I am missing something. How does the water not keep flowing down the gutter? The picture I saw of the insert looked like the water would just go through the gutter, how is it getting into the barrel? thanks
1330131
My husband installed it, but from what he explained, that flap inside the gutter reroutes most of the water. It doesn't block the gutter completely during a rain, but generally the flow of water down the gutter is too much to reroute using a device like this. Even if it seems like a flimsy idea, we have had zero problems with our system. We live in north Texas where it doesn't rain a whole lot. Even so, in the first 10 minutes of our first moderate rain after installing this, the 50 gallon barrel filled up. Hope that helps.
133132
You would install the unit at any point above the barrel. Water would fill the barrel via the flexi-hose and then when the barrel is full the flexi-hose would fill to the downspout installed unit. When the downspout unit fills to the divert level the water goes down the bypass. You will get some leaves and other debris in the downspout unit so don't make it too high to access for cleanout. Its also nice to have some vertical distance under your barrel so that you can still siphon with some reasonable flow rate. My tank is on concrete blocks (8 inches) above the ground and I wish I would have double stacked the blocks to get the tank to drain faster. You would install the unit at any point above the barrel. Water would fill the barrel via the flexi-hose and then when the barrel is full the flexi-hose would fill to the downspout installed unit. When the downspout unit fills to the divert level the water goes down the bypass. You will get some leaves and other debris in the downspout unit so don't make it too high to access for cleanout. Its also nice to have some vertical distance under your barrel so that you can still siphon with some reasonable flow rate. My tank is on concrete blocks (8 inches) above the ground and I wish I would... » Read More You would install the unit at any point above the barrel. Water would fill the barrel via the flexi-hose and then when the barrel is full the flexi-hose would fill to the downspout installed unit. When the downspout unit fills to the divert level the water goes down the bypass. You will get some leaves and other debris in the downspout unit so don't make it too high to access for cleanout. Its also nice to have some vertical distance under your barrel so that you can still siphon with some reasonable flow rate. My tank is on concrete blocks (8 inches) above the ground and I wish I would have double stacked the blocks to get the tank to drain faster. « Show Less
2279404
The hole for the water to go to the barrel is small & has parts that stick up to filter out leaves & most needles. Can't say that some small debre doesn't get through, but haven't found it to be a problem. The larger debre floats over into the larger hole and out the downspout especially with a harder rain, but plenty of water still flows into the barrel.
1064253
We used an elbow, cut an opening in the black screen to fit the end and ran it directly into the rain barrel. Because we live in an area that experiences winter we empty our barrell in the Fall and store it until Spring. We then redirect the downspout to its normal flow. Works Great.
736265
It just overflows in a downpour, no way around Mother Nature. Where I have mine located there is not room for an additional barrel. But no matter it works great
1393924
As long as water level in the barrel is at or above the diverter hose from the down spout the water should keep diverting away from the barrel. What stops the barrel from continuously filling is the when the water backs up the diverter hose and forces water down the downspout. If the diverter is above the barrel and the diverter is in the unit then it will keep filling. You can remove the diverter from the unit and it will stop filling the barrel.
1624030
Yes you can, but you would have to move the barrel according to how hard the rain was coming down. I have 3 of these rain barrels all at the corners of my home with down spouts, but in front of my house I don't have gutters and I just use a large storage tub to catch the water - although the barrels are much more attractive and functional because of the house and spout. I live in Las Vegas, and these barrels were one of the best purchases I have made to help conserve water in a very dry region. Good luck, and keep up the conservation.
1735127
We haven't put a second barrell yet, but there is an area where another pipe can go into a second barrell. My understanding is that the tanks will fill up, then the diverter will spill the excess back into the gutter downspout. At least that is how it should work.
686786
The lid is tight but not air tight. Also there is air to the rain barrel headspace through the infeed hose and the downspout from the gutters. Really...no problem.
146796
The top is open to receive the rain from the downspout...it is covered with a perforated disk ..this keeps leaves and twigs from the gutter entering the barrel. During a downpour there is a little spatter. Having a large access makes it easy to check the water level.
149487
We accumulate water from run off of our roof so it doesn't go through the downspout. We use that and the rain water that also accumulate in the barrel for our hydrangea plant and have no problem.
1906756
Most water will go into the barrel , some will go down the spout but very little. Works very well.
736264
We bought two. There is a tube that connects them and the overflow goes into the second barrel. We've had ours for perhaps 4 years now and they still work very well.
509517
If you need to get things that are shipped inside, take off the screen and turn the barrel upside down and shake it. You will like the barrel. We have six at our rain gutter spouts. Even a sprinkle fills them up.
146800
A downspout can be positioned into that open top, then I would suggest you cover around it with plastic or such. There is a perforated disk to enclose the top while letting in loose rain (with no downspout), or downpour from eaves - which is what I use it for. The disk doesn't quite fit tightly enough for me, so I added a circular screen wire on top of the disk (which eliminates more dirt droppings) and I duct taped the disk/wire around the top of the barrel to help hold it in place. The faucet works well; the whole container holds a lot of water. I have really enjoyed having 2 of these (where I have a lot of run-off from the roof) to help with watering during our extreme drought and water rationing for 2 summers. I plan to add gutter drops into them eventually. They are very stable and you can add a barrel/tub/trash can next to it under the "run-off" drain so that when the barrel is filled during a storm, you can still collect extra water.
2201997
Fiskars 58 GallonSalsa Rain Barrel System with Diverter (Discontinued by Manufacturer)This is the barrel I have. Thanks in advance for any input you may have.
2283837
Didn't have that problem but had a major problem with the water spilling outside the waterfall. Discovered I had to line up all the spouts and covers perfectly. Once I started being careful about this, it's been working like a charm and the cats love it! I read one person complain that he had to refill it more often than his last bowl, but I honestly believe that's because his cats are drinking a lot more each day. I would say if you line everything up and the water doesn't circulate, there is a problem and you should exchange it. Good luck!