There are so many reasons why you should be harvesting rainwater, from saving the planet to saving you money to saving excess water so you have a reserve for droughts.
To help you start collecting rainwater, this comprehensive guide includes in-depth rain barrel reviews on the best rain barrels available in 2021, along with helpful purchasing tips.
The Backyard Boss Top 5 Rain Barrels for 2021
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Why You Can Trust Us
There are three areas that Backyard Boss excels in helping you with: your home, your garden, and your backyard. Rain barrels involve ALL of these areas, providing you with water for your home, garden, and yard.
Because of this, our staff is particularly knowledgeable about using and finding great rain barrels. We know exactly what makes a product high quality, and which products can't hold excess water.
Personally, I'm a huge advocate for rain barrels because of how eco-friendly they are, saving water. With water shortages not only around the world but also across our country, there is no reason why drinking water should be used for plants and lawns.
Read on to find out what the best rain barrels available are, and to see which product is the perfect one for you!
Best Affordable Rain Barrel
With a gorgeous design, and lots of convenient features, this rain barrel is completely worth its affordable price.
- Easy to install
- Leak-resistant
- Attractive design
- Holes in the screen are too small
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WHY WE LIKE IT: This rain barrel is completely convenient, with a plastic mesh screen that keeps out debris, a front-side overflow to keep water from pouring down your outside wall, and a space-saving flat-back design.
This 50-gallon rain barrel can help you reduce your water usage by up to 40%. That means that this barrel will pay for itself, an easy task considering how affordable it is. It has a gorgeous faux oak design that will easily fit in with your outdoor decor.
WHO SHOULD BUY IT: This tough barrel is perfect for people who want a high-quality yet affordable rain barrel.
Best Aesthetically-Pleasing Rain Barrel
This beautiful rain barrel has a contemporary design and lots of innovative features.
- Space-saving flat back
- Aesthetically pleasing
- Flimsy spigot
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WHY WE LIKE IT: There's a lot to love about this aesthetically pleasing rain barrel's desert-inspired design.
Holding an impressive 55 gallons, this plastic rain barrel isn't just a beautiful barrel. It's made with durable plastic that was created to last a long time and endure the elements. It also includes a corrosion-proof screen guard, which will keep debris from entering the barrel. To keep sludge from building up at the bottom, it includes a drain plug. You can connect your garden hose to its built-in threaded fitting.
WHO SHOULD BUY IT: This completely unique rain barrel is perfect for people who have contemporary outdoor spaces that they want their rain barrel to gel with.
Best All-Around Rain Barrel
Including every feature and gadget you could need to set up a complete water collection system, this is one of the best barrels on the market.
- Aluminum anti-debris screen
- Small capacity
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WHY WE LIKE IT: Featuring an ergonomic design and innovative features, this rain barrel is one of the top-rated models on the market.
Although it may look like a simple wooden barrel, this product packs a functional punch, with features like a space-saving flat-back and an overflow connection. Its spoke and wheel pattern on top keeps kids and pets from falling into it. The spigot on the side of this rain barrel allows you to connect multiple barrels to it.
WHO SHOULD BUY IT: With features like an aluminum mesh screen, shut-off thumb valve, overflow hose, hanging hose clip, and a linking kit, this is the perfect barrel for someone who wants to set up a comprehensive water collection system.
Best Stackable Rain Barrel
Between its space-saving stackable design and lifetime guarantee, there is a lot to love about this rain barrel.
- Comes with a lifetime guarantee
- Stackable design
- Sustainable manufacturing
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WHY WE LIKE IT: The innovative design this rain barrel incorporates allows you to stack multiple barrels on top of each other, saving space and increasing your storage.
The storage of this barrel is already fairly impressive at 55 gallons. Even more impressive is the lifetime guarantee that comes with this barrel, which was built to last. It was manufactured with highly durable polyethylene, which is not only strong but safe since it's BPA-free. Conveniently, the spigot on this barrel is integrated into its design. To access your water you just have to link it to a garden hose.
WHO SHOULD BUY IT: This rain barrel is perfect for people who want multiple barrels but only have a small space to store them.
Best High-Capacity Rain Barrel
This heavy-duty rain barrel is capable of storing up to 100 gallons of water!
- Large capacity
- Easy to store
- Affordable
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WHY WE LIKE IT: Perfect for people who want to store a lot of water, this incredible rain barrel can hold up to 100 gallons of rainwater.
Made from high-quality materials including a PVC frame and PVC mesh fabric, this rain barrel was designed to last a long time, even through winter elements. It comes with rubber rings that prevent leakage from this rain barrel's spigots and water outflow valves. The mesh screen on the top keeps insects from infiltrating your water supply.
WHO SHOULD BUY IT: If you have a lot of water you want to collect, and easy storage is a priority for you when it comes to purchasing a rain barrel, this is an amazing product.
Why Should You Harvest Rainwater?
If you've never considered collecting rainwater before, you're probably wondering WHY people do it. You'll come to realize that a better question is why NOT do it since there are so many benefits to harvesting rainwater.
For starters, collecting rainwater allows you to save money. Rainwater is completely free, and you can use it for a lot of tasks around your yard, garden, and even in your home.
If you live in an area that often experiences droughts, collecting rainwater is a perfect choice, since it allows you to have more control over your water supply and gives you a backup reserve of water.
Lastly, by collecting rainwater you do your part to help save the planet. Don't use drinkable water for things like watering your lawn and garden, use rainwater!
Rainwater Uses
Obviously, there's a ton of benefits to collecting rainwater. But, what can you actually use it for? You'd be surprised to realize that rainwater can be used for basically everything that tap water is used for except drinking of course.
Rainwater can be used for:
- Watering plants
- Watering grass
- Filling swimming pools
- Washing vehicles
- Washing pets
- Filling water features
- Washing dishes
- Washing clothes
- Filling your toilet
How To Install a Rain Barrel
Installing a rain barrel is beyond simple!
First, make sure that your roof material is okay to collect water off of, and install some high-quality gutter guards to keep debris out of your gutter. You may also want to install a first-flush diverter to keep the first flush of contaminated rainwater from entering your tank.
Next, take your rain barrel of choice and set it up underneath your downspout. That's pretty much it. Of course, depending on which rain barrel you choose there may be additional steps required.
Rain Barrel Features to Consider
All of the rain barrels we reviewed are incredible, so how are you supposed to decide which is the best barrel for you? Below are some features to consider to help you decide!
Material
Most rain barrels are made out of plastic because it has numerous benefits like being lightweight, easy to clean, and durable. The main downside of plastic is that it can become faded or cracked from prolonged sun exposure, so if you get a plastic barrel make sure it is UV resistant.
Barrels can also be made from clay, wood, and metal, although these materials are much less popular. However, they tend to be more visually appealing.
Capacity
The capacity of rain barrels greatly varies, from as low as 30 gallons to as high as 100 gallons. To decide what capacity is right for you, consider how much water you will need.
Will you be using the rainwater to water your garden and lawn? For household tasks? Both? Make a list of everything you want to use the water for, and estimate how much water you'll use for each task every week on average.
Design
While this may seem like an important feature in the grand scheme of what a rain barrel could do for you and your home, it's important to consider. Nobody wants a rain barrel that's a total eyesore, especially if it is placed near an outdoor entertaining space.
Functional Features
Consider functional features when shopping for a rain barrel to make your experience with harvesting water all the easier.
For example, consider getting a rain barrel with two or more outlets for convenience, so you can easily hook up your hose.
Another excellent feature for rain barrels is a front overflow valve so that during severe storms rainwater doesn't end up flooding down the side of your house.
A necessary feature is a quality cover or screen, which will keep not only debris but also insects out of your water supply. Look for rain barrels with fine mesh screens.
Price
The price of rain barrels tends to vary based on their size, design, appearance, and quality. You can get a rain barrel for as cheap as $60 or as much as $150.
You can also make a great rain barrel for cheap, using this DIY rain barrel guide.
How We Picked
To find these five incredible rain barrels, we weeded through countless products, keeping our specific quality criteria in mind.
We wanted to showcase rain barrels that would suit a variety of purposes and customers, so we included premium and affordable options, compact and heavy-duty capacities, and versatile rain barrels that could be used in conjunction with other rain barrels.
Every option that we reviewed is of the utmost quality, however, only one can be the best of the best.
The Best Rain Barrel Is…
The best rain barrel is the FCMP Outdoor RC4000-BRN Catcher 4000 Rain Barrel because of its impressive water capacity, the incredible features it includes, and its visually appealing design. You'll be hard-pressed to find a better barrel than this one!
Of course, if you loved one of the other rain barrels on this list, go for it!