Rain Barrel System | CHEAP Water Level Indicator

[@jimh4072]

Put a small brightly coloured plastic ball in the clear tube, (one that floats) then you can easily see the height of the water level.

[@insAneTunA]

hahaha I was thinking the same thing. But I didn't read the comments before I posted my comment 👍

[@GreenTechTown]

Great idea Jim H! I may look into that.

[@deboz8793]

Hey! I thought of the same thing. But was thinking of using a small fishing bobber.(?) 😉

[@xXScissorHandsXx]

This dude single handedly took me from little to nothing knowledge other than drip buckets to full on water collection and re-usage confidence 👍

[@juliahuish3728]

this will be perfect for my 5000 gallon water tank on my property! Thanks so much!!

[@jerichojoe307]

My system is done with an IBC container obtained from a landscape company for $30. It holds 350 gallons when full. Less connections less chance of leakage and fits standard 2-in pipe fittings for easy PVC connections without adding extra holes or gaskets or bulkhead fittings. Rain from the back side of my front roof drains on to the balcony, rain from the balcony drains on to the kitchen extension, rain from the kitchen extension drains to my system so I'm getting rain from three roof surfaces coming out of my downspout. Literally a 15 minute quick thunderstorm will fill my entire 350 gallons from empty to full. Gutter foam prevents most debris, and I need that does make it through settles into my first flush. After which the entirety of the water volume goes into a square to circle adapter for 4-in PVC which is then reduced to 2 in to fit the cap of my IBC as the center of the cap has a screw-out plug that fits 2 inch adapters. When it enters the 4-in PVC there is a y fitting mounted upside down the extension of the y reduces to 3 in and goes across and then down the side of my IBC container. What this does is allows my IBC to receive the full volume of water from three of my roof surfaces so that I get very quick filling rather than having to wait through multiple rains. The upside down y fitting allows the tank to fill semicolon and when the tank is full the water will back up that pipe until it reaches the down slope of the y and continue on its way as an overflow. That 3-in pipe goes out to the yard to water the yard and my tree. The base of the IBC also has a valve that fits standard 2-in fittings that you can simply reduce for purposes like the one in this video and even hook up to a pump to use the water. The IBC came with a cage and platform in which I have wrapped some vinyl flooring material around secured with panhead screws to keep the light out and prevent any algae growth. I've had the system running for 3 years now and have never run out of water for my garden. My garden, yard, and trees are completely watered by this system reducing my water bill for yard maintenance to zero. Because the valves are in the base of the tank it's very easy to expand the system by simply connecting two tanks at their base with standard 2-in PVC fittings and a t on the last one and I have since added that second container giving me a total volume of 700 gallons when full and since I'm receiving water from three roof surfaces it does not take long to fill and maintain that 700 gallons

[@IowaKim]

Very clever. Nice elegant build.

[@Braduckada]

Loving the production quality of the vids. Looking forward to when you upgrade this to a digital way of checking the water level

[@GoodandBasic]

Your videos are fantastic! Informative, clear, interesting, well made, inspiring.

[@stephanieray6587]

I love this whole set-up, thank you so much!

[@speedsterh]

How great minds connect ! Today I asked myself exactly what you solved in your video. However, I think this functionality is overkill for my needs, I'll keep lifting up the barrel lids for the foreseeable future :)

[@davidw1324]

I am planning on doing a water level check for my system. good information. Thank you.

[@damiernwhite5875]

I’m thinking the rain water is working better for my garden than my house water. I’ll find out next grow season with my tomato plants. But my pepper plants are doing well. So thanks for this video I’m going to try to install a system too.

[@GreenTechTown]

Awesome!

[@ogdenphoto]

Love the way you think!

[@ColoradoTodd]

Looks great! I'd be tempted to mark the tube with some divisions, like 10ths full or 8ths full. You could actually mark it in gallons, but I'm not sure how useful that might be, and it would become obsolete if you added more barrels to the system.

[@GreenTechTown]

Good idea Todd, and I was thinking about that but also had the same conclusion if I plan on adding more capacity to my system later which I do.

[@michaellonsdale1248]

I love this tip.

[@chucks4748]

Because your piping is below the level of the barrel your clear pipe will show water when the barrel is actually empty. I would mark on the clear pipe as empty once the barrel has no water so not to be confused thinking you have water.

[@TopicSet]

You're a pretty amazing guy!

[@Euonym.]

This was a great video!

[@charlessmith8830]

Great video. It would be even better if you can put a colorful thing floating on the water

[@offgridrooster]

Another great video!

[@insAneTunA]

Nice ! Maybe that you can ad something that floats and that has a very bright color, that makes it even easier to see the level, even in the dark or when the clear tube gets a bit dirty. I was thinking about a ping pong ball, but I think that it won't fit.

[@GreenTechTown]

Good idea insAneTunA!

[@mrab4222]

@@GreenTechTown If you're going to do that, maybe put some coarse mesh at the bottom of the pipe so that the float won't disappear down into the PVC pipe if you need to completely empty the barrels.

[@GreenTechTown]

Good point MRAB!

[@insAneTunA]

@@GreenTechTown I bet they have something useful at a store where they sell fishing equipment, they have all sorts of floats in different sizes and colors, and you can attach some fishing wire to it so that it won't flush away. That saves you from taking it all apart again, since everything is already glued solid.

[@GreenTechTown]

@@insAneTunA Good idea!

[@sakenu16]

Hi next time you can record the video in landscape but in your video editing you can just export the video for a short in portrait but still have the rest of the video in landscape. Most video editing software will allow you to turn a landscape video via editing and exporting to the proper size.

[@GreenTechTown]

Yes I've thought about that and may try it out for one of my videos and see how well it comes out. Thanks for sharing a tip also!

[@Gabriel-mg6om]

Nice work!

[@GreenTechTown]

Thanks Gabriel!

[@BlkJackStalks]

Nice videos my bro thanks for the info. I would suggest trying to get good at contractions.

[@KhamandDhokla]

I like it was just thinking of its better to do it directly to the barrel

[@bobbob69696969696969]

great video

[@GreenTechTown]

Thanks Night Owl!

[@andys5203]

Awesome 👌

[@mattbarusic3090]

Did you get this from Lonestar Worms by chance? Been doing a lot of research and saw he installed the same set up. I'm going to install a similar system, I will send the both of you a video you guys are my inspiration

[@GreenTechTown]

Yeah I researched a few options, and may people have used clear PVC pipe/vinyl to accomplish this, but Lonestar was probably the only person that figured out a simple and cheap way to fight algae issues. How large of a system are you planning on installing?

[@thebeardedhomesteader]

I bought and installed that earthminded kit and tryed installing the drain without silicon and it leaks they should add a little tube

[@robelsurafelofficial]

POV the water have more pressure 😂😂

[@damiernwhite5875]

Where did you get you’re barrels from??

[@GreenTechTown]

I purchased my barrels from a local seller on Facebook Marketplace. You can usually find someone locally who sells them. Just search for Pickle Barrels.

[@wkdlama]

a gentle knock on the barrells with your knuckles will also tell you the water level.

[@GreenTechTown]

That was one of my old methods :)

[@thebeardedhomesteader]

Where did you get clear pvc

[@GreenTechTown]

I purchased my clear PVC at my local Grainger store (www.grainger.com/product/GRAINGER-APPROVED-Pipe-PVC-1AAZ4), but I know not everyone has local access, so you can also find clear PVC online at Amazon (amzn.to/3vZAuAH), or eBay. I believe Grainger will also ship products if you want to go that route since I found the clear PVC to be slightly cheaper there.

[@thebeardedhomesteader]

@@GreenTechTown thanks

[@enadolgel5504]

but why bother so much?, when you can have the whole tank transparent or even just part of the tank on the transparent length which shows inside???

[@hignaki]

eew portrait mode

[@BlkJackStalks]

Like won't versus will not like saying the whole word out I would not as I wouldn't stuff like that