The latest project at my house was to update the design of my original rain barrel made from a whiskey barrel and the much improved 12 volt pumping system charged with solar power.  This time, I buried the irrigation piping in the ground and ran the piping to the little garden we have beside the house.  I finished the fence and gardening area earlier this spring.  The stones for the stone walkway were provided by my dad and come from Head Spring Farm.

My goal was to design and build an environmentally friendly and sustainable irrigation system using solar power, rain water collection, and reclaimed materials.  The rain water irrigation project consists of the following parts:

• A reclaimed oak whiskey barrel used to capture rain water
• A solar panel to charge a 12 volt battery.
• A salvaged 12 volt lawn tractor battery.
• A 12 volt, 3 gallon per minute (GPM) pump.
• A turn on / turn off toggle switch for easy access to irrigate the garden.
• Lawn sprinkler.
• A containment box for the pump and battery made from furniture scrap lumber.

The rain barrel is a reclaimed oak whiskey barrel.  I modified the barrel to include a screen to capture debris, a ball valve for shutoff, and an overflow pipe.  I chose the oak barrel for a few reasons:

1. It is a reused barrel purchased from a local whiskey distillery.
2. It looks more natural than plastic rain barrels.
3. It captures runoff to reduce the amount of impervious surface runoff.
4. It is not made of plastic like most rain barrels sold today.

When conditions are dry, I simply flip the toggle switch to irrigate the garden.  At three GPM, I can deliver 50 gallons of rain water in less than 20 minutes.  With the ability to simply flip a switch to run the irrigation pump, we no longer need to worry about dragging hoses and dealing with the smell of stagnant water that is typical in mid to late summer.

If you want to continue reading on how to build a rain barrel from a whiskey barrel and where to buy the parts (e.g. pump, strainer, and solar panel), please see my original rain barrel blog: http://www.headspringfarm.com/blog/?p=15

Conserving water does not have to be difficult and actually can add a bit of landscaping appeal to your garden. The rain barrel concept has been around for a very long time and I recall we had a cistern at the farm house where I grew up. Rain water stored in a barrel or cistern is not quite ready for drinking water unless treated, but it can be used for gray water (e.g. washing, toilets) or simply as irrigation. I think we have been so use to readily available sources of water that our old school conservation practices disappeared. Almost everyone can use rain barrels, although you should check with your state. I recently learned that the state of Colorado has limitations to storing rain. As a resident you are not the sole owner of the rain that falls on your roof that mother nature provided. You can read more about the water rights of Colorado here.

Reclaimed Whiskey Barrels stacked. Mike and Nephew Mason.

The Benefits of Rain Barrels
Rain barrels are great for a many reasons. They save you money by reducing the amount of clean water either pumped from your wells or provided by your water treatment plant. Collecting rain water can help you cut down on the amount of drinking water you waste on your lawn, which will reduce your monthly water bill and save you money. I will have to admit that my water bill has not significantly reduced since I am only storing 100 gallons at any given time compared to the thousands you see on your water bill, but I know that I am reducing the waist of treated water used for irrigation. By using the rain water, you are reducing the energy used to treat and pump the water to your home.

A big factor that I have yet to run quantitative numbers is the amount of runoff preserved at any given rainfall. In my county, stream and bank erosion is significant. It is to a point where I have seen 10 feet of bank erosion over the past six years where erosion up to this time was minimal. Most of this is caused by poor stormwater management practices where builders continue to cover land with impervious surfaces for roads, driveways, and patios. The impact is so significant that in Fairfax County, the engineering groups working in surface and groundwater hydrology, river hydraulics, and sediment transport have considered changing the ten year storm maximum rainfall to more frequent five year storms. This is not because of climate change, but that the volume of water is so significant that runoff volumes must be increased to model upstream and downstream impacts. Imagine if you had to buy flood insurance because 500 year storms were now categorized as 100 year storms because or governments did not manage development and stormwater appropriately. If you assume 70% of all residents within any given city stored 100 gallons of rainwater after each storm, the runoff reduction could be significant.

Keeping a lawn requires a lot of resources. A lawn requires a massive amount of water – a third of all residential water use in the United States goes towards landscaping. Using rain barrels can help keep a nice green yard without the eco-guilt.

How To Install Rain Barrels

Installing a rain barrel collection system requires little more than a container, a screen to keep out bugs and debri and some hosing to attach to the barrel for watering your lawn and plants. I have decided to use reclaimed whiskey barrels. My decision has two significant reasons in my opinion; 1) It is reclaimed and the real oak barrels add a nice touch to the yard or garden and 2) they are not plastic. Plastic looks like… well, plastic and we know that plastic is not considered very green. If you have some plastic containers used on the farm, then please reuse versus throwing away. Below are my steps that I used to create my rain barrels.

Hole drilled and water valve with 4" stem

1) I first drill a hole in the bottom for a valve to hook a standard water hose. I used an external water valve.

2) I installed a faux port hole from Sea Side Treasures. I used a standard door screen underneath to help keep mosquitoes and gutter debris out of the barrel. Seaside Treasures offers other options for their port holes.

Water entry hold protection with screen to protect from bugs and gutter debris.

3) I used a hole saw to cut the appropriate sized hole to install the overflow pipe. This was an update to my original design (I’ve made two major modifications since my first rain barrel). The overflow pipe was installed on the right side since I knew the direction where I wanted any extra water to go.

4) For protection from weather, I used teak oil and a polyurethane treatment.

Completed rain barrel with overflow pipe installed.

One problem with rain barrels is that water is typically gravity fed. That means you have to elevate the barrel, have a down hill yard, or bend over a lot to keep the water hose below the water line. My solution is a solar charged water pump. I got the idea from a solar charged electric fence on my dad’s farm. It is basically a toolbox with two switches (solar charging and pump), a 12 volt pump, and 12 volt garden tractor sized battery. A trickle charging device was added for over charging, but the solar panel used does not provide that significant of a charge to be concerned.

Solar Charged Rain Barrel Pump

Solar Charged 12-volt water pump

Building a Solar Charged Water Pump for your Rain Barrel:

Building solar charged 12-volt portable pumping system is pretty simple.  If I was to build again, I would probably think about a submersible pump.  I created the “tool box” (see picture shown here) style for easy use of carrying around for more than one barrel. The place I would suggest buying parts based on price is Northern Tool and Equipment.  Northern Tool has a catalog, too. There is always some cool gardening and farm gadgets to check out. Northern Tool has almost everything you need from a lawn, garden, and farm supply perspective. There are some battery backup systems available, but I think you will find they get a bit pricey. Look to see if your area would provide  a grant to fund your project. The USDA rural development and now urban development agencies are providing grants for green solutions for water reuse and water conservation.

12 Volt Pumps: The pump I purchased was a Shurflow 3 GPM.  By clock time, it takes about 20-25 minutes to empty the 55 gallon rain barrel.  I guess I was not far off since 55 gallons / 3 gpm is about 18 minutes.  It powered a sprinkler, too.  I used a small lawn and garden style 12 volt battery.  If you think that you will be running more than 75 gallons a day or a high volume pump, you may want to go with a larger tractor battery and higher charging capacity solar charger. The place I bought my 12-volt pump:  http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/rv-pumps-water/shurflo-pumps.htm This link has the specs for all Shurflow pumps.  If you decide you will need more volume of irrigation, you may want to go with a higher volume pump like this.

Solar charger: I bought a Sunsei brand ( http://www.sunsei.com/) low wattage trickle charging panel.  I bought this solar charger (400mA).  I think the solar changer from NorthernTool has more bang for the buck and may service you better  (see Northern Tool Charger). You will definitely want a Charge Controller to avoid overcharging / cooking the battery.  If you get a low watt / low amperage (400mA) trickle charger, you really don’t need this, but check with the manufacturer’s specs.  I say anything over 7 Watts will suggest a controller.  Give both companies a call. Although a little pricier, I found PPL to provide good customer support and answered all of my questions.

I highly advise buying a pump strainer to keep debris that may get into your tank and into the pump.  This size fits my pump (3 GPM size), so be sure you know what in and out dimensions are to get the right size. The guys at PPL Motor Homes are helpful to answer questions on the size you need.

You will *not* need a water pressure regulator if your tank is a standard barrel size and is gravity fed.  It is hardly enough to damage the pump. The Shurflow has a shut-off pressure of 40psi and a built-in check valve, so no worries on that.

If you would like to purchase or want more information on my rain barrels, please contact me at info@headspringfarm.com. The current price is $395.00. This does include the solar charged water pump.

Thank you for reading.  Please see my follow-up blog with the addition of an irrigation system with solar recharged pump system: http://www.headspringfarm.com/blog/?p=118

Mike

Over the past year, I have been supporting volunteer organizations to promote and manage “River, Bay, and Ocean Friendly Gardens (RBOFG)”. There are many organizations that focus on planting native plants and educate gardeners on why native planting supports a healthy watershed. Most county park authorities have a program to ask volunteers to help manage the invasive plants that have taken over our parks. Below are a few items that you can do to create a RBOFG.  Some organizations also call this “Bayscaping”.

1. Plant native trees, grasses, ground cover, and shrubs: Plants native to your region will reduce pests, disease, and weed problems. Â Since they are native to your area, they reduce the amount of fertilizer, herbicides and water, too. Â There is a list of native plant resources to the right under the heading “River, Bay, Ocean Friendly Gardens”.

2. Test the soil: Test the nutrients in your soil before you consider using fertilizers or chemicals. Â Avoid the usual routine of applying fertilizers just because a company tells you to apply in the Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.

3. Fertilize only when and where necessary: Over fertilizing contributes to nutrient loading (nitrogen and phosphorus) that pollutes our Rivers, Bay, and Oceans. Use organic fertilizers like algae and corn gluten products. Residential runoff has become a much larger issue as more development has occurred around water regions. Residential lawn applications typically do not follow minimum specifications for lawn applications. Residents are not too concerned about their bottom line like farmers. Again, test the soil before you apply.

4. Identify plants that are invasive: Use proper disposal techniques and be aware of Resource Protected Areas (RPAs) in your region.

5. Utilize compost as fertilizer: For a healthy, river friendly garden, create a healthy compost pile that reuses food waste, grass clippings, yard waste, and other natural ingredients.

6. Mow the lawn at the proper height: Set your mower blade height to 3-inch. Cutting too short never allows the grass to get ahead of the weeds. Consider using a push mower in place of a motorized mower (helps with air pollution, too).

7. Reduce pesticides and herbicides by least 50%: Toxic chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides can poison your yard’s balanced ecosystem and may end up in your local stream. Planting native helps since native plants are generally tolerant of the pests in your area.  Leave the clover in your yard for a year.  If you feel you must control the clover, treat it every other year instead of every year. Clover is a legume which means it puts Nitrogen in your soil through the Nitrogen Fixation process.

8. Reduce water usage: Over watering does not allow plants to establish a root system they normally need to survive during dry conditions. Install cisterns or rain barrels to capture rain water for use later.

9. Reduce lawn size: How much lawn area do you really need? Â Install larger mulch beds and planting areas.

10.   Got Buffer? Plant buffers of native trees, shrubs, and gardens in the remaining yard that will soak up excess nutrients and prevent soil erosion. This helps manage runoff from impervious surfaces. Stormwater management is becoming a big problems in cities and is costing counties millions of dollars due to erosion.

11.  Plant perennials instead of annuals when possible.  Annuals require more wasted resources due to the extra water, transportation, and plastic flats (to name a few) needed in providing these plants to consumers annually.

12. Â Reduce Polluted Runoff – Use a Broom Instead of a Hose. Avoid watering your sidewalk and driveway. Watering your driveway and sidewalk is probably the biggest abuse to our drinking water. The ocean does begin at your front door.

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