Actually, the search is working. The posting area is the biggest and most noticeable, but search is at the top, sort of in the middle (at least at my screen resolution). Some screen resolutions may put it closer to the middle.

Since this is such a new forum, you're not likely to find anything searching just this forum. Searching the entire site should find more. To do that, use the search box to the right of the menu items and hit the red go button.

I've never done anything with rain barrels. I have read that the "illegal in Colorado" bit is based on a misinterpretation of the water rights laws and that they're not really illegal there.

You are right. THEY are not illegal but collecting water from your roof is.

I'll have to check out the search a little deeper - sorry! The curser lands in the posting message area, thus my confusion!

Actually, it's the cursor that lands in the posting area. This causes the user to be the curser. :)

I had read the same thing about rain barrels in Colorado. More recently, I read that this belief was due to a misinterpretation of water rights law. I just did a few searches and can't find the source for that, and all references I've found (including the Denver Water company) say you can't collect the water off your roof.

We acquired several 50-gallon or so plastic barrels from a local furniture refinisher. Whatever had been in them was not harmful to the environment, so my friend rinsed them out, put a hose bib connection at the bottom and cut a hole in the top for his downspout. He only uses the water for watering his new shrubs, and it works fine. During a heavy rain they will fill up in a matter of minutes.

g'day grinder,

we have rainwater tanks as well as rain barrels, we use the rain barrel water mostly for washing clothes.

i have a picture of how we set our barrels up on this page:

permaculture

we use a boat bilge pump app' 700 litre per hour model, next time will go for around the 1,000 litre per hour model, just need to make sure it will fit through the bung hole of the barrel, and we use a battery booster pack for the car to power the bilge pump, too easy.

len

Here is a link that might be useful: len's garden page

I made my own rain barrels out of old wooden whiskey barrels. They rot after a few years and need replacing, but I like the rustic look of them over the plastic ones.

I've heard the rain barrel issues in colorado have been clarified... such that rain barrels to collect water for personal use would be legal, but collecting water to give or sell to others would be in violation of the law.

We use new garbage cans under the eaves of the garage side of the house (not seen from the street). Hubby bought a 200 gallon water storage tank for $75 and he fills it with the collected rain water. Very handy when our water is off for any reason and for compost tea, etc.

The house is old and we are adding gutters as we paint. Our neighbor said he might be able to get food grade barrels from his nephew who works for a hospital 40 miles from us. Hoping he can as that would make our project quite affordable :*)

Peggy

Hey grinder 12000 try gardeners.com they have some beutiful one's

Try to locate a soft drink bottler in your area. They have big plastic drums for sale here, after they empty the syrup.

Just add a spigot at the bottom and you have an inexpensive rain barrel.

MarySLC--From your user name, I'm guessing you're somewhere along the Wasatch front. Where do you get your barrels?

Hobby Farm Home Magazine just had a big article about Rain Barrels. One of the things they pointed out was that barrels should have a well fitting screen cover to keep animals, debri and kids from falling in. To keep it safe from skeeters breeding in it you should throw a dunk in once in awhile.
If you don't have downspouts they recommended using rain chains to help guide the water into the barrels.

Sorry for piggy-backing, but does anyone have a suggestion for preventing mosquitos and/or growths in a rain barrel, without using any chemical products? I'm slowly switching to less toxic means of maintaining my apartment and garden, particularly in favor of "products" that can be home-made. Thanks!

You can add a little bleach - it doesn't take much. Campers have long used this method to insure safe drinking water. Also, it'sa good idea to cover the tops of the barrels with a screen or solid cover to prevent wildlife from getting trapped and accidentally drowning.

A little bit of bleach will work providing you are not dealing with a overly large population of skeeters.

I have half a dozen little half-barrel water gardens which I populate each spring with a few 10/$1 "feeder" goldfish each. A rain barrel for watering isn't that different and it seems like, in some climates, there would always be a bit of water left in the bottom for a fish, and the compost tea could only get better!

Actually dunks are not chemicals in the purest sense of the word. They are biologicals. It's BT Israelensis .......... a bacillus. It's quite organic.

Grinder120000, you can get rainbarrels with the spigots and a screen, and some with overflow hoses, from the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District for a price. The often have them sold at booths at farmers markets and craft fairs.

http://www.mmsd.com/rainbarrel/faqs.cfm

Here is a link that might be useful: Rain Barrels Milwaukee

I'm considering buying one of these :) Christy

Here is a link that might be useful: Aqua Barrel

BayTec Containers have the best prices i have found on the Internet.
Here is the link!
BayTec Containers

Here is a link that might be useful: Rain Barrels

My tank holds 1700 gallons...it is collected off half of my roof....It is in essence, two concrete septic tanks/rings that sit one on top of the other...I have spigots and I even have a pump on mine for convenience...It wasn't cheap but in an area where drought occurs often enough...it affords me the priviledge of gardening with out wasting water.

Many commercial rain barrels come with their own screens, which should keep out the mosquitos.

Here is a link that might be useful: My rain barrel

dear grinder, you might consider using grey water to use in watering your yard also.

Bacillus Thurengensis is the real name for BT . We use it all the time in our cattle water tanks that hold 165 gallons of water . It is completely harmless to animals or plants and highly effective against mosquitos . Lasts a lot longer than bleach too .