usually only post my substacks on Thursdays, but once in a while you get an extra oneā¦
All of our gutters and downspouts go into a 1200 gallon polypropylene tank, for an emergency supply in case our well or pump goes down. The overflow goes into our little pond, and if that overflows, it runs down into the woods. Except for one downspout, which I interrupted to run it into a rain barrel first, and when it fills up, the overflow from that goes back into the downspout system.
I got the 50 gal barrel from the feed store - they order some grains in food grade barrels. I tapped a hose bib near the bottom; the barrel is raised high enough to get some gravity flow to a hose to the garden, or into a 5 gal bucket for watering indivdual plants.
The 5 gal bucket setting on top of the barrel is a filtering system to keep leaves and twigs out of the barrel. I fit a little screen into the bucket, and drilled drain holes in the bottom.
I used a hole saw to drill holes for the hose bib and the drain outlet, and sealed the fittings in place with plumbersā goop. Then it was just a matter ofr cutting the downspout down to size for the drop and the outlet.