Spring is coming! I know that this is when a lot of you out there get torrential downpours. April showers bring May flowers, right? When I was growing up in the Portland area I coined the term April showers bring May showers! It’s true, although thankfully here in Southern Oregon it’s not quite as dismal as that. While we do get rain pretty reliably here for 9 months out of the year, we definitely have a summer drought where we don’t get any rain whatsoever for 3 months straight. So setting up a rain collection barrel makes a whole lot of sense for us. To be honest, it makes a whole lot of sense for any self reliant homestead, especially if you want to live off-grid. All of that rain that comes off the roof of your house or barn is usable, especially for watering plants and hand washing clothes. Of course, you can also buy a water filter (Berkey filters are awesome) to make it drinkable as well. So, here we go… I’m going to show you how to make a rain barrel!
Want to save this post for later?
We'll send it to your inbox, plus get updates from us every week!
DIY Rain Barrel Supplies
Here is most of what you will need. Of course we forgot a couple of things for the picture, but don’t fret! I will make sure you have what you need. This is a pretty simple process, actually.
Besides what is shown here you will need 4 rubber O rings and a PVC reducer (you’ll see what this looks like in the pictures below). A small piece of screen is also helpful. Also, you don’t need to use the exact pieces in the picture above, just try to find something similar.
How to Make a Rain Barrel
Start by drilling a ⅞ or 1 inch hole with a spade bit near the bottom of the barrel. The hole you make should be the same size as your fitting.
You may have to carve away some of the shavings.
This is where you’ll need rubber O rings. We made them ourselves out of a piece of pond liner. Get creative! These are what go into that hole you just drilled. Someone will have to climb into the barrel to put these pieces in their place in the hole, which isn’t always fun.
You may want to add some sort of sealant, but we didn’t and ours doesn’t leak. Try it without first, you can always add the sealant later if need be.
You’re going to do the same thing at the top of the barrel. Drill a ⅞ or 1 inch hole, use the rubber O rings, and instead of the spigot put in a piece that a hose can fit onto. Luckily you don’t have to crawl into the barrel to put this one in!
Here’s the PVC reducer that I mentioned before. Put this on the lid for your barrel and mark it with a pencil or pen.
Drill two holes on either side of your mark.
Use a jigsaw or other similar tool to cut out the round hole.
Now you’ll put that PVC reducer into the hole, and it’s very wise to add a bit of screen to the bottom of it first. It’s not shown in the picture here, but we did add it. It helps to keep mosquitoes and other bugs out, as well as debris.
Be aware that you will have to clean the screen occasionally.
Attach the PVC reducer to the top of the barrel. Now you’ll use the big black tubing to connect the rain barrel to your gutter.
We were able to simply move our downspout over a few inches and attach the black tube to where it was. Super easy!
Attach a hose for overflow into your garden and secure the barrel so that it doesn’t blow over when it’s empty.
It’s helpful to have it raised up enough to fit a bucket under the spigot.
And there you have it, how to make a rain barrel! This really took no time at all, just a couple of hours on a lazy day. I think building the stand took longer than making the rain barrel itself! That’s not too much to ask for water security. It’s so nice to know that we have tons of water outside at any given moment. Right now we have 3 of these rain barrels set up. You can even chain them together if you want instead of having them all attached to a downspout.
As we all know, water is the key to life. Do you have a rainwater collection barrel?
Ready for your next permaculture homestead project? Start with our Permaculture Gift Guide or one of these great Backyard Permaculture Projects!
I’m curious how it went this year with our drought in S.O.? I’ve been wanting to do this for a while. Wondering if you got any water in your barrels at all. I suppose something is better than nothing especially in a drought.
Hi Teri. I actually moved to Vermont at the beginning of summer!
Instead of buying and using a whole tube, could you just use the downspout? If it was the right size and such, but what would be the difference of the water from downspout vs the new tube thats right next to it?
Maybe? I haven’t tried it, so I’m not sure.
Hi I love your idea and trying to make it happen. I can seem to find the downspout adapter you used . Is it completely sealed or has small holes? All I could find has small little holes that is similar to what you used . Do you mind Providing an item number . Please and thank you
Hi Mariela, if you are meaning the PVC reducer then something like this one should work, but you do need to check the measurements on the tubing to make sure that this will fit (they come in all sizes).
Is your prior existing downspout still connected and working? In other words, does the water drain both into the black tubing and into your orginal downspout?
Thanks so much! I appreciate your instructions!
I thought this was illegal to do in Oregon???
Check with your county extension or conservation district. We can buy the blue rain barrels already set up with the hardware for ~$50.
Hi, any idea where you can purchase the lids to these barrels?
I just bought a few of the same orange barrels you’ve used. I bought them used without lids..
Not to rain on your parade but the phrase “April showers bring May flowers” comes from a poem written in 1557 by Thomas Tusser. The original line is “Sweet April showers do bring May flowers.” Yes, I did just go out of my way to look that up lol
The term I coined is April showers bring May showers (not flowers, ha!) because it rains so dang much here :)
If you’re thinking of ever consuming any of this water it might be as well to take the extra five minutes and ensure the barrel is food grade plastic.
Yes, this is important! The one we used was food grade :)
Just happened to come upon this article and wanted to share….
In fl here, there is a place that packages ice cream to ship out to stores. It GETS it’s product in 55 gallon blue plastic drums. We purchased these drum to hang as being for our wildlife sanctuary but I’m assuming they would be of good grade seeing as where they come from? The best part, it they only cost us $3.00 a piece.
Just an idea of maybe a place you can check into for buying the barrels. I had no idea the shipped ice cream products this way. Wonder what other food products are Shipped the same way
Where did you get the large black tubing? I can’t find anything even close to that size?
Hi Annie! We actually got it at Home Depot in the section that has gutters.
How does the hose work being placed at the top of the barrel? Wouldn’t it be better st the bottom so there’s more water pressure?
The hose at the top is only for the overflow when the barrel gets full. You can attach a hose to the spigot at the bottom to use the water however you want to.
love the rain barrel! We definitely need one! Where did u get the barrel?
You do need one! We got it at a local hardware store.