Here's a shot of the water in the rain barrel this morning in the daylight to compare with the "dark" water taken last night. Two differences: the picture last night was reflecting the darkness of the night; the picture this morning shows the water reflecting the light so it looks a bit less murky. Plus, some of the sediment settled overnight.
In both these pictures you can see the "filter" I'm using (for lack of something better at the moment) to keep leaves and "junk" from the gutters from flowing into the barrel. It's a nylon mesh "bag" that is about 12+" long, open at the top with an elastic band around the top. It's real use is as a paint filter. If you have a gallon can of old paint that has partly solidified and you want to filter out the "junk" in the paint, you push one of these mesh bags down into an empty paint can and fold the elastic band down around the outside of the can. Pour the gallon of old paint into the new can (and into the mesh bag). When it's filled, gather the top of the bag and lift it slowly out of the new can. The paint filters through the mesh and leaves the "junk" caught in the bag which can they be discarded.
Same principle here: I stuck the downspout down inside the mesh bag, then stuck the whole thing through the top of the rain barrel. When the water flows into the barrel it goes through the bag which catches the debris. Last night after the big rain I emptied the bag which had a lot of leaves and junk in it -- so it looks pretty empty now. In the picture above you can see the bag and the down spout from under the lid. In the following picture you can see the bag sticking out around the downspout on the outside of the lid. If anybody has a better filter mechanism, let me know. This is all I've come up with so far.
In both these pictures you can see the "filter" I'm using (for lack of something better at the moment) to keep leaves and "junk" from the gutters from flowing into the barrel. It's a nylon mesh "bag" that is about 12+" long, open at the top with an elastic band around the top. It's real use is as a paint filter. If you have a gallon can of old paint that has partly solidified and you want to filter out the "junk" in the paint, you push one of these mesh bags down into an empty paint can and fold the elastic band down around the outside of the can. Pour the gallon of old paint into the new can (and into the mesh bag). When it's filled, gather the top of the bag and lift it slowly out of the new can. The paint filters through the mesh and leaves the "junk" caught in the bag which can they be discarded.
Same principle here: I stuck the downspout down inside the mesh bag, then stuck the whole thing through the top of the rain barrel. When the water flows into the barrel it goes through the bag which catches the debris. Last night after the big rain I emptied the bag which had a lot of leaves and junk in it -- so it looks pretty empty now. In the picture above you can see the bag and the down spout from under the lid. In the following picture you can see the bag sticking out around the downspout on the outside of the lid. If anybody has a better filter mechanism, let me know. This is all I've come up with so far.
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Hey,
ReplyDeleteyour rain barrel looks great. I dodged lightning (partially kidding) last night and quickly filled up our barrels. I was running around because we have more barrels than downspouts and so I use hoses to draw water from one barrel to another. Then I stood astounded at the amount of water that continued to gush from the roof.
daniel
I had a thought today about these "light colored" or "partially opaque" barrels -- wondering if enough light gets in through the plastic that it encourages algae growth in the water and on the sides, meaning an eventual scrubbing job. Better, it seems, would be completely opaque barrels (or our barrels painted black) to keep any light from entering and thus inhibiting algae growth. Thoughts?
ReplyDeleteEasier than recycling shower water, huh? Barrel on soldier!
ReplyDelete