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DIY Rainwater Harvesting System – What’s Involved?

A DIY rainwater harvesting system is a fairly straight forward and simple process wheather you want a basic rain barrel or an automatic rainwater harvesting system. Here are a few different uses for rainwater and the type of system that is best suited for the application:

Application #1: Use harvested rainwater to water plants with a watering bucket

If you want to simply water your potted plants using a watering bucket manually, a basic rain barrel with a spigot will work great. Standard rain barrels are fairly simple to install and can be a great, inexpensive DIY rainwater harvesting solution. Do a web search for “DIY rain barrel” or “DIY rainwater harvesting system build” to find terrific great step-by-step guides.

Application #2: Use harvested water to water plants automatically

The beauty of an automatic rainwater harvesting system is exactly as the name implies: it’s fully automatic. In order for the system to be effective it must have an integrated drip irrigation system. Drip irrigation is a much more efficient form of irrigation and wastes much less water. Instead of watering your entire landscape (including the dirt), drip irrigation is point specific and only waters at the base of the plant. This ensures that no water is wasted and your rainwater harvesting reservoir lasts much longer.

How difficult is building an automatic DIY rainwater harvesting system?

In all reality, building an automatic system from scratch is possible, but because of the complicated nature of drip irrigation’s filtration requirements you are much better off purchasing a manufactured system and then installing it yourself. When installing a DIY rainwater harvesting system the basic steps are as follows:

	Dig a hole next to your drain pipe for your in-ground rainwater filter (if installing an above ground automatic rain barrel no excavation is required) Cut into your drainpipe and install a drain pipe adapter kit Connect the adapter kit to your rainwater filter Connect the drip irrigation system Plug in your rainwater filter to your timer and schedule the watering times

After these steps are completed your rainwater harvesting system is complete and your landscape will automatically be irrigated using rainwater.

Learn More about DIY Rainwater Harvesting Kits >

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