What if you can't place your BlueBarrel System® right next to a downspout? You may even need to turn a corner, or bypass a fence or walkway. Or perhaps you're working in a cramped space where you don't have room for a standard inlet.
This article is a guide for spanning the distance between your downspout and rain barrels by extending (or shortening) the inlet hose.
The Standard Inlet Hose: A Briefing
When it rains, water flows through the downspout, is intercepted by the rain diverter, and directed into the barrel through a flexible inlet hose.
Our standard inlet hose, included with the downspout diverter kits in our online store, is an accordion hose that extends up to 31", or 2.5'. If you want to place your BlueBarrel System® (or other rain barrel) further from a downspout, we have easy options for extension!
Tip: With BlueBarrel's underplumbed design, you only need to access one barrel with the inlet hose. All barrels in a BlueBarrel System® will fill from the bottom with a single inlet!
Inlet Hose Extension for Rain Barrels
If you need to span a distance longer than 2.5' from downspout-to-barrel, we have longer inlet hose available by-the-foot in our online store. Order the number of feet you need, and we'll cut you a custom length. The material is easy to cut at 1' intervals. If you need more than one inlet hose extension for rain barrels, enter the total number of feet you will need to service all systems.
A longer hose can sag, however, so read on for ideas on how our DIY customers have supported their hose extensions for success!
Anchored Extensions
Here is a classic example from Hilleary in Santa Rosa, CA. A couple of C-shaped pipe hanger straps anchor the inlet hose extension to the wall to keep the hose level.
Greg in Farmville, VA routed his extended inlet hose along the edge of a deck to reach his 6-barrel BlueBarrel System around the corner. With the deck to support and vegetation to shade and protect the hose, a loose anchor next to the downspout does the trick to hold things in place.
David in Austin, TX installed 4 barrels under a deck, on a custom-built raised metal foundation. He used zip-ties mid-span, to secure his three hose extensions to the deck joists above. Click the hyperlinks to learn more about raised rain barrel foundations and the double-stacked diverter approach shown here.
This creative example is from Gayle in Boerne, TX. She used standard PVC pipe and fittings to craft a pass-through tee to support her inlet hose. Even though her span was short enough to use the standard accordion-style inlet hose included with BlueBarrel's standard diverter kits, a little support prevents sagging.
Covered/Encased Extensions
With an air conditioning unit between his BlueBarrel System and downspout, Erik in Moreno Valley, CA used a similar approach, but added some standard pipe insulation. The sponge-like insulation protects the inlet hose both from sun and from abrasion with the hanger straps. See more creative ideas from Erik's place here.
In this example, Stephen in Lawrence, CT has encased his inlet hose extension inside of standard 1.25" PVC pipe. This serves the dual purpose of holding the hose steady, and keeping it protected from sunlight. He connected PVC ells to a short pipe segment to turn a corner. He then anchored the pipe extension to the siding using a combination of plumber's tape and pipe hanger straps.
Danny in Palo Alto, CA also used PVC to encase a very long run. Danny has three BlueBarrel Systems collecting from four different downspouts at his place. Two of his four downspout connections required an extension. The other two are standard.
Supported Extensions, Offset From Wall
Byron in Loranger, LA offset his BlueBarrel System from the wall, so he needed to be creative in supporting the inlet hose extension into his rain barrels. He employed a lightweight wooden furring strip to support the hose from underneath. Zip-ties secure everything in place.
Re-Routed Downspouts
This beauty was submitted by Georgann in Montara, CA, showing an extended trellis to bring the downspout over a walkway. She says: "Success! My husband installed our 10-barrel system in a day. He added a gutter over the path to feed into the downspout."
Also offset from the house, Fred in Davis, CA built a simple archway over his gate using 2x4 lumber, and replaced the downspout from that corner of his house with 2" ABS pipe, a material that's easy to work with for re-routing overhead. The 2" round pipe empties onto a Leaf Eater, just visible behind the gate, which makes an easy transition to BlueBarrel's standard diverter.
Here's another approach to downspout re-routing from Keith in Port Orchard, WA. Keith wanted two downspouts to feed his 12-barrel system, with overflow from both draining to the same spot.
He used standard downspout material to run the second line over a window and along the side of his garage, eventually to be hidden by the BlueBarrel System. He used Leaf Eaters and downspout diverters to collect from both spouts.
Says Keith: "My 24' x 36' garage needs only 1.2 inches of rain to fill all 660 gallons."
Pass-Through Extensions
The following solutions exemplify more creativity from our customers! Sometimes you have to navigate distance or a corner, and sometimes you hit a wall, so to speak...
Trevor in Lambertville, NJ tucked his BlueBarrel System beneath a deck, but had to navigate around timber cladding to connect with a downspout. In order to keep the inlet hose level, he bore a hole in the wood, with the same hole saw used to create the inlet hole in the downspout. On closer inspection, you'll notice that he used copper to trim the inlet configuration! Fine craftsmanship, Trevor.
A number of our customers have placed BlueBarrel Systems alongside their house, tucked behind a fence or gate. This is a great solution for utilizing narrow spaces on your property. Mary, in Larkfield, CA, lined up eight barrels discreetly behind a fence, but the nearest downspout was on the other side. Much like Trevor, Mary used BlueBarrel's hole saw to bore a right-sized hole in the planking to ensure the inlet hose would run horizontally from the downspout to the first barrel's inlet.
What about short spans?
How to use "longer" inlet hose in tight spots:
Our "longer" inlet hose is sold by the foot, and a one-foot segment can be just what the doctor ordered when barrels are too close to the downspout.
If the expanse is too short, sometimes the standard 2.5-foot accordion hose won't want to bend the right way.
This example is from our owner Jesse's house in California. She found herself in a tight spot, and replaced the standard hose with a one-footer to join downspout to barrel.
Says Jesse: "It was really a pain to get this hose in place, so I recommend giving yourself more space to work with if you can, but it's nice to know there's a solution for tight spots."
This 40-second video shows water entering Jesse's system through the shortened inlet hose, via a Leaf Eater. Watch a BlueBarrel System filling live!
We love learning from our customers and sharing their DIY tips and tricks with fellow BlueBarrelers! Check out our blogs below for more customer customization ideas. And browse our customer reviews and photo gallery for yet more examples of BlueBarrel Systems® across the country.
