Rain barrels can be used to water the garden or lawn, wash the car and wash windows, as well as other household chores. A frequent question regarding rain barrels is how to generate enough pressure to use the rain barrel to water directly from the barrel. There are a number of ways to generate pressure from the barrel.
Even a large rain barrel will fill up relatively quickly during a heavy storm or hard rain. The overflow emitter and a second rain barrel are important parts of the rain collection system, and can help keep the system from upsetting itself, even during major storms.
Here’s a way to calculate how many rain barrels you need to collect water from your roof: Rain falls at a rate of approximately 0.6 gallons per inch of rainfall. A 1,000 square foot roof will collect 600 gallons per inch of rainfall. That means, you could fill over ten 65-gallon rain barrels from one hard rain. Collecting and saving this much water makes a rain pump an attractive option for using the rain barrel. However, there are other ways to generate pressure for the rain barrel, as well.
Transfer the Water to Other Delivery Methods
Rain barrels are great for collecting water to use on container plantings and small flowerbeds that can be hand-watered with watering cans. You need not worry about pressure if you use the rain barrel to fill your watering cans.
Gravity-Fed Water
The easiest way to generate water pressure is to elevate the rain barrel by using a stand or platform. Gravity will push the water down and out the attached hose. The more water there is in the rain barrel, the higher the pressure will be.
Pumps
A 65-gallon rain barrel, if full, can water for about 8 minutes with an electric pump hooked up to it. Most pumps that are suitable for use with rain barrels are similar. They’re available from a variety of online retailers. If you install a large rain collecting cistern, you can also use a pump to pump it out. Because an underground barrel does not have the advantage of gravity, a pump is required to move the water.
The best electric pump for most standard-sized rain barrels stays on the outside of the rain barrel and uses an intake hose to pull water from the rain barrel through the hose. You cannot run these pumps dry. There are also small, submersible pumps, but the rain barrel must always have water in it in order to keep the pump in good working order. It is more practical to use a submersible pump with a large underground cistern.
To transport water from a rain barrel over long distances, an electric pump is best. It is still an environmentally friendly way to water your garden without needing to elevate the rain barrel beyond where it can be easily reached to maintain.
Whether you use an electric pump or not, a rain barrel is an easy way to collect water for your higher maintenance plants, while still gardening in an environmentally conscious manner.
