55 Gallon Rain Barrel

Why Buy From Us? Useful, eco-friendly products 60 day money back guarantee 100 percent safe, secure shopping Your privacy is assured

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 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 approximately 23" x 23" x 34" (sizes vary according to availability).

This rain barrel includes a spigot for easy watering control. To avoid damage during transit, the spigot is shipped in a plastic bag inside the barrel, along with a plug and assembly instructions. Screwing the valve in place should take 5 minutes or less.

An overflow inlet is pre-installed. This connector 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.

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 55 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.

How do I fill the rain barrel with water?
The easiest way to install this rain barrel is to position it under a downspout or roof flashing. A more elegant solution is to install a WaterSaver Downspout Diverter. This prevents damage to the screen from torrential rains, and it is preferred by some Home Owner's Associations for aesthetic reasons.

Can I use this barrel with a Garden Watersaver?
Yes, this barrel will work with a Garden rainsaver. If you plan to install the diverter, please select the "Sealed" option at the top of the page (the normal fittings will be installed, but the inlet on the top will not be cut into the barrel).

Add a Garden Watersaver Downspout to your order and we'll ship the diverter for no additional shipping charge. Please note - your diverter will ship from a separate location and may arrive before your rain barrel.

If you're looking for a similar rain barrel, we have other models in different colors and sizes. Take a look at our 54 gallon rain barrel and this 60 gallon recycled rain barrel.