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Amazing setup. The automatic diverter with the bottle is genius.

Thank you Chris! Like a comment below, I too kept looking at videos on how to hook-up barrels for water collection. Each video left me thinking there is a better way. Fortunately, I came across yours, Excellent design! I will be having a system all but identical to yours. My wife would be proud of you. She and her sister are HUGE participants in "Big Item pick up day". Around our area are specific days to set out "junk" for the trash folks to take Saturday morning. Friday evening is like a scavenger hunt. I'm putting vacuum hoses on my request list! :-). Thanks.

I can’t tell you how many videos I watched before making my rain barrel and by far you have the best video on KZfaq. You took the time to show and explains everything in detail. Wow great job.

Best system I've seen so far. Thanks. You could certainly have a business in rain barrel layout.

That 'bottle valve' is brilliant! :)

Very nice video. I like the ability to take it apart. I am using leftover concrete blocks to raise the barrels, but they will likely settle over the years. Using your system I have the option of taking the system apart to do that. My additions to your system will be to put a screen filled bucket at the top of the 4" PVC collection pipe. I don't have screening on my gutters, so having the downspout stop a few inches from the top of the screened bucket will provide an air gap. The screen there will be kind of like a small concentrated version of your rain gutter. My other modification is to extend the 4" pipe over to the third barrel in line so that the water can flow both directions through the 1" connector pipes while filling the other barrels in heavy rain.👍

Penny pincher... man you make a lot go far. Thanks for the video.

Best one I've seen !!!! Thoughtfull and showed how you learned from your different ideas and circumstances. Awsum! Even 4 years later, I still cant find a better video!!!!

Best rain barrel video out there. Inexpensive parts, (no expensive bulkhead fittings), simple design. Reused parts. Getting ready to build one. I get feed tubs from a rancher friend for free. They do not hold as much but the price is right! Thanks for showing this!

Best instructional video on building a rain barrel system that I have found on KZfaq. Liked and subscribed. Thanks for sharing it.

Dude!...This video has me thrilled at the prospect of getting a First-Flush rain collecting system up and running. Thank you, Chris!

Great info. Thank you

Awesome videos.. thanks

Incredibly ingenious system!!! Thankyou

You pack a lot of good ideas into these videos, thanks. Nice job on the rain water harvesting too!

Very well explained. Thanks

Thank you . This is great . I am in process of linking barrels . I am not clear as to why overflow is only on the first barrel. If barrels are all self leveling wouldn’t they all need to have an overflow ? Perhaps I am not understanding the physics . All your barrels appear to be exactly level. Mine are at a gradual incline . With barrel would get overflow tube? Love this !

I love learn as you go experimental projects. I may never have a water collection system like this but it sure is fun seeing what ya got. And I really liked that adjustable hole saw. That was cool!

This is wonderful, thanks for sharing.

I got to change mine this summer might use some of your ideas. My only problem is the I’m in Montreal so it’s got to come apart for the winter ❄️. Thanks for your time and detailed information

That was a really good video! A video shows an elaborate $80 first-dirty water adapter. You built yours out of junk and it worked! Ha! Kudos to you, man!

Love that hole saw.

Love the roof perspective! :)

Very nice setup and thank you for sharing.

This was a great video! I really enjoyed learning about your tips and they were so clever! Thank you so much!

AWESOME genius .. love it.

wow! that looks awesome

Thanks for the part list..i may try it if I expand my setup

Great video.. Lots of great and useful tips. Thank You.!!

great idea and detail

Great system and good move on stainless hardware (love the square drive heads, too). I've found that hi-low threads can be great for attaching to plastic.

Awesome video!

Yep best rain water video. I liked how you don't have 200# of water or in your case 1/2 ton of water right next to the foundation of your house.

Chris, I wish you were my neighbor.... Great idea, great tips, and well presented... thanks...

I'm doing this on a smaller scale next year. This and the previous video are a great help. P.S. I also collect peoples garbage when needed. There is a lot of useful material for free.

I'm not gong to lie, I was disappointed you didn't show a view of your rain barrel system from the neighbors roof or from up in your tree or from a hot air balloon! Nah, kidding! Great video, thank you for sharing!!!

Great video. I really enjoy how well thought out your projects are.

Ingenius. I love how you take everyday or easily acquired items and build such great devices. Sooo glad I subscribed and am exploring your videos. Precise and to the point. Not overdrawn like many people on youtube do. Thumbs up!!! Will be implementing many of your ideas around the homestead! Thanks for a great channel.

Cool

Очень грамотная система! Спасибо за обзор!

+chrisnotap I've watched several rain barrel making video's over the past 2 weeks and this one has to be one of the most efficient one's I've seen yet. I just need to build the stand and ensure it's level. But great practical use and again efficient in part selection. Saving you for later Sir. And thanks for the video.

Hi Chris, mine here at the house are a dark grey with large corrugations, which adds strength. But the newer versions often don't have these and you can get all colours even Pink, go figure. As I mentioned they are plumb in, with a 5 micron filter. And the water is used for everything and is my primary supply. But several years ago we had " Ag water " linked to the middle tank. This is treated town water that arrives at about 2.5 litres a minute and then is pumped to the house. I am really surprised on how many youtube vids I see on collecting rainwater in the states. Best come to Australia to see how we do it. And here its almost mandatory to have tanks now. Cheers love your channel and have subscribe

Nice shady backyard. Great for Summer time BBQs and just laying around

finding stuff in the garbage is awesome

Thank you! I like this set up better than any I have seen. We have 2 V valleys on our house and I want to do some water barrels on each one. Tired of feeding my veggie plants chlorine. :( They don't like it and I sure don! :(

How do you keep the water from leaking out the top threads of the barrels? We are trying to use this type barrel for a sediment filter, but water is leaking around the threads.

Well made video ! Question...so the first flush barrel that receives the most "contaminated" water is, by your design, a sacrificial barrel to protect the other 5 ? Meaning the first barrel will never hold "clean" water ?

Some excellent practical ideas there, thanks. I always enjoy videos of setups that have working for years with experience given. Just wondering if you got the barrels cheaply.

Nice set up. But, when it rains only a wee bit, so little that it never fills more than the first flush barrel, you’ll end up with nothing. We get a lot of small rain days so the first flush drain will need to stay closed. Just expect the sediment to settle down in the first barrel and have the siphon/ overflow higher up going into barrel two.

Thanks for the video. What is the flange thing called? I can't seem to be able to find it.

Chris, I just found this on youtube and plan to build a system like it here in Arizona. Thank you. Just one question: do you get much leakage from the metal flanges on each barrel ?

Chris, really informative video. Question, where are you located? Asking as I am in Canada, Southern Alberta, and have faced similar issues. Second, please elaborate where you obtained pickle barrels. Thanks again.

I dont know where your from but you sure have a beautiful back yard.

I like the fencing screen

You could have used a coupler on the first flush barrel as well, just add a piece of regular pipe into the bottom end to handle the bottle and keep it from getting stuck. That give the added benefit of locking the pipe to the barrel cap like the other barrel.

I like the cleanness and simplicity of your barrel connections. Now that you have been using it for a while, what are your thoughts on your design vs having a shutoff valve between each barrel to isolate in case needed for leaks or cleaning? Is that overkill?

Is an entire barrel for the first flush system, overkill? (I expected a small 4 inch PCV pipe bolted to the end of the first barrel.)

I love your setup - though it seems you would loose a huge amount of water using that type first flush. Had you considered using a filter instead? For example, a nylon stocking to filter out the debris. Thanks and keep up the good work!

You can also use a piece of clear hose connected at the bottom and secured at the top to view the water level. If you see an 18 wheeler water truck they all have view hoses like that.

Do you have to clean out the "1st" flush barrel from the solid debris?

Do you have a link to the rain barrels you showed?

I only use rain water. Checkout my 1st greenhouse video. I chained 44 barrels!

Great job can't wait to get started. What was the name of the gutter guard that you liked? I surely need that first for protection against my oak trees.

Great tutorial. Thanks for the details. Question about the pop bottle in the first flush barrel... When the bottle rises and causes water to flow into the next barrel, wouldn't the next barrel then accumulate the biological debris from the roof? Seems like the next barrel would become the new first flush barrel.

What a fantastic video! Two questions: is this enough for a couple months of watering or do you run out often? Does it have enough water pressure (gravity fed) for a drip irrigation system?

I like this, but I was thinking what if in the winter I want to disconnect this system from the downspout? Any suggestion? Thanks

With that much space in the garden, I'd be inclined to get a used 1000 litre IBC tank or two for next to nothing and paint it black.

Watched your rain barrel video. Looks great. I would be a little worried about the ball valve and prancing critters. Hate to see you wake up one morning and the water is on the ground.

Ingenious. Does the soda bottle have to have air shot into it with a valve? Won't it float up just being closed?

I wish I had a water barrel system but I am too young and don't have a job.

Thanks for the walkthrough! We actually just built our rain barrel system this past week. I would love your feedback! (video on our channel) Thumbed and subbed to keep up 😀 Keep up the great videos!!!

Awesome video and packed full of great information. I do have one question. Is there a flap or valve so that when water is coming into the barrels it only goes into the first barrel and not the second? Whats stopping water from going into the second barrel until the first fills up and the 2 litter bottle stops the first barrel from filling up?

I like your thinking. What is the reason for inflating the "pop bottle valve"? Would you increase the water displacement by much? Or have I missed something? Thanks for a Great idea.

Please more detail about the barrels: Cost? Capacity? Purchase location? Thanks

Chris, I am a bit perplexed, here in Australia we just add a large poly tank to the down pipe, I have three 5000 gallon tanks on my house and they are plumbed in so that is my water supply. I assume that you don't have the access to large tanks?

I'd like to find rain barrels like those. Also the name of the product you used in the gutters

Just made my own system with solar powered pump. Let me know your thoughts on the overview video I just posted!

Thanks Chris! Love this and will be setting up something similar. I was wondering, based on some of your other videos, how you might incorporate the 12v Prius water pump (or similar) into this system to water a garden w/ the collected water easily and efficiently via solar panel power alone. I'm thinking you could you submerse the pump inside the last barrel (furthest from first flush) and switch in on at will. It seems the Prius pump is powerful enough to push through a standard garden hose - yeh? What would your suggestion be for this? Maybe integrating the two is a topic for a new video? :)

If you have questions on the legality or legitimacy of Rain Water Harvesting you can always check out the NCSL website for Rain Water Harvesting www.ncsl.org/research/environment-and-natural-resources/rainwater-harvesting.aspx lets you know what states have regulations/laws and what they are for pretty much anything. For instance California allows the harvesting of rain water for specified purposes such as Landscaping. Whereas Texas has an extremely comprehensive bill found at www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/82R/billtext/html/HB03391F.htm. Just look and you might find the information you are looking for. I think this rainwater collection system is absolutely awesome. Only thing I would do to change it is instead of a first flush tank, I would set up a filter system prior to the tanks which includes a charcoal filter. Not much in the way of debris if you have the gutter setup or a screen on your funnel system so that the only thing you are really needing to filter out is the Animal excrement. Wonderful system! Thanks! Helps out a lot, I hope to set up my system for rain water harvesting soon and use IBC tanks for the collection tanks.

Love your setup! Going to use some ideas on my project ! Check it out if you like!

haha again first always first

I bet you get a lot of loose shingle granules in your first flush.

Do you have an engineering background?

Why the first flush? if you are using the water for your garden would it not be beneficial to have the organic matter?

Fun fact, there's a good chance it's illegal to save rain water where you live, I've only know of one case where someone was fined, that was a car dealer collecting all the water from his showroom and garage roofs, and parking lot, he used it to wash his cars, seems like a great idea, he got in trouble for it. I'm sure you don't have anything to worry about, but look up water rights, I found it very interesting, if you ever wondered why some states are shaped funny, it's probably because of water rights.

this is a felony in most states (collecting rain water)

Birds don't pee, My Lord, didn't you take biology in school?