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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Filed under Rain Barrel Diverter Reviews, Rain barrel diverters 
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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Filed under Rain Collection Barrels