60 Gallon Rain Barrel

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Please note: These rain barrels are individually made from recycled barrels, and can take approximately two to four weeks to arrive during periods of high demand in late spring and summer.

This item is in stock in black, but the Terra Cotta option is backordered until the fall of 2009

These rain barrels are the ultimate in recycling. Not only are you collecting rain water to reduce using expensive treated drinking water on your lawn and garden, but you are also helping recycle barrels that were originally used to hold peppers from Greece. These are food grade barrels, which are completely safe to use for water storage. (It is not safe to recycle barrels that once held chemicals or other non-food products to collect water.)

Each terra cotta colored plastic barrel comes with a screw-on top with holes and an inside mesh screen to let in water, while keeping out debris, mosquitos, pets and children. Barrel measures 23" x 23" x 34".

They also come with a water spigot, a secondary on/off hose connection and a rear overflow valve which allows any excess water to be diverted into a second barrel.

By attaching a hose, the water can be diverted to any designated area such as a garden or flower bed.

The spigot and parts will need to be attached to the barrel after it arrives to avoid having them knocked off during transit. This basic assembly should take 30 minutes or less.

How many barrels could you use?
1 inch of rain on a 1000 sq ft roof yields 625 gallons of water. To calculate the yield of your roof, multiply the square footage of your roof by 625 and divide by 1000.

It is easy to connect multiple barrels if you want to collect more water. Just order more than one barrel if you want to collect more than 60 gallons.

When there is a hard freeze in the winter, remember to just keep your drain plug open on your rain barrel and it will be fine. A full rain barrel could potentially crack during a hard freeze when the water expands into ice, but an empty rain barrel will not.

The following two paragraphs appeared in an August 2001 Wall Street Journal article about the resurgence of rain barrels in suburban neighborhoods:

Until the 1940s, the rain barrel was a common sight at farms and homes throughout rural America. Rainwater often was softer than pipe-supplied water, and wooden feed-barrels scattered beneath the steep roof of a barn could catch hundreds of gallons of water during a brief shower. But with modern plumbing, the rain barrel became unnecessary. Today, what many city folks know about rain barrels comes from reruns of "Petticoat Junction" and an old children's song that asks a playmate to "shout down my rain barrel; slide down my cellar door."

Jim Cox, a 46-year-old international-trade expert in Rockport, Mass., says his tomatoes and peppers respond better to rainwater than to the cold water from a hose, which can shock plants in hot weather. Mr. Cox connects two... calculating that each 66-gallon rainwater harvest is enough to keep his garden soaked for one rainless week.

Downspout Options
Don't forget to look at our Garden Watersaver, which is a more elegant way to hook up your rain barrel to your downspout than a regular downspout redirector!

Related products:
60 gallon recycled rain barrel