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You’ve successfully installed your rain barrel -- now you want to attach an additional rain barrel to double your conservation capability. These brief instructions will explain the thought process behind our unique Connector Kit and how to install and use this witty little gizmo. What you bought: You should have 2 (or more) 55 gallon recycled barrels, each with 2 brass spigots fitted at the top and bottom, an aluminum louver with a screen fitted inside, and a 5’ starter hose with male, female and shutoff fittings. One of these should already be installed under a downspout on level ground. You need to have just as much space on level ground within 5 feet of the original barrel for your second barrel, and it needs to be as even in elevation with the first barrel as possible. You also purchased a Connector Kit containing a 5’ Female/Female Hose and a "Y" connector. we’re filling both at the same rate.   What we want to do here is to connect the lower hose spigots together, with a fitting in the middle to allow us to attach a long piece of hose to take the collected water out to our garden. As we catch water from our downspout, both barrels will fill together (something about water seeking its own level, as I recall). This should be easy enough…just hook the barrel starter hoses together using the "Y" connector, connect the extra starter hose to the "Y" connector and that hooks up to the hose, right? Almost -- problem being that the ends of the hoses coming from the barrels are both male, and there’s only one part on the "Y" connector to accept a male fitting. So, we created a female/female hose to swap with barrel #2’s starter hose, and we’re in business. Step-by-step instructions: |
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1. Be sure both rain barrels are in place (on secure, level ground), that the starter hose is connected to one barrel and that the female/female hose is connected to the other. Do this so that the ends of the hoses can touch one another without putting any undo pressure on the spigot connection or kinking the hose. |
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2. Attach the "Y" connector to the male end of the starter hose and then to the free end of the female/female hose. |
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3. Attach the extra starter hose to the remaining outlet on the "Y" connector. That's it! Your barrels are connected! |
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SOME USEFUL TIPS • Keep all of the spigots and shutoff valves wide open, allowing you complete control of water flow from the shutoff valve attached to the extra starter hose. A spigot is open when it is turned all the way to the left…your barrels were delivered with all spigots in the open position. A shutoff valve is open when it points in the direction of water flow (parallel with the hose). • You can hook the end of the extra starter hose over the top spigot of one of your barrels when not in use. • Be sure to minimize strain on the spigot connections to the barrel by allowing plenty of slack in the hose during use. |
