New Source for Rain Barrels

I was driving near my house this week when I saw an elderly gentleman putting gas in his pickup at a quickmart -- and he had three barrels just like the one above in his truck. I whipped in and asked him where he got his barrels and he told me he paid $2 apiece at the AutoBell car wash on Monroe Road -- but he got the last three they had. The car wash receives their soaps, etc., in these barrels.

I came home and contacted the parent company of AutoBell in Charlotte to see if they had any barrels that had not been filled with chemicals. They didn't, but said to check with individual AutoBell locations for used ones. On my way back from Waxhaw this afternoon I passed a new AutoBell that has opened there, so turned in and the manager had two barrels he offered me for free. I had my bike in the trunk so could only fit one barrel in the car -- but that's really all I need for the moment so I can connect one more barrel to my existing one. Thankfully it's white -- identical to the ones Daniel got from Pepsi, so it will match the one I have perfectly. (It's all about the look, right?)

So -- car washes are a source of barrels on an ongoing basis. The manager said that all of AutoBell's chemicals that come in the barrel are "eco-friendly and nontoxic to the environment" -- so I'm hoping that if I give this one a good wash it will be okay for catching rainwater.