WEll, it is such a complicated technology.... 
We live further north, so we have to retire them for the winter. The first winter my English partner kept putting that off saying it wasn't that cold yet, and we ended up with a lining of ice inside the barrel. It survived.
So If you get freezing weather, retire the rainbarrel (we empty it and then store it on its side so it can't get water in it) for the winer so it doesn't crack or something.
Thanks! I will definitely check out that book, too.
Dont the fire ants keep the area around the play set clean?
Yeah, I work with wastewater, industrial and municipal, and with drought restrictions in place at several east dallas cities, companies are starting to set up plant wide collection systems. As you said, the weight of water makes plastic trash cans useless. Metal wont work since the acid rain (can you say coal power plants air precipitation) eats that away, so wood is the material of choice. Now they do make HEAVY plastic ones ($115 for a 60 gallon) that are good, but wood are more pleasing to the eye, and for about $230 you get a +50 gallon oak barrel WITH an old fashion pump, so you use muscle power to fill your bucket.
So save some drinking water, use what mom nature gives us.
These are plenty heavy and a bit cheaper
http://www.yankeecontainers.com/...N55OHBL-
NA.html
Doesn't the screen keep the mosquitoes out?
Ken, the screen would keep the skeeters out, but my three-year-old misappropriated the overflow spout cap about a year ago, so they do have a small way to get in, which is all they need.
Hombre got my rainbarrel from Clean Air Gardening:
http://
www.cleanairgardening.com...ainbarrels.html
Nearly three years on, and neither kids nor dogs have been able to destroy it.
Wow - I love that site!
They have lots of goodies!
Thanks
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