220 Gallon Rain Barrel With Solar Pump

This year I decided to build a rain collection system so our newly planted lavender would get a great start

After doing a ton of research and the generous donation of two 220 gallon totes I was able to complete my project and succeed in keeping our lavender form dying.

The totes I used were donated to me by a local food company. Very important to know what was in the totes. You don't want anything toxic feeding the plants. I was able to use a power washer to clean out any remaining product.

The water is collected from the downspout at the front and back of the house with a product from a company called Rain Reserve .

I used 3/4" PVC to connect the front and back rain diverters and then connected them to the totes.

If you noticed the solar panel on top, that is for the water Pump. You see the distance from the house to the lavender is 230'. Also we are not there each day to monitor conditions so the pump is on a timer allowing us to set day and time for watering. Also attached to the pump is a rain gauge that shuts the pump off when it rains thus prevents over watering. Even though the pump comes in a case I decided to place that into a vented cooler to protect against raccoons.