Rain barrel project

reible · Post by **reible** » Thu May 16, 2013 1:09 pm

My old rain barrel drum and pump stand finally gave up on me. Prompting me to do a new build this spring. I just finished it up today so this is a fresh project.

You might have looked at this post

https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic.php?t=12690

and while it was not introduced as any particular project it was in fact the beginning of this project.

I didn't take any photos during the build but this was done as a construction project, circular saw, jig saw, that sort of tools. However the biscuits were were done on the shopsmith. This picture is a top view, and as you can see it is painted and ready for put'in together.

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When flipped over you can see the curved parts (done with shopsmith bandsaw). If you ever decide to build one of these and want a good fit on the barrel top you have to index the barrel and trace the curves to match. They all seem to have some what of a unique "circle". I use the pump hole to match the mark I put on the drum.

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Next you can see the cistern pump with PVC pipe attached. In my early years we had a cistern pump in our kitchen, that is how we got water for everything. The pump hole in the top allows for a snug fit of the coupling so the pump can be installed with the pipe parts in place.

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The pump is "centered" by the pipe, the holes of the lag bolts are then located and drilled. The two side holes go in to the doubled thickness wood but the back one is in only a single layer.

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The inlet is a section of gutter with end caps added, it calls for an "oval" hole. Again a snug fits is desired. You can see the larger catch screen for larger bits, a second (not in place yet) window screen is used for smaller bit and to keep the bugs out.

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More to come.

Ed

reible · Post by **reible** » Thu May 16, 2013 1:32 pm

The next part is the filter and suction area that goes on the bottom of the pipe near the bottom of the barrel. You don't want to suck up any thing to large and you don't want the gook the ends up on the bottom after a few months so this keeps everything they way it should be. BTW there is a major amount of suction so this also keeps the liner from being sucked up.

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The next picture shows how the parts fit together. This is also where you need to check the length of the pipe to make sure it is not too long, you want it at the bottom but not actually hitting the bottom.

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The pump got a coat of fresh paint for this year service. The leather (black part on the piston) drys out and will not seal well, actually they also wear out but I hope to get at least another season out of this one.

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One easy way to get the seal back is to soak in water, as shown here in watering can. It takes a while so it is still soaking now.

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The barrel is a 55 gallon drum. I line it so it is easy to clean out in the fall, you pull out the bag and fill with garbage and away it goes....

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Almost done.

Ed

reible · Post by **reible** » Thu May 16, 2013 1:39 pm

The top is then placed over the drum and there you have it.

For now this drum is set up as an over flow for the other rain barrel. Later I intend give it a source directly off the roof, just no time for that now.

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We now have 145 gallons of rain water capacity. Back to what I had last year. I was hoping for this to be an addition rather the a replacement but that is not how it worked out.

If you have questions I'll try to answer them.

Ed

farley · Post by **farley** » Fri May 17, 2013 5:05 pm

really nicely done.
thanks, it give me ideas

reible · Post by **reible** » Mon May 20, 2013 10:48 pm

Did a lot of planting today and that prompted me to pump buckets full to water the plants and seeds.

I was pumping away and remembering the sounds of the pump, funny how somethings stay with you like that sound.

It's like today when my wife had the kerosene lamp out and was cleaning the chimney, saw the lamp and smelled the kerosene, never mind it was scented lamp oil.

Anyway I did a very short video and posted at youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UdjvNjEjW4

Ed

BuckeyeDennis · Post by **BuckeyeDennis** » Tue May 21, 2013 12:25 am

That IS short .. I wanna see more! The resolution and sound quality are fantistic.

Your video, and especially the sound, took me back to childhood, growing up in Tennessee. Every now and then, I would go someplace that still had an old-fashioned cast-iron hand pump, usually in the front yard of a pretty cool, but very old, house. I loved those things! They predated indoor plumbing, and would pump water right up from the underground aquifer, while giving you a great workout to boot.

Sometimes, there was a bucket of water hanging from them for priming purposes. The drill was to prime, then pump, then refill the primer bucket. Once you got them going, they would gush unlimited gallons of cool, fresh water.

To put that in perspective, wandering out into your nice front yard to draw a bucket of water had to be way more convenient than that which came before. (Especially if you had kids to do it for you

). What came before was to carry a bucket down the hillside to the river or stream, fill 'er up, and then trudge back up carrying a heavy bucket. Ain't technology wonderful!

camerio · Post by **camerio** » Tue May 21, 2013 8:39 am

Very good job Ed !
As usual, you make this look so easy.
Lee Valley in Canada still sells the pump and you can order new gaskets as well from them.

http://www.leevalley.com/en/garden/page.aspx?p=10380&cat=2,2280,10380

I know, I know, it is the second time I make a reference to Lee Valley, I am not paid by them, I just enjoy that place for the variety of good tools and their good service.
There probably is a place like that in the states.

fredsheldon · Post by **fredsheldon** » Tue May 21, 2013 8:53 am

I just ordered 6 of these for $60.00 each to catch rain water off my roof so that I can keep my plants alive if we have another serious drought. I installed rain gutters on the back of my house a couple of weeks ago and will route the downspout into the first barrel, which should fill the remainding 5 barrels via the overflow pipes. My first order of business is to construct a stand to hold the barrels off the ground high enough to provide water pressure without the need for a pump. Also, the homeowners association will only allow up to 2 barrels per homesite so I need to shield them from view as well.

Anybody have suggestions as to how to construct a stand strong enough to hold all the weight.

http://www.rainwatersolutions.com/

joshh · Post by **joshh** » Tue May 21, 2013 9:17 am

fredsheldon wrote:Anybody have suggestions as to how to construct a stand strong enough to hold all the weight.

Siri tells me 55 gallons of water weighs 459 pounds. These stands are rated to 500 pounds. I bought one for the blast cabinet I'm building and it is very well made. With a 20% off coupon they are about $28 each
http://www.harborfreight.com/universal- ... 69805.html

If anyone else is looking for large collectors, check local oil change places. Often (at least around here) they give away used 55 gallon oil drums free after they suck all the oil out. It would require cleaning / detox, but you can't beat free

fredsheldon · Post by **fredsheldon** » Tue May 21, 2013 9:47 am

Josh,

Thanks for that link. Those just might be the solution I'm looking for. I just need to buy some concrete blocks to set them on and construct a platform to set the barrel on.