rain barrel

[Jimmy Buffett]

I want to use one of my empty 55 gallon drums to make a rain barrel to water my wife's garden this summer using a soaker hose. I saw one last fall that had a spigot that just threaded into the drum. I can't find such a spigot. Does anybody have any idea where you can get one or have another idea for a way to attach a soaker hose?
Thanks

 

[Waxman]

I made something from hardware store parts; a brass hose spigot and some silicone sealer.

 

[Washmee]

I want to use one of my empty 55 gallon drums to make a rain barrel to water my wife's garden this summer using a soaker hose. I saw one last fall that had a spigot that just threaded into the drum. I can't find such a spigot. Does anybody have any idea where you can get one or have another idea for a way to attach a soaker hose?
Thanks

Just use a bulkhead fitting.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/116/95/=5zmp92

 

[Tom Thumb]

I have found them at boat supply stores.

 

[MEP001]

A 55-gal. barrel is thick enough to hold a thread, but you'll need to drill and tap a hole. I've seen a plastic spigot at Home Depot with 1/2" threads.

I don't think a soaker hose will work from a barrel of water.

 

[pitzerwm]

If you put the bottom of the barrel just a little above ground level, it will work in the soaker.

 

[MEP001]

If we're thinking of the same soaker hose, the one that's a porous rubber isn't going to flow with no pressure. They barely flow anything with city pressure on them. Maybe one of the flat hoses that would usually spray with pressure would do since it has small holes rather than being made from a semi-porous rubber with no manufactured holes.

 

[ted mcmeekin]

There are lots of sytems that will work with low pressure gravity feed. Search "drip irragation system". I have one and we could go to camp starting with full drum and after learning to throttle a little could make this work for a week--I did elavate 2 concrete blocks for a little more pressure. About 44 psi for every hundred feet of water column or .0.44 psi per 1 ft so a drum with 4 ft of water above connection will give you almost 2 psi. The material is porus and you can literally see a drop of water forming very slowly on the surface. Cheap kits of tubing and cut length to suit.

Ted

Ted

 

[PaulLovesJamie]

I did this 20-30 years ago, I used a bulkhead fitting, regular hose spigot, and an old garden hose. The whole thing worked great, with one major problem - algae growth. The problem I had was that when it was raining, the garden was getting watered so I wanted to save the barrel water for a few days before using it. If I used the water quickly it worked ok, but stagnant water grew algae quickly.

Anyway my point is that its a good idea, but its not like a car wash where you just go and collect quarters, you have to keep after it.

 

[Jimmy Buffett]

I was just planning on putting it on the trailer and filling it up at the house. We had lots of rain last year but the 2 previous years we had none.
The bulkhead would work but I wasn't planning on removing the top of the drum. I've never tried the soaker with anything but the pressure from the house. If it won't work I'll just make my own with and old hose.
Waxman, sounds like you just glued one to the barrel? And that held?
Thanks