To attach the completed water rain barrel system to your house, find a convenient location that is level. Remember,  when your rain barrel is full, it can weigh over 400 pounds, so it is important to place it in a level location to keep the barrel stable.  Choose the highest location to place the rain barrel to improve water pressure.

Easy steps to installing your rain barrel:
 1. Locate downspout to collect rain from.   It is best to select the area that has the highest elevation. (Unless you will be using an external pump, you will be relying on gravity to move the water.) This will raise the barrel off the ground to make for easier access to the lower hose bib and to help with water pressure.
2. Place (leveled) cinder blocks where your rain barrel will sit.
3. Place barrel on center of concrete blocks and determine location to cut existing downspout.
4. IMPORTANT: Before cutting the downspout, visually line up the downspout with the rain barrel inlet to make certain the distance from the downspout to the rain barrel is correct.
5. Cut existing downspout with a hacksaw or tin snips.If the downspout will not easily insert into the rain barrel inlet, you may need to attach a flexible downspout or downspout elbow from existing downspout to top of rain barrel.
6. Take the section of downspout that  was cut off from the downspout, and attach it to the overflow valve and feed it back to your existing drainage, making sure to direct the overflow water away from the building’s foundation.

Suggested stand using standard cinder blocks

Front View   Top view of each layer

Top view with small blocks on either side

allowing room for spigot on bottom center

                  Barrel on cinder block stand      

Important note:  Rainwater collected from your rain barrel should not not be consumed unless filtered and treated adequately.  Rain keeper barrels have not contained chemicals, but rooftop and gutter residue may make the water unfit for drinking.

Side notes
Water Pressure - When dealing with water pressure for your rain barrel, let gravity be your friend.  The higher the elevation, the greater the water pressure at the bottom point.

A rain barrel elevated 1 1/2 feet will discharge water at about 1 gallon per minute, while a barrel elevated 2 feet will flow at nearly 2 gallons per minute. While 1 to 2 gallons per minute won’t run a sprinkler, it is certainly enough to water plants with a handheld hose.

Mosquitos - Don’t let mosquitoes breed in your rain barrel. Treat your rain barrel with Mosquito Bits® or Mosquito Dunks®. These EPA-approved, all-natural products kill baby mosquitoes in the water, before they’re old enough to bite. Mosquito Bits® and Mosquito Dunks® release “B.t.i”    (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis bacteria) into the water. B.t.i. is harmless to people, fish, birds, pets, and other animals, but deadly—and delicious—to baby mosquitoes (larvae).  These can be added to your order or they can also be found in most hardware stores.

Rain Keepers can be cleaned kept nice looking by using common cleaners.

The barrel will require periodic cleaning. A safe cleaning solution is 2 teaspoons of castile soap and 2 teaspoons of vinegar per gallon of water or 2 teaspoons of lemon juice per gallon of water.

It is not recommended to use a rain barrel if your roof is treated with chemical moss killers, spray a large volume pesticides or herbicides, have a Zinc anti-moss strip on your roof, or if your roof is made with treated cedar shakes. These products are toxic chemicals that you might not want to store in your rain barrel.