Thank you for your recent participation in the Rain Harvest Workshop. You checked that you might be interested in purchasing a Rain Barrel or one of the large 275 Gallon Tanks we had on display. The Blue Rain Barrel we had at the workshop came from a company in Georgia at a cost of $25 each plus delivery cost. The delivery cost to get one or two barrels is prohibitively expensive but we can get a load of 20 or so and split the delivery cost up to make it more economical. The advantage of this barrel over the white barrel is the easily removed lid (attaches with a band) and the lack of algae growth potential without adding paint.

If you want a white barrel they can be picked up at the Coca Cola plant (call 841-2653 for details and hours of operation) at the current price of $5.50. These are great barrels but you will have to assemble them on your own and they may need painting and the lids are fixed into position and can only be cut off. Some folks have told me they did not paint theirs and have not had a problem. I think if the water is used frequently and is not allowed to sit undisturbed this might work fine and you can convert to a useable rain barrel for 25 or 30 dollars worth of materials – excluding the tools and bits. This would make a good do it yourself project and can be done in an hour once supplies are purchased.

If you want to order a blue barrel we can provide two options.

Option one: Pick the barrel up from the Botanical Gardens and take it home to build your own rain barrel. This option will cost $30. This will cover the cost of the barrel and delivery to the Botanical Gardens from Georgia if we can get an order of 20 or more barrels. You would pick up the barrel at the Botanical Gardens when notified. It will fit in the backseat of a sedan (bring plastic or paper to keep dirt, etc off your seat) or in a SUV, truck or van. It will not fit in a two door or small car.

Option two: Completed rain barrels just like the blue barrel made in class which will be ready to connect to your down spout can be picked up upon completion at the Botanical Gardens. These barrels will have the faucet installed, the 3" overflow with elbows attached to direct the flow, and the entry hole and basket in the top as demonstrated in the class. The flexible gutter extension is not provided but is readily available and is dependent on your down spout size. The pipe from the elbow to the ground is also not provided but is also readily available and the length needed can vary depending on whether you set the barrel on blocks, etc. This option as described will be made available for $80. My current plans are to put my teenagers on the building project (under my supervision to insure quality control). The $80 will cover the barrel cost, the parts cost, the labor to assemble and the transport cost to and from my home for assembly and a small amount to go back into the Jefferson County Master Gardener program.

The overflow drain will be located 90 degrees to the left of the faucet (as you face the barrel) unless otherwise requested (you may decide based on placement that you want this on the right side and that is doable upon request. Click on this link to see some pictures of what the barrel will look like (except it will be blue not tan):

Lastly, we can make the large tank (275 gallon) available for $150 delivered to the Botanical Gardens but you will need someone with a pickup truck to deliver them to your home. They are light weight and can be lifted by two or three people when empty. I unloaded one by myself without too much trouble but they are bulky. The area needed to set one up is a little less than 4 feet square. If you know how large a pallet is you have an idea of the footprint they would have. This is the same tank you saw on display during the workshop last week. Here is a picture of the tank (see page 2 of this link) which may not have a pallet attached as shown. The pallet it sets on is removable and some don’t even have a pallet under them and if they do they may be wooden (I would remove the pallet if not already removed unless it is on blocks because of possible termite damage or rot damage). These are recycled tanks that contained lubricating oil or food grade products. They did not store toxic materials such as herbicides, etc. They have been washed and checked for leaks. They have a cutoff valve at the bottom but we will install the adapter to allow a water hose hookup and we will install an overflow just like the rain barrels have. An entry hole with a basket like the rain barrels have will also be installed. As with the rain barrels the overflow and the entry hole will be installed on the left side (90 degrees from the hose adapter) unless you request another location. Look at where you plan to install the tank because another location may be better. You will need to provide your own downspout extender to direct water into the basket and the plumbing to direct the overflow to the desired location but the tank will be ready to catch water and attach a hose. You may want to level the area and set the tank up on cinder blocks for easier access to the hose attachment fitting and for better flow. The tank also has a screw off lid so that you can drop a small submersible pump into the tank and pump the water where needed if gravity flow is insufficient. I have one of these small pumps and they do a great job. The quantity available is limited and they will be sold on a first come basis. I hope to have 10 available and it is possible to get more later if the demand is high but due to transport cost we need to order several at a time.

We have found a source for the tanks that individuals can order directly from but the cost for one tank and delivery would be much more expensive than $150 due to the transportation cost. The tanks from the Georgia source I have used in the past cost $105 each plus delivery ($80 minimum) and they do not have the overflow or entry basket parts installed or furnished.

If you have any questions you may call me to discuss them. If you wanted several and want to do the hardware install yourself you might save a few bucks by doing this yourself. Call me if you want the source I purchased ours from.

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