is this a good rain barrel?

jazzymaddy 8/24/2011, 8:32 pm

Just found this on craigslist for 30 smacks, and was wondering if I should purchase it. Should I hold out for a black one?

is this a good rain barrel? Rain_b10

Thanks!

boffer 8/24/2011, 8:40 pm

jazzymaddy wrote: Should I hold out for a black one?...

No. Buy it. Spray paint is cheap if you decide black has sufficient advantages.

littlesapphire 8/24/2011, 9:41 pm

Go for it! Rain barrels are expensive Shocked

squaredeal 8/25/2011, 5:25 pm

How many gallons is it? We have two white 25 gallon ones in our community garden (a small shed provides the guttering for the barrels.) Even though they are in shade they get awfully icky inside. The water comes out brown. (Premade compost tea!) Biggest problem is the spout is at the 20 gallon line, so anything below that is unavailable. I, myself, for my 4 squares, used at least 5 gallons a day during the hot spell. And, after all, you won't use it if you get regular rain. Our master gardener would sometimes try to clean it out and refill it with well water - the well is 300 feet away.

Bottom line - you might want to think through your entire plan for watering your garden and how the barrel will fit with it.

jazzymaddy 8/25/2011, 7:01 pm

Thanks everyone. You have given me great things to think about.

Glendale-gardener 8/25/2011, 7:20 pm

Black would def be great because of the algae but the only black ones I've ever seen on Craigslist were used to store either chemicals or oil. So white is great- white usually means it was used for soap or some other non-scary substance.

I have several white ones and 2 are totally shaded and one gets a ton of sun. The sunny one is filled with algae, kind of gross. This hasn't really posed much of a problem for me so I haven't pulled it yet but I plan to either paint it this winter or tarp it in some manner. I filled a watering can with it once and the algae kept clogging up the showerhead.

shannon1 8/26/2011, 1:38 am

Black would be a problem for me because of the heat since mine is going in a sunny location. It would be nice for the month or two of cold weather we have though. Wink

If the barrel is food grade plastic, and it has a lower and upper spout I think it would be great.

happycamper 8/26/2011, 2:49 am

I agree with many of the comments listed above. I have several rain barrels and the only issue I have had is with one barrel, it is a 55 gallon white drum type. The algae that was created from sunlight was nasty and clogged the watering cans.

I moved the barrel to the north side of the house that has 100% shade and the problem was resolved.

I would buy it and either keep it out of direct sunlight or paint it a dark color and it will give you many years of service. Save that water bill!

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