Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)There are several products available on the market but I ended up buying this one. We purchased one of those 'flat back' heavy plastic rain barrels for water collection which has a screened rectangular opening on the top and nubs on the side. The side nubs are for use with a downspout diverter such as this one. You simply cut the end off of ONE of the nubs to allow water to flow into the barrel through it #the second nub is for connecting additional rain barrels in series#.
Installation of the diverter was simple. They say to make the first cut in the downspout #used a hacksaw# at the level where the lower port of the diverter is at the same level as the 'nub' on the rain barrel. This allows the rainwater to flow into the barrel up to that level but then it is diverted back to the downspout after that. The second cut in teh downspout is made 1.5 inches above the first cut and the diverter is inserted here. Inserting the diverter was a little tricky. It required pulling back the two sections of downspout, inserting the diverter in between them and pushing the two sections back to their original position. The diverter accomodates either 3X4" or 2X3" downspouts very effectively and there is a top and bottom cap if you have a 2X3 that makes the final look very neat and avoids the splashing that was mentioned in the review of a competitor's diverter. Once the diverter was in place, I secured the downspout with the original mounting bracket that I loosened before to allow me to pull the sections away from the wall of the house.
The product comes with a 20" black flexible hose that slips over the lower port (the upper port is factory sealed but the plastic obstruction can be pushed open to allow that port to function. It is threaded for use with a hose and also comes with a screw cap to keep it closed. I am not using the upper port). The other end of the black hose slips onto the 'nub' of the rain barrel. In our case, it was a loose fit so I secured it with a screw clamp available at any hardware store. That was it for the installation. It took about 20 minutes and only took that long because I had to work at getting the downspout to fit into the tight fitting connectors of the diverter.
How does it work? Great! We had a pretty hefty down pour that evening (1.25" of rain over about 30-45 minutes) and were able to fill up the barrel. In the heaviest part of the rain, the water was literally 'shooting' into the barrel through the nub in the side that is connected to the black hose.
The product is constructed of heavy white plastic, comes with instructions, a 20" black flexible hose, a screw cap for the upper port and a plastic cap for the lower port (for the winter season if you have to take the barrel 'off-line'). While I have never used any other diverter, I can highly recommend this one since it is well made, inexpensive and works very well.
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Product Description:
Downspout diverter's are a simple and more aesthetic way to collect rain water from the downspout .This unique Downspout Diverter provides connection to both standard US Downspouts - 3 inch x 4 inch and 2 inch x 3 inch. The outlet diverts rain water into your rain barrel. One (1) 23" hose is included with the diverter valve. Plus, there is a unique optional spigot on the diverter which fits most standard garden hoses. Now you can also divertRain water directly to your garden, flowers, pond, or elsewhere. Made from hard resin material it is suitable for all size and shape rain barrel, it comes with one (1) off season plug .. Can be used for all brands of rain barrels. Some assembly is required in attaching to your downspout. Color: Cream. Actual size 6 inches x 3 inches x 4 and one half inches
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