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
Better run get a couple more barrels. Sounds like we might actually get some decent rain this weekend. And temps might even dip below 90 - better drag out the sweaters!
I'm setting up a rainbarrel, but it's a container that washed up on my parents' beach and will only be used for garden watering. I had a local plastics company solder a spout onto it so I could leave it "open" during the winter rains, because it's primary purpose is to prevent the path round back from flooding in the winter.
Forgot to mention: do you have a gray water collection? Friends of ours are setting up something in their kitchen and it has me intrigued.
Love the Bt idea.
I was missing my rain barrels this week since we FINALLY got some rain. Hope it made it your way too. Thanks for posting this info ... might be just the kick start I need to tackle this project.
The Gobar Times also has some good information about rain collection. Some environmental groups in India are going around teaching villagers how to collect rain because all the new factories are draining the aquifers.
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