This is not a rain barrel.
It’s not just a comfortable bench, either.
It is part of a new breed of low maintenance landscape design elements with the specific intent of taking care of the landscape surrounding it, so you can sit back and enjoy it more. So go ahead, take a load off…
Take a load off your body. Relax, have a seat. You work hard enough.. Go ahead, take that afternoon nap. You deserve it.
…Take a load off your mind. Turn your landscape into a low maintenance landscape by automatically watering thirsty plants for you
…Take a load off your bank account. Knock down your water bill by using rainwater to irrigate, instead of drinking water.
…Take a load off your city’s storm sewer, lakes and streams. By reducing runoff each time it rains, you’re also doing your part to reduce pollution.
The bench featured above stores 300 gallons and has an extra compartment with this pump and retractable hose reel mounted inside.
A passion for the environment. An obsession for reducing waste. Mix them together with basic design and you get integrated rainwater harvesting.
This isn’t just about building rainwater storage into small, difficult spaces, high visibility areas that aren’t ideal for a pile of barrels, or the otherwise empty wasted space which is a generally accepted part of most outdoor living elements.
This is also about probably the #1 most important requirement of Great Landscape Design = Low Maintenance.
“You can’t have everything. Where would you put it? ”
Scott,
I just ran into your site and am in the process of trying to be a combined hauled water/rain water system together. I have looked at a ton of material but would love to have someone with experience that I could run some things by. If willing, if you could jot me a quick note, we can start from there. Many thanks.
Bought my second rain kit several years ago (430 gals?). When should i plan to replace the plastic storage bags?
Great question, Len, and glad to hear your double rain bench is working well. I have some liners that are still good with no leaks for 12 years and counting. If they are fully enclosed, so no sunlight or rodents can get inside, they should last a very long time! You can remove them and inspect or clean out any debris buildup, but I figure as long as they’re still holding water, I’ll let them be.
They are food grade liners and I know some are being used to store potable water. In that case it may be advisable to replace at least every few years or so. I’ve heard mixed opinions on this regarding the biofilm that forms and actually makes a good barrier between the water and the liner. I will do some more research on that and see if I can put it all into an article here. Thanks again!
Hey Scott,
Great product and design! I notice that bottom filling is the recommend way to fill the liners, however we’ve like to add a simple hose bib to our barrel so we can drain/hook up a hose to water our garden. What’s your recommended way for doing this? Thanks!
Hey Scott,
Great product and design! I notice that bottom filling is the recommend way to fill the liners, however we’ve like to add a simple hose bib to our barrel so we can drain/hook up a hose to water our garden. What’s your recommended way for doing this?
Thank you!
Hi John, thanks, and great question. For barrels, benches, or any above ground reservoir really, if there is not a fitting there already, I normally install a 1″ ‘combination tee’ at the bottom. These come standard in most of our DIY kits to install at the bottom fitting, and consist of one side that is 1″ male pipe thread (this goes into the liner or barrel) that ‘tees’ into 2 ends that are both 1″ I.D. barbed/ insert. This pushes into 1″ vinyl tubing, and you can clamp it if you want a super watertight seal. One side goes to the fill tubing or hose, from the diverter, and the other side I connect a garden hose adapter and hose shutoff (both included in most of the DIY kits also). If you already have a bottom drain fitting on your barrel, I usually just add a barbed ‘tee’ in the line between the diverter and the barrel at it’s lowest elevation. By splitting this “fill” line, which is always under gravity pressure from the barrel, you are essentially adding on a “drain” line to it, without drilling another hole in your barrel. Hope this helps!