EarthMinded Rain Barrel Diverter and Parts Kit, 2 Pack - for 2 x 3 and 3 x 4 Inch Downspouts, Includes Spigot and Downspout Water Diverter - Convert Containers into Rain Barrels - RBK-0001

We had no trouble at all putting this together until the last step to attach the hose to the barrel. Pay attention to the instructions where it says soapy water will help to make the hose fit. We struggled to get it in until we added a bit of liquid hand soap - bang - it slid right into place.After the first short rain, we had about 30 gallons in our barrel. Not bad. This is attached to a detached garage, not a full size home. Also, we have 3x4 gutters, which won’t catch as much rain as the 2x3 size.

Must have rain barrel kit that even a first time homeowner can install! I became interested in purchasing a rain barrel during the 2022 inflation. Not only did our gas tripled, but our city water increased as well. While my husband and I are financially fine, I always try to find ways to save money that includes water. I became passionate gardener last year and started looking into rain barrels to save money on water and give our plants extra nutrients that they can't get from tap. I purchased my first rain barrel and started looking for ways to customize my downspout. I found this kit and with the good reviews and the fact I can close up the hole on the downspout during the winter, I purchased it. It's important to measure the size of the downspout, I made the mistake of purchasing the kit thats too big. Once, I received my kit, I went to work. The kit comes with everything to put your rain barrel together and even to cut the holes. The instructions are clear and easy to follow. It took me about 20 minutes to put everything together. After the first rain, my 55 gallon barrel was completely full! I took off 1 star because the spigot provided is cheap plastic, leaked everywhere, and easily came out of the hole if you turned it. I had to replace it with a nice, metal one purchased separately to stop the leak. For a $50 kit, I expected a higher quality spigot. I'll still recommend this kit to anyone wanting to install a rain barrel, just purchased a better spigot.

I researched water collection systems, read lots of reviews, looked at lots of videos and decided to purchase this kit. First of all, the Kit is very hard to figure out from the out-of-focus images and lack of detail on how the parts work. It does not say for example how you fasten the hoses or if you need access to the interior of the barrel which many will not have. It would be better if the very nice instructions were posted as well. So lets explain how this kit works. (1) the drain diverter is soft rubbery plastic, so it will fit into the smaller sized hole. If you look at the pics you wonder how in the heck is that thing going to fit into the drain when its bigger than the hole you are putting into the dran? Its obviously wider than any of the hole saws pictured for example. It is soft so you can bend it in and it will fit and expand inside the pipe. (2) The fittings in the barrel are rubber grommets that fit into the holes you drill. So you do not need accesss into the inside of the barrel, they fit nice and tight so it seems to work well. (3) the spigot is cheap plastic. But a 3/4" metal spigot should fit the parts that are shipped. I actually used a 3/4 NPT pipe tap and 23mm hole saw (not included) to tap and thread a standard 3/4" pipe thread for my metal spigot (which did seem to fit the included but unused rubber grommet). (4) the diverter to barrel hose part is very short and is supposed to go flat (level) from drain to barrel. This is not suitable for a barrel that is far away like 3 feet from the drainpipe. With a flat line you are using the deflected downforce of the water to move it through the line. Since my install was 5 feet away, I put a slope on the line so it would flow down to the barrel, but in so doing you now have to worry about overflowing the barrel as the fancy overflow prevention diverter will now not work since its not level. So I had to put another drain on the top of the barrel to handle overflow. The included hose is about 1.25 (1 and 1/4) inches on the connecting ends, and I found a 1 1/8 hose at home depot to do a DIY extension to it. (5) It would have been a lot better if this kit used standard plumbing sizes, say 1 inch for the drain hoses and then we could use standard fittings and replacement hoses. (6) I have not seen rain yet, will update once this happens.

I had thought I wouldn't be using more than half of the kit with the design ideas I had, but after doing my research I found that this kit was still the best value. And I ended up using almost everything in the kit; it all fit well into my planned variations. Installation is very simple, although not always easy; you have to exert some effort in a few places. I could recognize that good planning went into the kit design. There are helpful tips in the instructions that I know benefitted me. I won't hesitate to get these again if I need to make another rain barrel. My only concern: The water diverter is secured to the downspout with self tapping sheet metal screws. These screws are removed and reinserted to put the winter cover over the diverter. I don't think the downspout sheet metal will survive a second inserting of these screws. It's a good thing I'll never need the winter cover. Of note is that the provided spigot is PLASTIC, not metal. That turned out to be a blessing for me when I realized I needed to tap its supply side so I could connect a pump to it. I had some leakage around one spigot shaft when it was turned off tightly. That seems to have been from back pressure in the attached hose that was placed on top of the barrel. Between removing the hose and only turning the spigot off gently, one of them stopped the leakage. I haven't seen it again, but the water level isn't yet that high to know if there is a problem.

Instruction is easy to follow to do the assembly.