DIY Multiple Rain Barrel System How To 

Try to find the video by 1oldarmyguy. He made some very nice improvement to this design. watch?v=QXvlVVKeFVg

Overall, a nice, simple system. Congrats for taking the initiative to conserve! A couple of thoughts (I've only scanned the first page of comments here, so you might already have dealt with my remarks, so...) 1) A one-inch rainfall on a one horizontal square foot area yields .62 gallons of water. If the roof area serviced by the gutter is, say, 1,000 square feet, then a one-inch rainfall will give you 620 gallons of rainwater, or a little more than eleven 55-gallon barrels worth. Having a reliable overflow system will be important, and might work better for you if it is installed on the first barrel rather than the last one, given the small pipes connecting them together. 2) You may find that a debris filter located right at the intake of the first barrel quickly gets plugged with leaves, bugs, dirt, etc. Should the filter clog at the start of a heavy rain, water could quickly back up onto the roof. Consider adding a "first flush" mechanism that grabs the first rush of water off a dry/dirty roof, then diverts (relatively cleaner) water into the collection system. Note that fine dirt will get into your system anyway, and draining the system from the very bottom of the barrels would include all that sediment which eventually could clog your pipes and hoses. Consider draining from the sides of the barrels an inch or two above the bottom to leave the sediment behind. The last barrel (from which you take water) will naturally have the least amount of sediment to contend with.

Great setup. one suggestion, put the overflow outlet in the first barrel and set that barrel higher than the others by 6-8 inches. If your overflow is cut into the last barrel, water will be coming out the top opening of the first barrel before it fills all the barrels because the reduction in flow caused by friction and pipe size diameter.

I copied your system in my previous house and it worked great. The downside is the hard connection, and after glued, it is hard to move the barrels when you want to adjust them or do maintenance even when they are empty. So in my new home, 1. I just used 1/2" connectors, garden hose cut, and metal clamps to make the soft connection between the barrels. So I can bring down individual barrel or disconnect wherever I want to to do maintenance. 2. add overflow pipe at the first barrel where the rain water comes in instead of #4.

Hi. You can have all your barrels full if you have your over flow coming up from the top and then going down. the down spout opening must be above the over flow, and the vents. I have a drill pump that I bought at Home Depot for $6.97. It pumps water at about 3 1/2 gal. per minute. I have a washer machine hose that I connect to the rain barrel, then to the pump that conects to a 50 ft. hose. I am pumping my water up ten feet Works great.

One suggestion on water pressure. If you put in an air manifold in the lid, just like the water manifold in the bottom, you can pump air into the tops of the drums and really increase the flow of the water out of the drums. It doesn't have to be very much pressure either. We use that technique to increase the flow of ink out of big totes. I would use a foot bicycle tire pump with it and just pump it a few times when the pressure drops.

I think the pacing on the text was great, personally. :) Thanks for such a wonderfully informative video!

I liked your setup so much.... I made my own last year, and it has been working great! So thank you for posting the video. It was a big help! And, we save a lot of money watering the garden and flowers outside during the summer. Plus, since the water is warm from the sun, the dogs like it when we give them a bath! LOL

System looks good. I like the bottom drain connecting the barrels. Your garden look fantastic. I live in the Texas Hill Country, with more deer than people. We must have 8 foot fences if you want to grow anything. One thing you have that we do't have is soil. We have lots of rocks and cactus. Thanks for the instruction. Jim B

First, great video, and I think I will be building mine around this same concept that I have seen several times. One suggestion, that valve at the end is kind of wobbly. Might be worthwhile to put something in the ground and go around the end of the pipe to stabilize it, so it does not crack, break, or pull a seal from the previous barrel while you have a hose connected. ALSO - the ball valves are AWESOME. Pull a lever, and its open. No screw type to open and close with. Great system!

What I would suggest is putting the rain barrels up higher to store kinetic energy. You can use the fall of the water coming down the pipes to generate greater pressure. Put the barrels closer to your garden, use a battery powered garden timer valve like you would have on your hose, run wet hoses through your garden and you can water your garden automatically using your rain water. Works flawlessly and all the parts are available and cheap at your local hardware store. PM me for details...

@outofworkbum I found the same thing looking at other systems. They all fill one barrel then overflow to the others from the top. Then if you want to use the water from the secondary barrels you have to move the hose. This system fills all barrels at the same time and uses water from all barrels at the same time. However you do not gain more pressure no matter how many barrels you put in series. To get more pressure you would have to stack them on top of each other like a tower

Ten years later - still a great idea!! Thanks!

I have not had any leaks. I just left it full all winter. I just drain them a couple days ago to get fresher water in them for this spring. No shortage of rain here in the spring time.

One of the clearest and most informative videos i have seen,a great help,thanks.

@stymye Ul listing...Schedule 40 rigid PVC conduit and fittings are for aboveground use indoors or outdoors exposed to sunlight and weather, and for underground use by direct burial or encasement in concrete. Look it up.

I'm not saying my method is right or wrong,but I installed tire valve stems in the tops of mine. I wasn't getting enough pressure to expelled the water as I needed from my 220 gal barrel. I keep the piece that screws into the tip of the valve stem out until I need to water my garden (no pressure build up like you stated). Then I screw that piece in,attach a small 12v air compressor,and I then have enough pressure to spray my garden. I plan on adding a pressure gauge so to indicate the amount of pressure,but thought it might be something worth sharing. By the way,great setup you have.

@18wheeler76 Glad it will help. It is not in the video but I decided to put the overflow spout on the first barrel instead of the last. Got a suggestion from a youtuber that mentioned the overflow would be restricted by the pipe down below. Also going to but a larger 1/4 turn valve to increase waterflow.

Nice system. I'm looking to invest in rain barrels. We live on a farm and our well went out yesterday. Now I'm thinking we need to be prepared for anything especially since we have animals that need water, no matter what. Nothing like the well going out to motivate me to get the ball rolling but I'm working towards having a back up system in place. In addition, if I set it up at the barn and install gutters, we will reduce mud. Win win.

You are correct. I ended up putting the overflow on the first barrel after another viewer suggested it. I also changed out the main pipe connecting the barrels to 1" and changed the valve to a quater turn valve. That greatly improved the pressure. Not sure how you get them to drain if you connected them at the top.

Good looking system. I normally work best with metal, so cutting a hole in my barrell$ had me nervous. Nothing an hour of youtube tutorials can't cure though.

I got 2-55 gallon drums and will definitely use what you showed me to fix them up.

thats pretty cool. I'm in the process of designing an off the grid project with 2 shipping containers and solar/wind powered generators. Hopefully I can get the whole thing done under $20,000 in materials.

Great to see that inplix has new instructions to save my money and energy to build it.

You could always get an inline water pump to go on the outlet and run an hosepipe ... but as you know you'll have to make them holes a bit bigger on the lids... great set up though...Happy Days

@marthale7 Great point thanks for the suggestion. Good thing Im so slow as I have not put the overflow in yet.

Thanks for taking the time to post this. We are getting ready to install our system and this gives us a great blueprint. Fabulous garden, dude! Be Blissed!

great post. Two thoughts, first put a U-shape trap into your inflow system (aka the guttering) I would use large diameter pvc and make each side of the U long so sediment will settle to the bottom and have no chance of making it up the other side. Build a cleanout into the bottom of the U, and there you go, easy sediment filter that is also easy to clean. second, put a slant on your manifold towards the hose fitting so that it will completely drain.

Nice set up, only thing I would add is some small mobile jet pump with quick connectors...it would be nice to have little bit of pressure on garden hose...

Having an overflow the same size as the inflow makes sense, however, having a hole on the last barrel bigger than the pipes connecting the barrels together isn't going to do you any good.

@kenskyfish exactly what i was going to say. nice system. i had hoped to make mine back in april but then went trekking in bolivia. just got home the other day, so now will take care of the 10 barrels ive had sitting here since then! . thanks for sharing

The beauty of a manifold system is that you don't have to switch the hose between 4 different barrels. If you connect the barrels at the top you have no choice but to switch the hose to the next barrel when one is empty.

I love it! Would be very handy for the gardens. Hoping dh can set some up for us someday to.

I switched out the lower pipe to a 1" and a 1/4 turn valve and the water pressure is much greater than in the video. The water will flow out as long as the water level is higher than where you need to water. I have not tried to run a sprinkler though.

@brianmeff Easy to find out. Take a glass and turn it upside down. Now lower it into a sink full of water. No water will fill up the glass. There will be an air pocket that will keep that barrel from filling without a hole to let the air out. The opposite test would be to take a 2 liter bottle and fill it with water. Turn it over and you will get a glug glug as air tries to rush back into the bottle to fill the void. Now do it again with a big hole in the bottom. It should poor right out

Like the setup. Do see one flaw. You were mentioning a 2" overflow and the need for an overflow the same size as you intake. You will still be restricted by the 3/4" PVC connecting each barrel. You may want to look at a 4" 45 facing down, with a drain hose, on the inlet. Once all the barrels fill it will backup the pipe and the 45 will allow for drain off.

Ya know, if you took this type of system with one barrel and put it next to your rabbits, you could set up an automatic gravity fed watering system for your rabbits. Hook up a small solar panel and wrap the pipes in heat tape, and you wouldn't have to worry about the water system freezing in winter either. (The solar panel would have to be strong enough to run the heat tape, but 3" heat tape only runs 4-6 watts a foot, so, it could be done)

@haroldt101 To allow more water to drain out of the barrels. The coupler is about an inch high so it will always leave one ince of water in the bottom of the barrel. With the hole there I only have a 1/4" of water left in.

@dsmith1122 you do not gain more pressure no matter how many barrels you put in series. To get more pressure you would have to stack them on top of each other like a tower.

very impressive system...thank you for the idea...love your garden

I like the Idea you have there thumbs up, I'm making a set up for my 14 X 30 pond I have, I've been checking diff ways to do something like this where I can fill up like 600 gal pond.

Nice. Might want to make the manifold system with disconnects in case you ever want to relocate.

Great system. You may have a pressure problem. Average person waters with a garden hose at waist high about 36". Your spigot comes out with water looks like about 12" off the ground? U need to raise the barrels. Maybe look into a pump.

I have same setup but closed lids barrels running on solar powered water pump. I goes with water pump because I want to use it on my irrigation system since running back and forward with a bucket of water will get tired. The pump was quite expensive since it was 80$ and the solar power system with deep cycle battery, but it wasn't just for my irrigation and rain barrel, but it was also powering my flood lights around the house

If you hooked a Water Heater to the end with a shut off valve to stop water after the W/H tank is full , changing the electical of the W/H to a three prong plug to go to a generator you could have hot water if need if a long power outage attaching the electrical

great system, good job, we all need do things like this to do our part

I hope you reconsidered where you located the overflow, because if you put it in the side, that limits how full all the barrels get. If you put the overflow in the top, the barrels can fill to the top.

This system is fantastic!! My senior year project for a geography course at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada involves presenting a project about rainbarrel water harvesting techniques. My group and I came across your video and thought it would be helpful to our project to use a few clips from your video. With your permission, we would love to be able to do this!

What is the GPM of your inflow (water coming from the roof) compared to the GPM of the connection pipes? The reason why I asked is because I was wondering if you ever ran into a problem where the first barrel filled up much *faster* than it was able to output the water to the other barrels.

Ar15truther2 are you unaware people all over the world live entirely dependant on rainwater collected in tanks from the roofs of their houses? Literally millions of people rely on drinking tankwater, KainanRa is not going to drink his water, but I realise it is going on vegetables that he is going to eat. Unfortnately you could make the same claim re contaminates about the air we breath, but like the rest of us you keep breathing it in. I thought the video very informative and well done :)

I'd like to see how you made these blend into the garden, they are an eyesore.

no issues with sediment collecting at the dead bottom of the barrels entering the spigot? Most put their spigot 2 inches up to allow sediment to drop to bottom... that's my only question

HAHA! Love the system, man! Glad I could give you an idea on where to go with the manifold! Nice video, too!!

I don't know if it's worth it to you, but the diverter would provide an outlet without having to drill more holes (which is why I liked it), and since you have a breather hole in your other barrels, a short breather tube screwed into them would vent them, as long as it was taller than the outlet, and be easy to add. But, like I said, don't know if it's worth it to you. I thought one barrel was all I needed, but it turns out two weeks of dry weather and I was out of rain water.

Nice job! With our drought conditions in CA, I'm goona use your system with a couple of modifications. I have a long corridor to store these into so i'm gna align them shoulder to shoulder like you mentioned. And then I'm gna run the bottom common PVC line directly beneath the barrels btwn the cinder blocks arranged at 90 degrees from the way you did it. Thanks for your help! I also thought about using a valve under each barrel to be able to isolate each barrel from the others in case I need to wash one out or something like that.

@chiqnlips Not without a pump or putting them really high up.

Very nice rig... BUT... that 2" overflow in the last barrel you are thinking of is much larger than the 3/4" inflow to the last barrel. You probably should put a 2" overflow in the first barrel instead, especially because, "when it rains, it pours". If you start empty with a torrential downpour, the first barrel will be overflowing before the other three can completely fill. That's what you want, else the input t will have to pop out of the top of the first barrel due to the water pressure.

Very cool setup! Thanks for sharing this.

@davettalashley I do see algae in the water but it has a reall hard time growing insid e the barrel because there in no sunlight. Smells fine to me but I never left it in there for very long. As for washing with it that is up to you. I collect it from my roof which then flows through my gutter and is collected in the barrels. I guess you just have to decide if you would wash with gutter water.

Sort of. I located the overflow to the first barrel because locating on the last barrel in the line would make in limited by the size of the manifold pipe. I did not want the overflow on the top because I dont have a sealed fitting for the rain gutter. I want the overflow carried away from the barrels not just flowing out the inlet from the rain gutter and flooding out my patio.

Thanks for the info - I looked but did not see the following question. What is the puprpose of the some hole you show drilled into the coupling attached to the bottom of the barrel?

One thing I keep seeing on multiple barrel systems is that people have a tendancy to get all of the barrels level. You don't need to do this. All you need to do is screw a plastic fitting into the top of each barrel with a length of PVC pipe (1/2 inch should be plenty). Make sure this extends up at least to the level of the top of the top barrel.

Some people don't have the time or skill to make their own. I got my barrel from rainbarrel.ca and they thought of all this stuff. My barrel already has the capability to be attached to an infinite number of others.

@NESurvivalPrep Yep. You can do a search on RU-vid for "Collecting Rain Water Illegal" and there is a news story about it.

Great job man ! Video Has me inspired on building one :)

@creatvlgic3 you know,im still pondering it,i did acuire a 55gal drum,my house is small tho,i dont think it would fit right(take up to muh room)but im still looking into either that or i have been looking at wood stoves on craigslist.i may do both and put the barrel in the basement.preps are goin great,as far as food.i have tons of water in plastic jugs,no 55 gal plastics yet,i call coca cola they never called back yet.but i have alot of preps i reall have piece of mind.thanks for askin.

Nice system. I'm planning on doing something similar.

for the net on the top for the gutter fish net fabric on top of your wire mesh just cut the large fish net off the rim great vid though

If you have freezing temperatures in the winter, you definitely want to drain the barrels, and leave the valve open, Divert all the water from going into the barrels in the winter, otherwise your plumbing on the bottom will burst when the water in it freezes.

yeah that looks like a good way to do it

Cool system, id like to my house this way

You really thought this out... so do you have good enough pressure for garden hose to water garden?

@SRQrainbarrels I will give it a shot thank you.

You did an amazing job!

Great video Really appreciate it Thank you sir

Yeah I was wondering the same thing were can u get them at a hard ware store or on the Internet

Do you have to worry about freezing weather and if so how do you deal with it? I did like your video, simple and effective. This is seldom the way anymore.

@KainanRa Its just in the design phase right now but I plan to get a video up of the finished design and construction process. I gotta make sure its something that is feasible. I'm learning how and what I need for the Solar/Wind power and the Water collection and how to work the sink/bathroom.

They would have separate drains. How often do you need more than 55 gallons at once? Connecting them at the top would allow 1 to fill completely before starting filling the next. You get better pressure from 1 full barrel than 4 barrels 1/4 full. Like I said though that is all preference.

A two-inch overflow in the last barrel is kinda pointless if the pipes BETWEEN barrels are only what looks like 3/4. Overflow would then need to be put on the FIRST barrel where the smaller pipe would not cause any restriction.

@kenskyfish You are right. I had the same advice from someone else right after I posted this video so I was able to have the overflow on the first barrel.

You'll find lots of parts to increase function at aquabarrel

Hey, nice video. First off, don't mind the jerks posting...when you do something good, there will always be others trying to knock you down. Second, I was curious if you think this system would be able to have enough pressure to make soaker hoses work properly. Im trying to water about an 1/2 acre garden. Thanks so much for the great vid.

Great system, attention to detail and a great video describing your design and assembly. Just a few comments to help out... The bricks are called SINTERED blocks. This name means they were made by pressing small round particles of concrete. When closely examining the block you can see the round pieces still in the walls of the block. These round pieces are poured into a mold and pressed together, dried which makes a strong block without any liquid and a short drying time. Some fuel filters are sintered yet with brass instead of concrete. The brass is porous because the little round balls of brass are pressed together, not too tight, which leaves spaces between the balls that lets fluid fuel thru yet not small particulates.These blocks were created by Frank Lloyd Wright. They are the most structurally strong when placed so the thru holes run up and down so the stresses run thru the walls of the block.

I will copy this idea👍❤️

Brilliant! Thanks for sharing this!

I am also in the process of making this same type of system. I noticed in your video you stated that you used an o ring on your fitting and had a slow leak before you puttied it. I was wondering, what if you were to double up the o rings, putting one on the outside of the drum and one on the inside. Do you think this would garuntee a sealed hole? Thanks for sharing this video!

U could use a piece of cloth for a filter just tear a piece of an old shirt or maybe some of high grade dry fit fabric could do u some good

How can I make this can u please type all datails and complete so I can buy things very difficult in my province I want to make like this hope u can teach me

You can paint them and prevent algae. Also when you paint them they look more attractive. Dont use darks color.

@KainanRa You know bugs can still get in through the smallest holes for example those holes you drilled so pressure won't build up :P

I did this set up with just 2 barrels. Is there a reason my 1st barrel is about halfway and second barrel has just a tad in it?

Very nice

yeah they are very functional and not pretty to look at. But this is where kids and paint come in great. I would let my girls paint the outside of the barrels so they can make them pretty. And it will give them something to do.

USE PVC valves, not metal spigots! You can attach a hose to threaded PVC piece if you want. The valves close easier, attach to other PVC pipes easier.

Did you consider just an overflow from barrel to barrel rather then the manifold system? I am researching how to connect 5 barrels and rather confused which route to utilize. Thank you

looks awesome. All of the systems I have looked at fill a barrel then spill into the next, from the top. have you tried this manifold system filling all four barrels yet? and if so do have the pressure of all 4 barrels at once pushing out the hose? If this works for sure it will definately be how I set mine up, thanks for posting

Very useful

if you could give an answer. really like your fill system at the bottom, I plan to use for micro irrigation and hydroponics. can I put a submersible pump somewhere to drive the water system tubing. if you can give thoughts thank you

How has the sand base held up?