be a garden eave system. These eave mesh systems allow you to direct the flow of the water through your gutter to catch falling debris without diverting it into another direction. This means less clean up and less overflow at the end of each day.
The best rain barrels that will work best for filtering heavy-duty plastic debris are those that are made of heavy-duty plastic. Most of these systems will be equipped with strainers that are able to catch the leaking plastic with enough pressure to keep it from overflowing. If you plan on using this system on a roof or garage roof, you should ensure that you buy a gutter guard made from heavy-duty plastic and make sure it is installed properly.
On the other hand, if you plan on setting up an upcycle system where water is directed off of your roof and then recycled back onto the same roof, you should choose a barrel that uses a high flow shower head. The best rain barrel that you can install should have a high-flow shower head connected to a flexible hose with an overflow valve that can be closed by simply closing the overflow valve. One advantage to using a shower head with an overflow valve is that you will be able to close the overflow valve if you need to clean up any leaking plastic. Another great feature of the overflow valve is that it will prevent the water from overflowing and running down the hose and to the ground if you have a rain garden.
The capacity of your rain barrels really depends on what purpose they will serve. If you’re looking for a device to filter and store water from your gutters, you’ll need to purchase a larger capacity barrel. Likewise, if you are considering installing solar panels on your roof, you will want to purchase a large enough capacity barrel with a low slope to allow you to place the tubing over the top of the roof. The capacity will also be determined by how much water you are attempting to store at any given time. An average 8 gallon barrel will typically hold about four gallons of water, so make sure that you keep that in mind when shopping.
After you have selected the best rain barrel that you can afford, it’s time to purchase the hose itself. Rain barrels that use a flexible hose will require that you install a hose of the proper length in order to fit the barrel. When you buy the hose, check the length first and ensure that it will be able to fit through the end of the barrel with no problems. You may also want to consider a longer hosing if you plan on filtering a lot of debris through the barrel. However, if you only plan on filtering small debris, a shorter hose will do just fine.
After you have placed the tank in the middle of the roof, the next step is to attach the spigot and the bottom of the tank to a single point on the roof. To determine what the appropriate spigot capacity is, simply calculate the volume of water that you are planning on storing. If you plan on using the rain barrel for drinking, you will need a larger capacity than if you are just storing water for decoration. You should also ensure that your chosen material will be able to handle the weight of the water from the tank. The best rain barrels on the market will usually come equipped with an aluminum or steel spigot, an adjustable water level, a valve to close the system, a brass spigot, and a hook and loop tape to attach the unit to the roof.
