From Rain Barrel Kit to Bountiful Harvest

David Jacobson with his BlueBarrel Rainwater Catchment System

This highlight comes from BlueBarrel customer David Jacobson, in Austin, TX.

David used our DIY RainKit™ to install a 4-barrel BlueBarrel Rainwater Catchment System™ under his deck. He then used our Add-On Kit to add four more barrels, for a total of eight barrels irrigating his vegetable garden.

He used our website to customize for his site, including extra downspout connections, inlet hose extensions, and double-rows of barrels. He also shares some of his own customizations for painting his leaf eater, winterization, and adding a Wi-Fi controlled timer to automate his gravity-fed drip irrigation system.

Enjoy photos and videos of David's project, and read on to get inspired by our DIY highlight of the season!

Customize your BlueBarrel System™ now!

Starting Small

Elevated BlueBarrel Rainwater Catchment System

David started with a 4-Barrel RainKit™ with the intention of doubling the size of his system later. He built a custom raised foundation for extra elevation, with room for a total of eight barrels.

Says David: I wanted to share photos of my new Blue Barrel Rainwater Catchment System. It is under my deck, next to my vegetable garden. Because I live on a slope, I wanted my barrels to be slightly higher than the highest point of my garden. So, I designed and built a custom rack made of heavy gauge structural steel, capable of carrying the one-ton weight of my four barrels, and a 2nd row of four barrels in the future. I also plan to use the under-shelf as a seedling greenhouse. The water is collected from the downspout off the roof above my deck.

Downspout Details

BlueBarrel System with Double Downspout Diverters

David installed the double-diverter with RainRouter Selector Valve configuration featured in BlueBarrel's Creative Twists article, inspired by another customer, Erik, in California.

To span the extra distance between downspout and barrels, David used Longer Inlet Hose, sold by-the-foot in our Online Store.

Next Came the Leaf Eater

The Leaf Eater is our most popular accessory, providing a robust, stainless-steel pre-filter for water entering rain barrels. As recommended, David installed it in an accessible location so he can easily reach the pull-tab to shake off the screen when needed. He also gave it a nice paint job to complement the color of his trim.

With the mature trees on David's site, the Leaf Eater was definitely a good choice.

Says David: Here is my newly installed Leaf Eater. It is installed at my deck level where I can easily access the filter, while also being well above my diverters. You might also see my dog, Thor, in the pic. 🙂

Enjoy this short video showing David's Leaf Eater in action:

Click here for a playlist of videos featuring the Leaf Eater and other popular accessories.

Winterization

Since BlueBarrel serves customers all over the USA, we recommend different winterization techniques for different climate zones.

David used standard pipe insulation for Austin's fairly mild winters. A nice, insulated cinch-bag covers his outlet for easy access to the valve.

Pipe heating cable on BlueBarrel Rainwater Catchment System

Pipe heating cable under pipe insulation

David then decided to add a plug-in pipe heating cable, as extra insurance against an unexpected cold snap.

David explains: With the recent low temperatures, I experienced some icing in my wrapped pipes and decided to upgrade my winterization with an inexpensive heating cable, specifically designed to heat pipes; it comes with its own built-in thermostat. Seems to be working, and should work nicely as long as I have power.

Expanding the System With BlueBarrel's Add-On Kit

BlueBarrel Add-On Kit turns 4-barrel to 8-barrel system.

BlueBarrel Rainwater Catchment System with insulated pipes

As planned, once he had gotten a feel for all the features of his BlueBarrel System, David returned to BlueBarrel's Online Store to order an Add-On Kit (which he customized for four barrels) along with a Muti-Row Connection so he could configure his addition into double rows.

In his words: I just finished connecting my additional four barrels using BlueBarrel's Add-On Kit, and Multi-Row Connector! My original four barrels were almost full when I started. It was pretty cool to watch my Tank Gauge equalize down to halfway when I opened the cross-connect valve, telling me I had doubled my capacity to 440 gallons! Expecting rain this week, we’ll see how long it takes to fill it back up again. Done with our frigid cold snap a week ago, but I winterized everything anyways just in case we get another winter front before spring.

Automating a Gravity-Fed Drip Irrigation System

BlueBarrel Rainwater Catchment System with pump

Lastly, David added a remote-control valve so that he can operate his gravity-fed irrigation system remotely. Please note, while BlueBarrel does sell a no-pressure irrigation timer to automate frequency and duration for your gravity-fed irrigation cycle, we do not sell or support remote control Wi-Fi products. For customers also interested in experimenting with remote-control Wi-Fi solutions, we offer David's discovery.

David shares: I ended up getting this motorized ball valve because it’s already neatly wired for 110V. It works beautifully, and has a very large opening. I paired it with this outdoor WiFi smart plug (there are LOTS of brands of these of course). Connected to the smart plug, I can open and shut it remotely, schedule it via Google Home or Amazon Alexa or Apple Home; do advanced scheduling like sunset and sunrise, etc. I think it’s going to work nicely.

Enjoying the Fruits

BlueBarrel Rainwater Catchment System in vegetable Garden

David's fenced-in garden area is protected from browsers—a perfect place to grow vegetables to feed the household.

Notice the blue barrels peeking out from under the deck, holding high quality irrigation water for this garden, and situated just high enough to water with with a gravity-fed drip irrigation system.

pepper plants with gravity-fed irrigation

See the drip irrigation line running through these tomato and pepper plants. Gravity does the work to keep the soil hydrated, and the plants happy.

David used our Drip Irrigation Kit for Gravity Feed with Bubbler Emitters, but also ordered some predrilled emitterline (a.k.a. inline emitters) separately for a perfect mix-and-match to service this garden. All of these kits and parts are available in our Online Store.