Q&A for How to Build a Rainwater Collection System

In order to take down a rain water catcher, you will need to disassemble it first.

You may have to if the downspout needs to be changed or relocated to accommodate Your storage location.

You can install a submersible pump inside the tank and run the water line out near the top of the tank adjacent to the overflow. This will require electrical work. Or if you have an external pump already, you could simply run the intake line into the barrel and let the pump suck it it out. Consider installing a filter in-line before the pump on any application as well as a screen over the rainwater collection hole. Also check to see what size pump motor is needed to push your water where it needs go at the rate you wish it to flow and the pump electrical requirements.

For a temporary connection that can easily be converted back to two independent systems, you can install a secondary spigot near the top on each system and use a garden hose connecting the two spigots. The normally 'male' end of the hose needs a 'female' adapter to attach to the spigot. Water will then flow from the higher system to the lower once the higher system is full. For a more permanent connection, replace the spigots with PVC fittings like the kind used for the overflow drain and use appropriately sized PVC pipe in place of a hose. Be sure to support the pipe to prevent it from pulling out of the barrels over time.

Once you have all of your materials (lumber, barrels, pipe fittings, etc.) on hand and a clear plan, it can easily be done in one to two weekends. Constructing an elevated stand from wood to provide the system with a minimum amount of water pressure for the actual collection system itself will be the longest task. If you are simply going to raise the barrels up using concrete block, that will be much faster. The plumbing portion is pretty quick and easy. Site leveling and preparation with pea gravel takes little time.

Yes. Use a large funnel or shape metal into the shape of a funnel and place at the top to collect water.

You could simply install a small hole in the bottom of your collection cans outside and a hole in the side of the house, with a pipe connecting the outdoor cans to an indoor trough or something. You can find branching extensions for the end of the pipe so that you can then branch off multiple small pipes for multiple indoor cans.

You can set up a large trough outside next to your house to collect water. You can run the gutter system into the trough, or you can run it into various barrels or cans to keep it for different purposes.

No. The only use of a rainwater collection system is to collect rain water.

If you experience temperatures below freezing, it is advisable to drain and leave open any spigots on your system for the winter. Water in any lines connecting multiple barrels will freeze fairly quickly and will likely compromise the system by cracking or pulling loose from the barrels. Rainwater harvested prior to winter can be stored in separate storage containers in a garage, provided the temperature in the garage does not drop below freezing for a length of time that would allow for that water to freeze. There certainly are ways to keep that water insulated and/or warm using artificial means, but are beyond the intended scope of this article's instructions.

I don't believe the color of paint will have an impact. Algae is a living organism, that (usually) uses photosynthesis to live. You could try moving it away from sunlight.

Aside from leaks, narrow lines can plug with debris that gets past the intake filters.

It depends on the situation. If you don't mind having the eye-sore of tarps, you can easily set up a tarp that funnels into a container (basically a giant upside-down umbrella). The whole point of this is to have a giant surface area to catch that water and drain it into a container. The larger the surface area, the more water it can remove.

Just connect to the one that drains the most water, so your stock is often replenished.

Yes, but the difficulty is you'll need a pump to get the water back out of it to actually use. If they're above ground, you can drain them with gravity.

No, just filter the initial downspout and exit pipes to keep the needles from clogging things up in the water supply system. Women's stockings work well to prevent clogging - clean them after every rain.

You need to be able to access the inside of the barrel. If you have a small opening on top versus a top that can be removed, using a broom handle, slide the internal connector down the broom handle to the connection area hole inside the barrel and then screw in the fitting from the outside. It's takes a bit of time, but works.

You will need some type of surface that the rainwater falls on in order to collect it. Once you have that, this system will work perfectly for supplying them water.

It can be very cheap. Get barrels from a local car wash for free. As they use a mild soap in the barrels, it will be easy to clean. In fact, most of the materials can be obtained for free if you get creative. If you use two 30 gallon barrels like I did, the whole thing will cost about 30 dollars.

Yes. I use a screen that filters out all but the smallest debris, but a bit of debris will get in the barrel which could include small bugs. The water is used for watering my garden so it's not an issue. If I were to drink the water, I'd be more concerned about bacteria growing in the tank than bugs. If I had no water to drink, I would feel safe drinking it after boiling it or treating it.