How To

How to Add a Pump to a Rain Barrel

Rain barrels are an excellent way to save water and keep it at home. They collect rainwater that would otherwise have run into a drain so that it can be used to water the plants or do other household chores. Most standard rain barrels only have a spigot for you to open to fill a showerhead. If this is too slow for you and you need to remove a lot of rainwater from your barrel, add a pump. Rain barrel pumps are small, portable and come in a variety of colors. You can choose between a manual, electric or battery operated pump.


  1. Place the pump in its rain barrel. The rain barrel pump is housed in a plastic housing with an on / off switch, and intake of a plastic hose is protruding from it. The pump goes into the rain barrel. You can dip the machine anywhere in the barrel. If your rain barrel pump is an external electric pump, you may have two tubes coming out of it. In this case, identify the suction tube by its label and insert the suction tube into the rain barrel pump.
  2. Add the hose attached to the rain barrel pump into the receptacle you want to transfer the water into. This receptacle could be a bucket or showerhead. Once the pump is operating rain barrel, water is poured out of this hose.
  3. Turn the barrel of rain pump. Wait thirty seconds, and the water should be pumping from the rain barrel through the hose in your watering can or bucket. If you have a manual rain barrel pump, turn the crank to pump water from the rain barrel into the bucket.

Tips & Warnings

  • Read the instructions that come with your rain barrel pump. Some electric pumps cannot be submerged in water.


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