View Full Version : Rain Barrells worth it?
We've been discussing getting a rain barrell for awhile. But what we found was that we have an asphalt roof, and according to a book I have it stated that if you have an asphalt roof or if you put moss be gone on your roof (we live in PNW):doh: the only thing you can use the rain barrell water for is shrubs. Nothing that is edible.
Does anyone here have one? and do you agree with this recommendation?
Mrs. B
I do not have official rain barrels, but I occasionally use standard Rubbermaid garbage cans for collecting rain water. They are strong enough.
My system is rather primative - I cut off a metal downspout from the rain gutters about half way down the wall, and attached a flexible black large tubing section (4" diameter) and can move the end of that from can to can as they fill. And they fill amazingly fast in a heavy rain. I use sprinking cans to put the water on my plants, or I divert it into the small fish pond. I would prefer to collect the water closer to my garden, but I can't without major modifications.
I don't believe my roof substance is an issue and can't address your situation. Mine is some form of fake shake and has been there about 20 years. I do not collect water until after the first significant rain however.
I would not personally use that water on any edibles, no......but that's a personal choice I make (we also don't use toxic house cleaning chemicals, or soaps/shampoos/cosmetics with unpronounceable chemical names). Most moss killers are ferrous sulfate, but some are more toxic chemicals that I personally wouldn't want to end up as part of the cell structure of my fruits & veggies. I know they say that rainwater is probably contaminated before it ever hits the roof, but I don't believe in adding insult to injury, myself. In the PNW, it seems like a rain barrel wouldn't save you too much money anyway, would it? As much precipitation as you get?
I would not personally use that water on any edibles, no......but that's a personal choice I make (we also don't use toxic house cleaning chemicals, or soaps/shampoos/cosmetics with unpronounceable chemical names). Most moss killers are ferrous sulfate, but some are more toxic chemicals that I personally wouldn't want to end up as part of the cell structure of my fruits & veggies. I know they say that rainwater is probably contaminated before it ever hits the roof, but I don't believe in adding insult to injury, myself. In the PNW, it seems like a rain barrel wouldn't save you too much money anyway, would it? As much precipitation as you get?
No, it would save a lot - water out here is EXPENSIVE! I moved here from Utah, and the water bill for my 8 unit condo building in Salt Lake City (approx 30 people) was less than our current water bill for 2 people in a stand alone house in Seattle!
Water is expensive here in SoCal too. Or at least I think so. Saving water in rain barrrels doesn't help too much because I use so much in the garden. But I want the ability and the practice of collecting it 'just in cast'. In the house water is greatly conserved so I'll feel more free to use it outside.
Hmmm... we've been using our rain barrel rain from a composite roof on our edibles, but mostly for our containers plantings, which are all ornamental. I appreciate you sharing this, and am going to do a bit of research about this.
Now this in one for Kib! Lately I've been pondering the idea of a rain barrel (or two). I love the idea of it. Great thread topic Mrs.B! I'll be following this one.
fidgiegirl
6-21-11, 10:42pm
I'd probably agree, too, but when I think about it, we probably do use it for our few edibles! When we need the water, it's nice to know it didn't go down the drain. We didn't get ours to save money on water but rather to keep that runoff out of the rivers. We live by two storm drains and it bothers me to see all the water going down the tubes. Some could be diverted into rain gardens but we do our (very) little part with rain barrels. We use on everything.
We researched this extensively as we wanted to do some type of rainwater catchment system. But, if you have asphalt shingles you should not use the water on edibles, only ornamentals. Alas, we have asphalt shingles, so that ruled out using any captured rainwater on our vegetable gardens, which is where we were intending to use it.
That was really our intention to use the water on our garden, but after that bit of news we're trying to decide if it's really worth it. We have no real shrubs?? the rest of our garden is on a drip system, and our small amount of lawn has a sprinkler system. When we lived in the SW we had a tile roof, and we were going to add gutters and a barrel, but moved first. I'm liking the Rubber maid garbage can idea, maybe we could use the water for a water feature heheheh.:laff:
Thanks for all your thoughts
Mrs.B
Well ... we have an asphalt shingle roof, newly put on. I was told it wouldn't be a problem but I'm not sure I completely believe that. The tanks themselves are PVC, which probably means the water is also filled with BPA after a while. We have a number of large ornamental trees that need water, so I typically use it on them. I would use it for the veggies in a pinch ... they love rain water, no matter what else is in it, but I'd have to say it's no more "organic" and probably less so than tap water. :(
I faced the same issue a few years ago and wanted to create a simple way to catch rainwater that would be so clean, you could drink it if you wanted to.
So I invented the RainSaucers system (see picture of one on a barrel) which collects rain straight from the sky on to a a food grade UV resistant plastic surface.
In the US we are targeting the system at gardeners who want to water their edibles with clean rainwater (not roof runoff)
In developing countries we are offering it as a solution to the contaminated water crisis.
Pics and info. at our website (http://www.rainsaucers.com) if you are interested.
http://www.aquabarrel.com/media/images/rainsaucer/abpRainSaucer_single_dblbung_275x310.png
http://youtu.be/4mUMQ4Dzq_0
We've been discussing getting a rain barrell for awhile. But what we found was that we have an asphalt roof, and according to a book I have it stated that if you have an asphalt roof or if you put moss be gone on your roof (we live in PNW):doh: the only thing you can use the rain barrell water for is shrubs. Nothing that is edible.
Does anyone here have one? and do you agree with this recommendation?
Mrs. B
I agree to an extent. If you get a first flush or rain diverter then the first few gallons of water are sent away from the rain barrel. That should be enough to handle any loose tar and sediment from the asphalt, bird droppings, squirrel pee, etc. After that, I'd have no problem using the water.
Even if the rain barrells only water schrubs,trees and flower gardens that would be a good savings. Has anyone looked into recycled water.Greywater.The water from bathtub and washer used to water lawns instead of fresh.Also can be diverted from bath sink to flush toilet instead of fresh.Did the figures and if everyone in the usa on average used greywater to flush with. trillion gallons of water would be saved.And brothers and sisters we in texas need water like yesterday.
Still very hard to get permits where I live, but greywater is an excellent idea if you do ornamentals.
We use greywater on our garden, without permits. Not on the vegetables.
Maybe it is time to re-roof to a material that is compatible to what you wish.Then has anyone looked into gray water systems.Re-routing your washer and shower/bath to water garden and yard.I happen to know that using the correct soaps you not only save water and pay a smaller water bill the soap kills most of the bug s that invade a garden and yard thus saving on pest removal.The savings you eventualy make on the above savings will cover the expense over the years of a new roof.
I started out with rain barrels, which was a realtively simple project. It worked nicely as slow-irrigation for yard plantings. But after visiting the Earthship community in Taos, NM, the notion of a full roof-catchment water system was lodged in my head. I have since built one, for about $1500 in parts from the hardware store, including more than adequate filtration. I included a solar-drive pressurizing pump and a baldder pressure tank. Works nicely, and I'd recommend it to anyone. We live in the sage steppe desert and really don't get a great deal of precipitation, but the catchment system still serves much of our need.
sonailpgi
7-13-11, 12:09am
I think rain barrels are a great way to support environmental sustainability (http://www.livingsimply.org)! I started out that way and it was a workable, simple system that provided extra water for the yard and garden. Completely worth it. Since then I have built a roof catchment system (the idea came from visiting the Earthship community in Taos) with materials from the local hardware store for about $1500. I included a bladder pressure tank like you would use with a well, and it makes all the difference.
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