Rain Barrel Winter Maintenance – Don't Forget to Disconnect!
Empty and disconnect your rain barrel in the fall to avoid damage from freezing water. Picture by Jennifer Fetter, Penn State Extension
Many people in Pennsylvania use rain barrels to capture rainwater that washes off the roof of their home or business. These rainwater storage containers reduce stormwater runoff and provide free water for outdoor lawn and garden needs. Rain barrels require minimal care, but one maintenance task is very important: draining the barrel and disconnecting it from the downspout before cold weather arrives to avoid ice damage. When should you disconnect your rain barrel for winter, and when is it safe to reconnect? To be on the safe side, empty and detach the barrel before the normal – also called median -- first hard freeze date for your locality and wait until the median last hard freeze date in the spring has passed before hooking it up again.
A hard freeze is when the temperature dips below 28°F for an extended period. This cold weather is enough to turn a barrel of water into ice. Pennsylvania's typical first hard freeze date varies from early October in some northern counties to late November in the Philadelphia area. The typical last hard freeze date ranges from mid-March in southeastern Pennsylvania to early May in a few north-central counties. You can learn your area's first and last hard freeze dates by visiting the National Weather Service website and following the instructions included in this article.
How to find the median first and last hard freeze dates for your town:
- Visit National Weather Service.
- Scroll over the map of the United States and click on the spot closest to where you live in Pennsylvania to open the landing page for your Regional NWS Forecast Office.
- On your regional page, scroll over the words "Climate and Past Weather" and click the choice called "Past Observed Weather" to open a nifty tool for viewing historic weather data.
- Under the choice called "Location," scroll until you find the town where you live or the town closest to where you live.
- Under the choice called "Product," select the option called "first/last dates."
- Under the choice called "Options," enter 28°F as the temperature.
- Finally, select "Go" to generate the data.
Most liquid compounds shrink when they freeze, but water grows in volume by approximately 9 percent. As it forms, ice expands with enough force to easily crack open a wooden or plastic rain barrel, especially when the container is full or near full. And even if the water does not crack the barrel following a hard freeze, the ice could remain throughout the winter, reducing the capacity of the barrel to capture new runoff and your ability to drain it.
After disconnecting their barrel, some people store them inside a garage or shed, but it's also very common to leave them outside all winter. If you decide to store your barrel outside, and it has a screened opening on the top, you should turn it upside down so it doesn’t fill with rain. Empty plastic barrels should be secured with straps or heavy objects to avoid the wind blowing them away. Depending on your rain barrel setup, you may also want to install a downspout or gutter extension after you disconnect the barrel to keep roof water from splashing onto buildings or sidewalks, where it might become a slippery hazard for people and pets. Winter is also an excellent time to remove any accumulated sediment, leaves, or sticks from inside the barrel and replace any leaky or worn drain valves, torn screens, or leaky inlet hoses if you're using a downspout diverter.
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