50-Gallon Rain Barrel with Brass Spigot, Flat Back Rain Water Collection Barrel, Walnut Color

The rain barrel looks nice,easy to put in place and easy connections it a good product.

Easy to assemble, good capacity and everything I needed was included so the set up was quick.We use rain water to keep our plants happy. This should be just the thing we need.

This barrel is a good value if you don't have the space to hide used water "totes." The barrel bows out at the back about 3 inches when full so don't install this directly against a wall. Before screwing in the brass spigot, lay the barrel on its back and triple check you have the spigot straight before committing to installing it as it is easy to strip the threads. Expect to use a pipe wrench to completely install it. To daisy chain additional barrels, you'll have to trim a portion of the extruding tabs and place tubing with a 1" inside diameter between the barrels. There is no way to connect a hose to the overflow hole on the front of the barrel so consider installing the barrel on a water heater drain pan.Here is everything I learned about rain water harvesting:Before you move forward with a rain harvesting project, understand that while you may save water, you're unlikely to save money. Even in drought-stricken California, my Tier 2 water rate (out of 4 tiers) has me paying $0.002 per gallon. That's 20 cents for 100 gallons of water. Check your water rates and any available barrel rebates if saving money is your main objective.Plants prefer rain water over chemically-treated tap water, and the idea is to fill and empty your rain barrels throughout the winter in between storms, rather than fill them once to empty in the summer. This way, you can potentially save hundreds or even thousands of gallons of water throughout the year.There are three main challenges involved with harvesting rain water: collection, storage and distribution. To really impact your water usage, you must have quite an extensive system. One inch of rain falling on a 1,000sqft roof can produce 623 gallons of water, and most lawns require at least one inch of water per week. Run your own numbers and don't be surprised if that 400-pound, 50 gallon rain barrel suddenly looks like a drop in the bucket.CollectionThere are a few ways to modify your downspout to collect rain water. You can trim it to empty directly into a barrel (and daisy-chain additional barrels), use a diverter, relocate your downspout or plug it and install a "rain chain." Consider what will happen when your barrel fills up since you don't want large amounts of water to soak into the ground within 10 feet of your home's foundation. Ideally, excess water should get absorbed into the ground via a permeable "rain garden" to replenish the local water table as opposed to going into the sewer system. If your barrel doesn't have an overflow spout for this purpose, consider installing one or mounting your barrel on a water heater drain pan.Some people have had success installing a diverter such as Oatey's at barrel-height so water is fed back into the downspout once the barrel is full. However, the manufacturer's instructions recommend installing the diverter 12"-24" above barrel height.StorageAny water-tight container will work as a rain barrel. You have to define what limitations you have with physical space, cost, HOA rules, aesthetics, safety, etc. Value-wise, it's hard to beat used 275 gallon "totes" if you have the space to store them. Otherwise, this barrel from RTS works well.Be sure to place your barrels on a firm, level and elevated platform made of bricks or cinder blocks with cement caps.. If a barrel is placed directly on the ground, you will have difficulty connecting a hose or placing a bucket under the spigot.DistributionDistributing the stored rain water can be a challenge. The main issue is water pressure. Do not expect to hook up a water wand or sprayer directly to your barrel. Residential water pressure is usually between 40-80 psi, while a 50 gallon barrel on cinder blocks might produce 2-3 psi. One way to improve this is to mount the barrel as high up as possible to make use of gravity. Every additional 2.3 feet of elevation produces another pound of pressure.One way to efficiently distribute the water is to use a low-pressure drip irrigation system. You can also use a bucket or watering can for a small garden or just slowly drain the barrel onto the lawn via a garden hose. If more pressure is needed, consider using a water pump such as a Wayne PC1 or PC2, though keep in mind that most pumps are meant to move water unobstructed as opposed to pressurizing water for a sprinker or sprayer.If your plan is to store water for emergencies, add approximately 5 teaspoons of bleach per 50 gallons and either boil the water or use a backpacker-type water filter before consuming.Edit: In order to drain (and fill) the barrels as one, I made a simple manifold using PVC. With this setup, barrels can still be drained individually and separated for annual cleaning.

Have not used it yet but think it will work great. Durable

Works and looks great. Kept it full during winter and it almost froze solid. No cracks and working perfectly. Quality item.

Very nice rain barrel. I like how the overflow works and doesn't bow out hardly at all. It had a spot on the top side where you drill the hole to connect the gutter-to-barrel adapter. So far has been working great

Excellent

This thing is a piece of crap. The faucet part needed to be replaced with something that doesn't unscrew and only needs a quarter turn. There's no hose that goes with it like other comparable items on Amazon. After I put things in my shopping cart to make up for what this lacked I realized I could have just purchased a little bit more expensive nicer one and not put so much work into it. I decided to return it. There is a random open hole right in the middle of the top I'm sure for overflow but there's no way to attach a hose to it to flow away from the barrel. And what the heck is with the flat square in the front?