https://youtu.be/J2Ncx-SgZb4

Quick youtube search brought me this. You might also want to switch out the top screen like the tutorial does.

You can always empty it in the late fall and store it for the winter.

The problem with storing it for the winter with that type of installation is that you'll have water splashing down from the bottom of the spout several feet onto the ground, which can't be good. Also, the downspout for the video is in the center of the wall, while ours are all at the corners, and it will look silly to have the barrel sticking out halfway.

I'm tempted to return it, but then I'd have to order one through Home Depot or Lowes, or maybe Amazon. I don't see any other local places that keep them in stock, and it's too late to order (an ugly one) through my town . I like the fact that I can get a fitted stand for the Costco one (via Home Depot), but I suppose we can get by with bricks or cinder blocks.

You could always get a extension to the downspout for the winter. Barring any of that you could always modify it yourself. There are quite a few aquaponics tutorials up on youtube that would give you a great starting point on adding a hose. You could probably do some thing similar to what the video I linked earlier did. Instead of adding a screen you could use a solid piece of plastic that has a connection for your current system.

My only advice to you would be to figure out a way to add a screen to filter out debris and a easy way to access and clean it.

I used to have a wooden whiskey barrel rain barrel fitted with spigots and a cup-shaped strainer in the hole in the top. We kept a section of downspout and put it on in the winter to extend down to ground level. We took it off in the spring and put the elbow back on.

Did you need some sort of connector for the downspout?

I don't think a connection like that would work for us anyway. With our downspouts all at the corners, we need something to direct the water sideways from the downspout.

An elbow and a short length of pipe. My barrel was at a corner too.

That's a great help. I may go with the Fiskars diverter, at least for the first one. I'll still need to figure out how to level the platform on our driveway (yes, one of our downspouts empties onto the driveway in front of the garage).

We live in New England and have a 50 gallon flat back rain barrel. I looked at what you purchased from Costco and it could work the same way ours does. We bought a downspout diverter (made from metal) from Gardener's Supply (you'll find it with a google search). We set our rain barrel near the downspout on four cement cinder blocks (two high) from Lowes. We wanted it up in the air to make it easier to fill watering cans from each spigot (especially the lower one). The downspout diverter involves cutting your downspout in half at the location where you want the maximum level in the rain barrel (the Gardener's Supply website has pictures). The downspout diverter kit comes with a hose and rubber grommets. You can place the rain barrel anywhere within about four feet of the downspout. You drill a hole near the top of the rain barrel for the hose. When the rain barrel reaches full, the diverter overflows to the normal downspout outlet. We have a three season downspout to accommodate the diverter and a winter downspout (with no diverter). We don't leave the rain barrel out during the winter. We did not want the ice expanding and cracking the rain barrel (since it is heavy plastic). It also allows us to flush the rain barrel clean before the next year.

I got it done yesterday, and it's working. The Fiskars is leaking out the bottom, so I'll need to seal that up after it dries. It doesn't divert 100% of the water, but enough that I'm happy for now. There's a review on Fiskar's site that mentions needing to seal the bottom (not a huge deal) and suggests adding a flap to increase the flow to the barrel.

The barrel feels about half full or so now, which seems ok after the light rain we've been having today.

I just saw a downspout diverter in an email from Lee Valley:

Universal Downspout Diverter

I have no experience to share, I just thought someone might be interested (I have great confidence in Lee Valley products).

Claire