Rain Collection Systems

 

With a rain collection system, there is no need to put your gardening or landscaping plans on hold.

 

For every inch of rain that falls hundreds to thousands of gallons of water flow from your downspouts. That water easily can be retained for use in your garden, flower beds, on the lawn or in the pool.

A rain collection system from Best Home Services is a system that is custom-designed for your home and circumstances to meet your watering needs and your budget. A simple idea used around the world throughout history to provide fresh, clean, chemical-free, and pH balanced water to landscaping.

Installed under a downspout, a 60 gallon barrel can be used several ways:

• to fill watering cans or buckets
• to water beds or lawns with a soaker hose
• to water individual plantings with a custom-designed drip hose

Every collection barrel and tank has a screened top which keeps mosquitoes, animals, leaves and debris out of your water. They have brass faucets on the front near the bottom so you can easily hook up a garden hose. During installation, an overflow outlet is added and built to send the excess rain water away from your foundation.

Most people are truly amazed at how quickly their barrels fill. A 60 gallon barrel on most downspouts will refill from only a half-inch of rain or less. To figure how much water pours off of your roof from one inch of rain, simply measure the "footprint" of your house in square feet and multiply that number by .6. Even the 1000 square foot roof of a small home can provide 600 gallons of clean, free water from one inch of rain. You can collect the excess rain with multiple barrels or small tanks.

With an assessment of your home, we can determine which downspouts will provide the most water and which locations would be ideal for collecting and distributing the water.

Using Your Rain Collection System

Installing your collection system:

Once the decision has been made as to where to install the barrels or tanks the ground is leveled and blocks are placed. This gives the collection vessel a stable foundation, elevates it a bit for added pressure and provides enough room under the faucet for buckets or watering cans.

The downspout is then removed above the barrel and converted to allow the water to drain into the barrel. The 1.5" overflow outlet is then installed to help direct excess water away from your home's foundation. The overflow water can be directed into an underground drain, onto a splashblock, or into other containers.

Using your stored water:

Soaker hoses work very well with your rain barrel if you remove the pressure reducing washer at the female end of the hose. Another way to water several individual plantings is to take an old garden hose, put a cap on the male end and use a drill to create holes right where you want the water to come out.

With an inexpensive pump it is possible to water by hand with a hose and watering wand or to wash the car. With the help of a sprinkler pump you can water larger areas through your sprinkler. With an automatic sump pump it is possible to send water to your pool at the same time it is being collected.

Barrel maintenance:

Your collection barrels will require a small amount of maintenance. Despite the fine screen filtering the incoming water, some fine sediment will collect in the bottom. The faucet is high enough on the barrel to allow for a good bit of accumulation before it clogs the outlet. Once a year or so when you have a chance to empty your barrel of water, you will want to turn it on its side and hose it out to remove the sediment.

The barrels will be not be harmed by a typical Athens, Georgia freeze. If the temperatures are going to fall below 20 degrees two or more nights in a row, I suggest you lower the water level in the barrel about 12" to allow room for the expansion of the ice. If temperatures are expected to fall below 10 degrees, it would be best to drain your barrel. I also suggest you drain the barrel if daytime highs are going to be below freezing for two or more days. If you would like to be reminded in the case of an upcoming freeze please request to be put on an email list.

It is also possible to install a bypass so water does not collect in your barrel or tank in the winter time. I generally stop collecting water in the fall since there is not a big need. Then in spring time I remove the bypass to allow water to fill my clean barrels. I have also found that bypassing the barrels while the pollen is falling helps prevent the water from growing algae and creating an offensive odor. It also helps prevent a build up of muck on the inside of my barrels.

Satisfaction Guaranteed

Service after the sale - I will make sure that you are pleased with your rain collection system and that it is functioning optimally for your situation.

I usually try and visit an installation after it has been in action for a few rain events to see if any adjustments are needed.

I encourage you to contact me if you are having any trouble with or would like any changes made to your system.