Barrel Pumps for the Garden

Water barrels are an excellent way to conserve water and use it for household purposes. Unfortunately, barrels do not have water pressure—they are freestanding, and therefore many people use watering cans or buckets to draw water. If you don't want to lug heavy watering cans or buckets, it's better to use a barrel pump to draw water from the rainwater barrel. Let's look at three options for pumping and saving yourself the effort.

External pumps do not need to be placed directly into the water container; they can pump at a rate of up to 6 litres per minute. It's a simple and easy way to extract water from your rain barrel. You can quickly water your garden plants without paying for mains water. Its weight is very low, making it suitable for multiple locations where water is collected.

Battery-operated pumps are another alternative you can use in your garden. They are not as powerful as the aforementioned electric pumps, but you can pump a 300-litre barrel in about an hour. These pumps were originally designed to pump water from boats to prevent them from sinking, so they will certainly have no problem watering your lawn. Another useful feature is that you can place them directly into the water barrel and, with the help of 3 batteries, pump for up to 5 hours.

Don't have the time or budget for battery or electric pumps? Then the last alternative is manual pumping. Don't be fooled; these pumps can transfer up to 200 litres per hour—depending on your strength. Just think about it, 200 litres per hour, almost a whole barrel, without consuming a single watt of electricity or spending money on batteries. Considering these factors, a manual barrel pump is certainly an alternative you might consider.

As you can see, there are several pumping options, and none of them is the "better" one. However, it is clear that if you decide to water with rainwater, pumps can make your work much easier.