If you are looking to conserve water, rain barrels are a terrific option. The rain harvesting devices allow you to collect water that would otherwise just run off of your property and never get used. As this method of collecting water is gaining popularity, the number of these rain barrels on the market has been increasing recently. This review is of the Achla RB-03 model.
Just from an initial visual appearance, this rain barrel different than most others. Today, most of the rain barrels that you can find on the market today are round. The Achla RB-03 is rectangular. From a placement standpoint, this type of shape offers great advantages — chiefly the fact that it is flat on its side means that you can place it closer to a wall without have any wasted space. Since it’s rectangular, it also takes up far less space than most round barrels.
Another advantage that this particular rain barrel has over other rain barrels is its color — it’s brown. The brown shade allows the barrel to blend in with most, typical garden environments and color schemes. A number of other rain barrels are green, and although green is probably a color that you think of with regard to gardening, the green barrels usually jump off the scene, visually, and are therefore quite noticeable. Of course, you may not view this as an advantage as color selection is a very personal decision.
The Achla has it spigot on the very bottom of the barrel. This is superior to most other rain barrels as it allows you to harvest all of the water from the barrel without having to tip it over which can be clumsy and awkward.
Since the barrels are rectangular, instead of round, you can easily place multiple units right next to one another. This allows you to collect even more rain water and store it in a smaller space. This is a great way to conserve water, save money, and help the environment.
A vast majority of the rain collection barrels that you can buy today are made of some type of plastic. The Achla RB-03 rain catcher is no exception. It too is made of durable plastic so it will last a very long time. Unlike most other models, it has a very nice, wood-grained finish.
There are many rain barrels on the market today. The Achla RB=-3 has many distinct advantages over some of the other rain barrels for sale today. If you are in the market to purchase one or more rain barrels, this model is worth consideration.
Collecting rain water is a great thing to do. It helps on several levels. It allows you to do something good for the environment by reusing water instead of wasting it. It lowers your over expenses as you can use the water instead if turning on your garden hose and getting more municipal water.
You can collect a lot of water coming off of your roof. The Achla RB-03 holds 50 gallons. Many rain barrels host about this much water. Since these barrels fit next to each other easily, you could get several and collect considerably more water — i.e. if you have three barrels lined up right next to each other, you can collect 150 gallons of water before you would need to harvest the water.
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As you can see, many people consider the Achla RB-03 one of the more worthwhile rain collection barrels available. If this is not the product for you, click here to see the best selling rain barrels for sale today
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Using rain barrels with a rain spout diverter to collect rain water is one of the easiest ways you can conserve water. A rain barrel diverter in conjunction with rain barrels can have you saving water and money in no time. Putting a rain barrel at the bottom of your downspout allows you to passively collect water as it rains. It couldn’t be easier. And you are collecting water that would normally runoff down your storm drain. Your roofline consolidates the rainfall, it then flows through your gutters and downspout into the rain barrel.
While this is straightforward and efficient, there is one problem that you can have. What happens when the barrel is full? If your rain barrel doesn’t have an overflow hose or spout, then you could wind up with the rain barrel overflowing, and if this is near your home, you could actually wind up with a bit of damage to your foundation. This is easily remedied with the use of a rain spout diverter.
How Does a Rain Spout Diverter Work?
The Rain Saver Rain Spout Diverter Unit works by allowing rain water to fill up your rain barrel. Once the barrel is full, the water saver reservoir fills up. When this reservoir is full, the water pressure prevents water from flowing into the rain barrel, but instead it flows to the usual drainage system. There is a seven foot hose that comes with the system. This allows for the rain barrel to be placed away from your home in a less conspicuous, or more spacious area.
The Rain Saver Rain Spout Diverter Unit works as advertised. It comes in two sizes: three inches, or four inches. These sizes correspond to your gutter size, so make sure to measure your downspout before you order. As with most rain water diverters this unit has a bit of overflow in an extreme rain situation. Otherwise it works well, and unlike other rain spout diverters, with the Rain Saver Rain Spout Diverter Unit, you don’t have to go out in the rain to manually adjust the diverter.
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Rain Barrels make collecting rainwater one of the easiest things you can do to reduce water consumption. While you shouldn’t collect rainwater for drinking purposes, rainwater is acceptable for use in your landscaping and gardening endeavors.
There are many different types of rain barrels available. You can even resort to using old garbage cans or buckets. But these are not ideal. Most commercially available rain barrels have several features that make them much more desirable and easy to use than that old garbage can you have standing around. And we all know, if it’s easier to use you are more likely to use it. Since water conservation is the name of the game these days…
Today we will be reviewing the Algreen 81001 Cascata Rain Barrels Water Collection and Storage System in the 65 Gallons size. The 81001 is twenty pounds, 25 inches wide and 43 inches tall. It is made from molded plastic that won’t crack, chip, or fade. It is double walled for extra strength and durability. It comes with a corrosion proof screen guard and removable crown planter, meaning you can put a plant on top so it doesn’t just look like an empty pot. And it has brass spigot and hook to hang your garden hose.
Personally, I would not consider a rain barrel that didn’t have a spigot and hose attachment at the bottom. This makes getting to your collected rainwater so much easier. Instead of having to slop around in your rain barrel (and this gets quite messy once you’re near the bottom of the barrel, not to mention the waste from all the spillage) you can simply flip the spigot and collect water into a watering can, or use a hose to water your plants directly from the barrel.
This unit is really attractive. In fact, it is one of the most attractive rain barrels out there. It looks like a large terra cotta planter and you can put in a beautiful flowering plant. It is also very easy to assemble.
I did not mention the hose that comes with it above when I was describing the product. That is because is should be replaced.
And my one negative is that, while it has an overflow spout, this does not come with a hose. Even if there was a hose available the spigot is not large enough to handle a heavy downpour and the resultant overflow. This is easily remedied however, by using a rain barrel diverter.
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Overall, this is a really beautiful and well made product. I highly recommend the Algreen 81001 rain barrel as one of the better rain barrels on the market today.
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A Rain Barrel Diverter can help to collect water. Water is a precious commodity and many of us are facing water restrictions, but even if you’re living in an area that is not restricting water usage, collecting rainwater for use in your garden is a good thing to do. Rain barrel diverter kits can help you to do this easily. Simply attach the rain water diverter to your downspout and collect the rain water in your rain barrel.
What most people don’t know is that you can collect an awful lot of water just by collecting what falls on your roof. For example, a roof top that is 20 feet by 50 feet, or 1,000 square feet in total area can yield 600 gallons with only one inch of rain. That’s a lot of water.
Most rain barrels hold around 60 gallons. So if you live in an area where there is significant rainfall, a rain barrel diverter kit is a must. These diverters do just that, they divert some of the flow of water so that your rain barrel doesn’t overflow. There are two main types of these instruments available today. The first one allows you to manually redirect the flow of water. Once your rain barrel is full, you simply flip a switch on the diverter and this allows the water to run down another arm of the diverter, as it would down a normal downspout. This type of rain barrel diverter is rather inexpensive and is an easy solution. However, since the switch must be manually flipped in order to redirect the flow of water, someone must be there to flip the switch, and that someone will have to get wet.
rain barrel diverter kit
The other type of rain barrel diverter uses pressure to divert water from the rain barrel once the barrel is full. The are slightly more expensive, but the obvious advantage is that the diversion is automated so there is no need to go outside and flip the switch manually. This means that you won’t have any splash out from your rain barrel, and the waste water will flow through your downspout as it was originally designed to do.
Up to 70% of our water is used for landscaping purposes. Rain water collection is an easy way to reduce our consumption of water. A rain barrel diverter kit will help you to have a more efficient rain water collection system for a small investment.
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Rain barrel diverters are one of the new “green” home accessories. With much of the country experiencing drought conditions, water is a precious commodity these days. Collecting rain water is one of the easiest ways you can go green.
Rain barrel diverters can help to conserve one of our most precious natural commodities, water. It won’t cost you much, you will see an immediate reduction in your water bill, and you will be helping the environment.
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Rain water collection is quite easy. People have been collecting rain water since the dawn of time. In many areas, rain water collection is still quite common. If you have a municipal water supply, you should consider augmenting that water with rain water. Water used in landscaping accounts for up to 70% of water used by most households.
There are several types of rain barrel diverters. Most are designed to collect rain water run off from your roof-line. If you have gutters and leaders, you can easily shorten one or more of your downspouts and place the rain water diverter under the downspout. Then you will need to have a filter in place to screen out any detritus that may also collect on your roofline, most notable leaves. If you simply collect rainwater in buckets outside, you will be providing mosquitoes with a fertile breeding ground. A filtered, sealed rain barrel will help to prevent that.
If you have an architectural chain coming from your gutter there is very little you need to do to install a rain barrel. Just remove the bottom links to the chain.
Some rain barrels are quite basic and are just water storage tanks, while many others have a hook up at the bottom of the tank for a garden hose. This facilitates using the water you have collected for landscaping purposes. As mentioned above, most households use more water for landscaping than all other uses combined.
rain barrel
If you are planning on collecting rain water from your roof, which will result in the largest gain of rain water, there are two instances where you should not. If you have lead flashing or any other lead materials in your gutter system, you should replace that before considering rain water collection. Also, if your roof shingles are made with asbestos, as may be the case in some older homes, you should not use the collected rain water for drinking purposes, although it is still acceptable for use in landscaping. If you are unsure of your roofing composition, refer back to the inspection report you received prior to purchasing your home, or contact your landlord. Lead and asbestos are not common. However, if you are unsure of the composition of your roof, limit the use of your rainwater to landscaping and avoid using the water for drinking purposes or vegetable gardening.
Rain water can be collected for drinking purposes as well. However, you will need additional purification and filtration to do this. If you are interested in doing this, you might consider contacting your local agricultural extension office.
Much of the globe is experiencing drought conditions. Water restrictions and rationing are occurring across the country. One of the easiest things you can do to decrease your water consumption is to collect your rainwater and use rain barrel diverters.
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