We've had a rain barrel under one of our downspouts for years. In our city, it's important to manage rainwater which routinely floods our ancient combined sewer system and pollutes the river which pollutes the bay downstream. I use the rainwater to water our outside plants. In hot weather, the water gets a little smelly - haven't tried very hard to solve this problem in an eco-friendly way, so I want to know if you have solutions (and any other rain barrel management tips - you can see we are a no-frills operation).
I think most people in our area disconnect their rain barrels from their downspouts in freezing temps, but we have not. I do actually use rainwater through the winter on houseplants and with compost activities. It is important to keep the rain barrel from freezing as the ice can damage the barrel itself as well as the spigots and overflow spouts through expansion and thawing. On warmish days, I would try to remember to drain water as needed to keep the rain barrel at half full or less.
But I have hit on a more successful (for me) method: the stock tank heater. I don't love shopping as entertainment but it is true that sometimes shopping without a plan yields exciting problem solvers. I didn't even know there was such a thing as a heater for an animal's drinking water!
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| "K&H De-Icer" |
I just plug it in when the temperature is cold enough long enough to freeze the barrel. I do have to use an extension cord, which is not recommended, but our outlet is a new GFCI outlet so I am comfortable with the safety. The cord has a plastic sleeve to protect it from the top barrel edge as the heater floats along in the rain barrel.
After I bought this heater and had it going, my dad told me it's possible to buy stock tank heaters that are "temperature limited," meaning they run on a thermostat and only heat the water to a pre-set temperature. That seems like a prudent energy saver that I would look for next time.
I have now put away the stock tank heater three times this spring, mis-judging the depth of cold still in store for us. I am almost scared to put away the cold weather things again! Sadly, our neighbor's gorgeous magnolia buds were ruined in the last surprise cold spell, and I will miss the creamy pink blooms this spring.
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We have a screen over the top of our rain barrel to help keep out bigger things (like tulip popular blossoms which will ferment if they sit in there). We drain it and scrub it out a few times a year to keep keep it from growing stuff on the inside - one can also use a few drops of bleach to keep it from getting too funky. We really only have a problem with it in the spring to be honest though.
Our tulip magnolia also got bit by a hard freeze and has looked dreadful this spring. Sigh. It happens every few years. Thankfully, the cherry tree and the blueberry bushes appear to have made it through the last round of cold we just went through. Here's hoping it stay above the low twenties until at least next fall.
Great idea, thanks! How are food prices and fuel back east?
I just saw a few pink buds on our neighbor's magnolia this morning! Some of them must have survived!
I have never scrubbed the barrel, haha. Did use bleach a few times. I have also dumped in cooking water from canning and boiling corn to wait for needed gardening - that doesn't help the funk, but helps with water usage. . .
Gas is over $5 a gallon, but we don't drive much so it's not hitting us hard that way. I also locked in years-long electric and natural gas contracts that keep our prices stable, so we're not feeling it that way, either. I'm sure we'll feel it as everyone pays the price of higher energy prices. I haven't noticed groceries more expensive either, since I preserve a lot of food and buy meat in bulk and last time I stocked up on meat was last summer and fall.
My neighbors are moving (sob) and gave me their rain barrels. I had never considered the fact that they would freeze in the winter! Yikes! Thanks for the heads up on that...
I hope you get more wonderful neighbors! Funny, I acquired our rain barrels from friends who were moving, also.
I really do love the way you work, Margo.
Thanks for this post! A no-frills operation is exactly what we want! I hope to finally make it happen this year. I'm asking for a rain barrel for my birthday next month. ;) The town where I live is "the banana belt of Montana" but I still wonder if we'd have to disconnect them for the winter, at least partially. We get so many freezing days. The stock tank heater is very clever though! I very much appreciate your taking the time to show us your set-up.
I'm glad a few of the heartiest of blossoms survived the frost to enliven your spring days! Hooray!
Glad you found the info helpful! In my experience, the temperature has to be well below freezing for days at a time to fully freeze that amount of water. A little ice around the edges of our rain barrel hasn't damaged anything that I noticed. . .
I never heard of "the banana belt of Montana" - fascinating!
There are actually two parts of Montana that make claim for this title. Matt and I also call it "the San Diego of Montana" because of relative warmth and consistency of our weather here. ;)
And good to know about the freeze action! I am excited to try it out!
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