If you are a good gardener than you should use rainwater to water the plants in your garden. But the question is how to collect the rainwater. It is simple, use the Best rain barrel to collect it and then use it for gardening.
Rainwater has all the essential nutrients. It contains the maximum number of nutrients for all types of plants than normal tap water. This is the reason we don’t fertilize our plants in the rainy season. Also, plants show sudden healthy growth in the rainy season.
My favorite barrel is FCMP outdoor catcher. There are many rain barrels that claim to be the best in the market. So, I decided to review some of the current Top Quality rain barrels.
Let’s start
Why do you need to have at least one best rain barrel?
You should buy the top quality rain barrel for collecting rainwater so that you can use it in multiple ways. This way you can save water bills and also save our environment by using less groundwater. Moreover, rainwater is supertonic for growing plants. It boosts their growth and is safe to use harvested rainwater for watering house plants.
A rain barrel at home means the following benefits
- With rain barrels, you will always have plenty of water for gardening and other household works. You can use it for gardening, washing gardening tools, mats, etc.
- Water collected in rain barrels is best for your plants because it doesn’t contain chemicals and minerals like our municipal tap water. Chlorine is the most common type of chemical found in tap water but rainwater is pure and clean. Chlorine contained water is not good for plant health.
- Your efforts in harvesting rainwater help us to save the environment and groundwater. Because if you don’t collect rainwater it will pick up the pesticides, fertilizers, and other chemicals and flood the sewers. Then this water gets mix into the sea and few percentages of it get down into the groundwater. And pollute the sea and groundwater.
- The collection of rainwater also helps to reduce soil erosion. Erosion of soil is a big problem in some areas of the country.
- By collecting the rainwater you are reducing the moisture in the soil. In simple words, you are reducing the moisture around the foundation of your house. This reduces the risk of water damage.
- By storing rainwater in rain barrels you are saving our sewage systems. Because when most of the rainwater gets collected by house owners. This will reduce the amount of water that goes directly into our sewage system. This reduces the water pressure in draining pipes.
Top Rain barrels in USA and Canada
Mirain barrel 58 Gallon Food Grade Plastic
The water stored in this barrel is 100% safe for your growing vegetables and herbs. Because the barrel is made of 100% food grade material. It has a brass spigot that is sealed with pure Silicone caulk means no leakage. Also has 1 brass made overflow valve.
It has a twist top lid with a mesh screen. The mesh screen is there to save your water from unwanted debris.
The problem with this barrel is it has a small overflow valve that increases the chances of spillover. But you can easily connect the garden hose with it to direct the overflow water.
The good news is you can easily attach this barrel to other barrels in series. Place it anywhere in your garden it can handle the bright sunlight of summer and storms.
Spigot is easy to reach and is of the perfect size for garden hoses. But you need to install it at some height if you like to fill a bucket of water from the spigot.
4/5 stars out of 5 on Amazon.
Gardenware 170L Rain Station.
Made of terracotta material means the water is safe for the growing plants. The size and shape of this rain barrel are perfect for decks, patios, and balconies. It can store 45 gallons of water easily. The manufacturer gives a garden hose connector at the bottom. The spigot is attached to the right place. you can easily fill the bucket without installing it high.
It also has brass made overflow valve but the problem is it is small in size. In heavy rainfall, there are 50 % chances of spillover. If you live in a heavy rainfall area then this product is not for you. But if you still want to use it due to its durability and UV protective layers. You have to install the big size overflow valve in it.
The best part is you can use the reversible lid as a planter. The kit includes everything that you need to install it.
Goplus Portable Rainwater Collector 53 and 100 Gallon
This the easy to use and easy to store portable rainwater collector. You can easily use it for years because it is made with the strongest PVC mesh cloth. There are 7 PVC poles to support it empty or even when it is full of water.
All you need to do is install it on a stable surface a little high from the ground because the spigot is attached near to the bottom.
PVC frame is anti-corrosive this means you can use it all seasons. where other barrels break in hard cold winters this rainwater collector stands sturdy.
It has all the features that other plastics or terracotta barrels have. It has PVC made spigot at the bottom and a second 1 foot above it. Also, has a plastic-made overflow valve.
You can attach any garden hose to the spigot and also connect another same size barrel with it.
Mesh screens keep the dust, insects away from your stored water.
Once the rainy season finishes you can wash it, fold it and store it in your storeroom. No tools are required to install it.
50 Gallon Rain Vault – Good Ideas
The product is made of UV resistant and anti-fading high-quality Plastic that looks like wood. But in reality, the barrel looks different than the picture. The color is a dark grey that does not look like a wooden barrel.
The best part is its durability, capacity, and affordable price.
The back of the barrel is flat so that it can easily stick to the wall. The barrel can easily hold 50 gallons of rainwater. To store more you can connect it with other barrels. To connect more barrels, you need to buy PVC connecting pipes from the market.
Convenient handles to easily move it from one place to another place. any garden hose can be easily connected to the brass spigot. It has a large mesh screen to keep the animals, pests, and debris away.
Made in the USA and comes with a 1-year limited warranty. No other manufacturer gives a warranty on their Plastic made rainwater collectors.
Rotationally molded so that the users can use it in winter conditions and it cannot crack or break.
GOplus Portable Rainwater collectors.
I have already review goplus rain barrel above. The same manufacturer sells their barrels in the USA. There is no difference in the quality of the products. Here in the USA, you have 3 options to choose from.
- 53 Gallon capacity barrel
- 60 Gallon capacity barrel
- 100 Gallon barrel
Types of rain barrels for collecting rainwater
Plastic Rain Barrels
Plastic-made rain barrels are the most popular choice of homeowners and hobby gardeners. These rain barrels are easy to find and comes in many different shapes and styles. The best part is plastic rain barrels are cheaper than other barrels.
The good news is modern plastic barrels are made with high-quality plastic that resists UV rays. Their color does not get fade, won’t corrode and their durability doesn’t reduce due to sun exposure.
But for extra safety install your plastic rain barrel in a shady place.
Always choose BPA free plastic because if the material of your barrel contains BPA. Your water will get contained and such water is not safe for watering plants.
Wooden rain barrels
These are the expensive but very attractive rain barrels that you can buy. The best part is wood is a natural material it does not contain BPA like cheap plastic barrels. Hence water stored in wooden rain barrels is safe for watering plants.
Their attractive design and rustic look improve the beauty of your home and garden. The only downside is after some time of regular use wooden can rot and break down. Keep in mind wooden barrels are expensive than plastic and stainless-steel barrels.
I like to have one wooden barrel in my garden but I already have the 3 barrels made of BPA free heavy-duty plastic.
Stone Barrels
Using Stone barrels for collecting rainwater is not a good option. Because they are more a decorative piece than the actual rain barrel. They come in small sizes with few gallons of capacity. You need to pay a good amount of money for a small size single stone rain barrel.
Moreover, they are so heavy that you cannot move them easily.
I don’t think it is a good idea to buy stone rainwater collecting barrels because in the same amount you can buy two heavy duty large size plastic rain barrels.
Clay Rain Barrels
These are the most decorative rain barrels. Actually, they are not practical rain barrels and are more like a piece of garden decoration. If you are not serious about collecting rainwater but want an eye-catching barrel then a clay barrel is the best for you.
As the clay rain barrels are more decorative you need to pay more than other rain barrels.
For serious rainwater harvesting don’t even think about these clays made rain water-storing barrels.
Stainless Steel rain barrel
We all know steel is a material that has a longer life span than wood and plastic. Moreover, steel made rain barrels don’t get damaged easily. They come in large capacity and are UV safe. Regular sun exposure doesn’t affect the durability of steel rain barrels.
The problem with these barrels is they don’t look stylish. They look more like industrial water storage barrels. This is the reason most of the house owners avoid them.
Also, if you want to buy a single steel barrel you will not find it easily in the market. In my opinion, they are not the best choice for normal use. Let them go for industrial use, plastic rain barrels are the cheap and the best option for collecting rainwater.
How to choose the best rain barrel for harvesting rainwater?
You need to check the following things while choosing the rain water collecting barrel for your home.
- Capacity: This is the first thing you need to decide before searching for the barrel. In the market, You will find all sizes of rain barrels from small to large (15 gallons to 1000 gallons). Your barrel capacity depends on your needs. How much water you want to store and for what purpose. Also, if you live in the heavy rainfall zone then you may need two big size rain barrels. In areas of a low frequency of rainfall small size barrels works fine. Generally speaking, a 40 to 60-gallon capacity barrel works great for almost every home garden.
- The Lid: The lid is an important part of the best water collecting barrel because it saves animals from fall into the water also saves water from contamination. If you have to fill the water can by dipping it into the barrel. Then choose a water storage barrel with a latched lid that you can easily open fill the can and close again.
- Filter: A Filter is a must for every rain collector barrel because it protects your water from debris. It sits on the top of the barrel and collects all the dirt, dead leaves, and other debris. You can say it acts like a strainer that does not allow pollutants to enter into the barrel.
- Spigot: It is a tap that you open to using collected water. You can also attach a water pipe to the spigot and spread the water all over the lawn. The spigot should be attached at the bottom just 1 inch above the base. Because all dirt particles get collected at the base and do not come out through the little high installed spigot. Otherwise, they can clog the dispensing tap.
- Overflow Protection Valve: If you are living in heavy rainfall areas then you need to choose the rain barrel with a safety valve. This valve turns ON when the barrel reaches its capacity. This valve diverts the water and saves your product.
- UV protection and BPA free plastic: Choose plastic rain barrels that do not contain BPA and are UV resists. UV rays damage the normal plastic in a few months. But once you buy UV resist plastic made barrel UV rays will not cause any harm to it.
How to perfectly install the best rain barrel?
All 5 types of rain barrels are different from one another. You need to follow the instruction that comes with the product. The following are the general installing guidelines for rain barrels.
Find a suitable location for it, generally, people install rain barrels back of their house. This way they hide it from others and also it is easy to use collected water in the backyard garden.
Don’t forget to level the surface. Because once it is filled with water it can weigh as much as 400 pounds. And you don’t want it to fall over suddenly.
Elevate the barrel on the stand because sometimes gardeners need to use the dispensing tap to take out the water in buckets. So, install it on some kind of stand so that it is easy for you to access the dispensing tap.
Always keep the lid ON to prevent insects, dead leaves, and mosquitoes away from the barrel.
Is it safe to use collected rainwater for watering houseplants and vegetables?
Yes, rainwater is totally safe for watering houseplants and for vegetables. Researches in New jersey found that only a few pollutants wash off of roof panels. These pollutants are generally found in open fields. They also do different tests on many vegetables that are grown by watering rain harvested water. They found that most of the vegetables are safe to eat. So, you can give this water to your vegetable garden.
Do not collect rainwater if your roof is:
- Treated with compounds that kill algae and bacteria.
- Your roof contains zinc strips
- Your gutter system or draining pipe is made of copper.
Rain barrel care technique and hygiene
- Always keep your rain barrel covered and clean when it is not rainy season or when you are not using it.
- Do not use it to store other chemical-contained liquids.
- Clean the interior of the barrel with mild soap and warm water. This will kill all the bad bacteria and eliminate bad smells.
- Rinse thoroughly after cleaning it with mild soap.
- If you are storing it make sure it is completely dry from the inside.
- Don’t forget to clean the lid and filter of the barrel.
