Side by Side Comparison of: Enviro World FreeGarden RAIN vs Good Ideas

This is my third season with the Enviro rain barrels and today I am ordering my 5th barrel. This design suits my gutter/downspout configuration perfectly. The barrels are sturdy and well designed, especially the concave top which catches water well. Each barrel is propped up on two hollow concrete blocks. Our Florida downpours were causing issues with gutter overflow and fascia damage so we just cut the end caps off the gutters and let the water flow into the barrels like a waterfall. I have four barrels in a square and link them at the top with short pieces of the overflow pipe that comes with the barrel. A downpour will fill up these 4 barrels in 10 minutes so to quickly divert water to my garden, I purchased four Wayne 66000-WYN1 1.5" x 25 ft sump pump hose kits to attach at the top of two barrel overflow outlets (one of the others was used to make a 50 foot run to the garden; the other is in reserve.) Each metal spigot has a 50 foot hose which slowly drains to various spots in the garden. I keep mosquito tabs in the barrels. Leaking is no problem because the barrels sit in a gravel water retention pit away from the house (part of my rain garden). The 5th barrel is for a similar "waterfall" at the other end of the 30 foot 6 inch gutter (we have 4 downspouts besides the two open ends.) When I need to water, I just pop the lid off the barrels (I did not screw them on, rather weigh them down with blocks) and scoop out water that remains below the spigots with a 2 gallon bucket. At the end of the rainy season, I am able to easily clean out these barrels and box them together for storage.

This is a really well made rain barrel. Mine came with a solid brass spigot so I have no idea why people are saying otherwise. Maybe the company changed suppliers who knows? Capacity is large and I really like how the top screws down so animals and people can't climb into the barrel. I've looked at other barrels and making my own and this seems like the best barrel for the quality and price.

Barrel works great and looks quite nice. I was happy to discover that the company is now including brass fittings again. According to old reviews, the company was including plastic in the past. It accumulates water easily, and I like how easy it was to install.

I purchased the Enviro World rain barrel in late spring at a sale price on Amazon. Went through a heavy storm. Everything worked as designed. Very pleased with its performance so I purchased another one.Like all other reviewers already stated, the top cover design is well done and promote little to no spilling during the heavy rain storm. The overflow works well. I redirected the overflow to fill two large clean trash cans before redirect it back to the down sprout. The faucet would not allow a bucket at its original height, so we raised it up with blocks before the rain. After the first rain, we use the spigot . Since that, the spigot leaked a little. When we used up the water, we caulked the spigot from the inside. There's been no leak after that. Overall, very pleased with its performance and quality.I should also mention before purchasing this rain barrel, I reviewed the requirement of our local water district's rain barrel program. The design of the barrels satisfy that of the rain barrel rebate program. We submitted the rebate application after installation and was approved. I am sure there are other barrels on the market that also qualify. But this is the one I personally preferred.

The best feature of this Environ World Rain Barrel is that it has a removable lid. That's right, the entire top is pressure fit and comes off so you can easily clean out the barrel. For those with concerns about animals or children falling in, the lid can be screwed down (screws provided) for safety. I took off one star because we have a 3x4 downspout and do not think the overflow hose will be able to accommodate the extra water. This is not a problem for us because the diverter is on a downspout that drains underground so when the barrel is full, I will flip the switch. Those without that option might have a problem. I will test it this season and upgrade my rating if appropriate. The spigot is rather high on the barrel. Getting to the last few gallons of water is not a big problem since the entire top is removable. You can take the top off and dip your bucket in from the top. And while you are at it, swish the water and dump it out to clean the bottom. Piece of cake!

Only rain barrel I found that had a slanted top and a fine mesh screen in the center to filter out even the tiniest debris. I purchased two barrels. I received the barrels and got them both set up right before some rain fall. They were very easy to set up. I live in a high drought area and am pleased that I am able to water my ornamental flowers and some grass without using city water. I am planning on purchasing two more and starting a food garden. Thank you Enviro World!

Bought this product to replace a rain barrel that has a top cover that is a removable screen. I move the heavier barrel to another location as it was filling fast from hard rains that we were getting. Not much rain now so have not been able to fully test this barrel. Two things have removed a star from my review. It is a small thing, but the top is to be screwed down and not easy to clean pine needles. Other barrel had a spigot and a hose. This barrel does not have a hose, but the spigot is better than the one on my old barrel. I am replacing my all of my existing gutters with larger ones. Hopefully we get a good rain before that is done to test how this barrel catches rain. Top is slopped, so should be better. I also like the fact that this barrel has the ability to add another barrel. I plan to harvest as much rain as i can. I have 3 different types of barrels and need a good rain to see if i should purchase and connect another Enviro World 55 Gallon Rain Barrel.

Finally got around to installing the barrel. I love that the top comes off so the barrel can be cleaned yearly.I chose to attach my barrel to a down spout diverter and I was surprised that the "over flow outlet" can not be used as an inlet from a diverter. I had to drill out holes on the inside of the barrel to make it work with my diverter.If you are using it as a top fill, it will work very well, but if you are hooking it up to a down spout diverter you will need to do a little extra work.I don't think I will order this barrel for the rest of my down spouts, but it is a high quality product for top fill barrels.

I use it for collecting waste water from my water filtration system. Works great except for three qualms. One, the spigot opening must be very narrow because the flow rate is very low, even if the reservoir is totally full and the spigot is totally open. Two, the overflow runoff doesn't work and so it just overflows off the top. Three, the spigot is really close to the ground so you can't fit a bucket or watering can under it. I ended up making a 6" riser for it so I could fit containers under the spigot. Other than that, it holds water well! Its main job.

Here in drought stricken Los Angeles, rain barrels are becoming common. The state will chip in $75 each if you buy and use them. To that end, I purchased 3. These are very well made and sturdy and seem of high quality. Unfortunately, mine arrived with plastic not brass spigots as stated in the item title. It will probably be OK as these are quality plastic spigots and don't really have to hold any pressure to speak of.Note that I only received 2 of the 3 needed spigots! I contacted customer service via phone and spoke with Allan D. I didn't want to return the barrel as they are huge and it would be a complete waste to do so. He found the spigot from Enviro World as a separate item and placed it in my cart. I one-click ordered it and he processed a refund on the cost. Problem solved! Kudos to Amazon for embowering their customer service to directly and efficiently solve issues! Thanks!I'll update review when it rains!!

For the price it is a good barrel, least expensive I could find. The top comes off for ease of bucketing out the water, which is the way I water the plants in the area where this barrel is placed. This barrel is utilitarian and less eye appealing than my other barrels and so placed out of general view. As with my other barrels of different makers, the water flow from the spigot is very slow, which is why I bucket out the water as I need it; my other barrels have bottom access also. The only defect for my purposes is that there is no access valve at the bottom to allow use of all the water in the barrel without tipping the barrel. For cost effectiveness, I recommend this barrel.

I enjoy gardening but due to our California drought I feel the guilt to conserve water. After purchasing 2 of these my only regret is not doing it sooner. With that said I had been browsing for something like this since last year, and had not come across this product until earlier this year. So maybe not so bad that I waited.Price: These seem to be priced lower than many products of the same size, but come with all or more features than most of what I have come across. I wanted to purchase a 3rd one but noticed they were not available from the same supplier for some time. It was still available but at almost double the price! should not be more than $80 range.Shipping/packaging: Big item so it comes in a big box. Box itself is very light. One of the two I bought was missing directions and 1 of the 4 screws. Some reviews have mentioned missing parts so I don't doubt it and it is concerning but due to my experience will still order another and hope for the best. The directions can be printed from Enviro World's website, so not a big deal even if I had only ordered one and it had not come with directions. The box with missing items did have a tore up corner, not a huge tear but a tear big enough for a screw to fall out. This is a problem as the screws and clamp hose are shipped in a small plastic baggie with no closure. The screws had come out of the bag and were loose in the big box when I opened it. A sandwich type zip lock baggie would work better. The screws are used to secure the top lid, using 3 has worked just fine so not a big issue but should still come with the package.Set up: Set up was easy. Just make sure you have the proper tools and knowledge to cut your downspout. Youtube will help. I connected both of my barrel's to the same spout to get the most out of my work on this spout. Connecting both barrel's was also easy. The most difficult part was pushing the hose onto the second barrel. You really have to use some muscle to get it on(i'm 5'10 210 lbs weightlift 4-5 x week). I didn't get it on all the way but not a problem as it is very secure anyways. You will only come across this if connecting 2 or more barrel's. With this said I will add a 3rd to my system as 2 barrel's have proven to fill up quickly even with our limited rain.Quality/Functionality: The quality is very good. I don't see why this wouldn't last a very long time. The spigot looks and feels like good quality. I have noticed no leaks, but only time will tell as it is the only moving part. I like the lid having a slight slope toward the screen, I'm guessing this helps get all the water in the barrel and reduces the necessity for exact preciseness when cutting the downspout. The screen works very well to keep junk out but allows all water in. I have experienced rain twice since I set both barrel's together. Both times it was maybe a couple of hours of rain and both times the result was 2 full barrel's. Nice! Which is why I will set up a third to the same system. The spigot is at a good height, it allows me to fit my watering can but also get most of the water from the barrel. The water does flow slower once you are getting near the bottom, but that's physics and not a design flaw.Looks: The picture on amazon says it all. It has a clean look. I like it, but would be nice if this company offered a nicer looking product. I have mine set up on the side of our house so it doesn't matter much for my current system. Once I set up something in our backyard I might consider something different, like the one's that look like a large planter to better fit our backyard décor. Overall looks good but don't expect compliments based on just looks.Overall: Works great. Should last a very long time. Would be a definite 5 star but missing screw and instructions and loose packaging keep me from rating it as such. Not ugly, but nicer looking options would also be nice. Will buy a 3rd for my current system.

UPDATE 10/10/17:I take my 5-star rating back ... turns out the concave top isn't such a great idea when there is heavy rain ... the (too) small overflow hole/tube is grossly inadequate in this situation, so the rain coming out of downspout flows back over the top and down the sides of the barrel. Consequently, the ground is washing out below the barrel, which is up about 6 inches from the ground -- which was fortified -- on a very sturdy DIY wood stand.Even if another barrel was connected, I don't believe the overflow opening could begin to handle the amount of water we get in even an average rain storm here on the central east coast of Florida. I left in place during Hurricane Irma, in part because the barrel's placement was somewhat protected ... but I left the spigot open and had drained it most of the way in advance.Maybe I should have installed a diverter ... will look into that. I will say that just being raised about 6" there was enough of a gravity pull to allow for watering new plantings within about 10 feet of the barrel. It didn't do it quickly, and the barrel was full to start.One last thing, now I've got to remove the top in order to clean off the small gravel that washes off my roof each time it rains. Not a huge deal, but a bit of a pain when it's 90+ degrees with equal humidity -- I like to limit my time outside in these conditions!*****************************************************************What a great rain barrel. I was going to try a DIY, but to get a reasonably durable, flat-back trash can (for me, it had to fit close to the side of house, to minimize potential wind resistance in case of storms with high winds, and to minimize its footprint) that would hold up to a lot of tropical sun exposure, and that was easy to fit to gutter downspout, my options were going to cost more than this product -- and that was before buying a good quality spigot and overflow materials. I really LOVE that the top is concave ... before it was even set up with downspout, it captured rain!Instead of wrestling with the strapping holding lower downspout to house (it was right up against a galvanized fence), we just cut the portion out that would allow the curved lower section to be reattached where it would naturally then dump right into the barrel. I'd put a piece of screen around the end of that curved extension, to keep a lot of leaves from gutters blocking the built-in screen on the barrel (and to keep little critters such as lizards from making a home inside), but will remove it now after a couple of rains -- I think it'll be easier to just brush off any leaves that end up on the barrel lid that wind doesn't displace and let the lizards make their own decision!I also put a piece of screen (secured with cable ties) to the end of overflow discharge, for much the same reason -- keeping critters out. That seems to be working well. I have the overflow tube running out over a long, wide dispersion "panel" that I think I got on Amazon months ago, to help prevent the downspout's gushing from washing out soil (despite a traditional splash pad). This heads the water just a bit downhill towards my budding compost pile.I've been fortunate to have had a young couple who both are certified permaculturists helping me "rehab" my yard, and they built a short stand for this rain barrel out of scrap lumber I had. It's up on a couple of bricks to help prevent rot and to level the barrel. They were able to water new plantings for the first time a few days ago from the rain barrel with a regular hose.I plan to add these rain barrels to most of my downspouts over the next year. A great product, easy to set up, a terrific design, definitely of very, very good quality.Thanks for making a rain barrel worthy of the name! And it doesn't hurt that several colors are available ... my green one cost no more than the black or white one (other colors from different suppliers weren't Prime shipping).

Not too thrilled with it but somewhat satisfied. Main reason for not giving 4-5 stars is because the rubber washer that comes with for spigot is cheap/small and leaks. It's the inconvenience of having to run to Home Depot for a better washer which gave 3 stars. It is pretty much a guarantee your spigot will leak using the cheap washer. Not sure why the manufacture refuse to spend add'l 10 cents for a better spigot?

This is doing a great job of diverting downspout water into garden and beyond. The fitting at bottom for hose isn't 100% sealed so it still dribbles at the bottom by the fitting but the look and style is nice on our homes exterior, a smaller footprint than larger barrels I have purchased in the past, also neutral colour doesn't impose on garden decor.

easy to assemble, and works like a charm!UPDATE - Changed from 5 star to 3 -- I made sure it was empty before the freezing weather came in --- spring started to come early, we had a little rain and probable accumulation of 1-2 inches of water ... it froze -- AND CRACKED THE BOTTOM OF THIS BARREL! This was the 2nd barrel I purchased, damaged by the cracking --- not gonna happen again.

Pros: the barrel is large and easy to install. All you need to do is clear and level a pad and cut the downspout to fit the height of the can.Cons: The package came missing the hose clamp and the spigot is NOT brass, it is a cheap plastic spigot that leaked. The first storm we had filled the bucket and after a few days it all leaked out of the spigot. I had to replace it with a brass one from the hardware store. That was an additional cost to make barrel operational. The size of it made it impractical to return so we chose to fix it instead of return it. Buyer beware.

Decently constructed with the exception of the hose bib. The supplied 1/2" hose bib is a piece of junk. Ours came apart internally a little over a month after purchase and could not be opened.If you buy one of these, don't even bother with the supplied hose bib - go buy a better one from Home Depot or Lowes.

It leaks from the top, even when screwed. It leaks from the side where the plastic tube attaches to the barrel. You won't know any of this until it fills up for the first time, and you inspect. Of course, now that the barrel has 50-ish gallons of water in it, you can't move it to adjust all the settings. I'll have to wait for the rain to stop, empty out the barrel into already soggy ground, and see if I can jimmy any sort of solution.

The spout mounting area needs to be reinforced. There is also about a 3 gallon area below the spout so that water cannot be drained without tipping it over.

Quite a few things that are wrong w this item... We had major delivery issues. OK, by now they are overcome but that was not good. More importantly, the spout is a joke and simply not functioning. The natural pressure of the water is so low that there is barely any water coming out of the spout. It always feels clogged although it isn't. Hence, forget trying to add a hose to use for direct garden watering... nothing coming out of the hose. Second, you can't put a normal 5 gallon bucket below it b/c the spout is too low. And lastly, once the water level gets below the spout you got to lean into the barrel to empty it. Not very well thought through.

I returned the barrel. It arrived with the front crushed in, missing hose, and a plastic water spigot not the brass one advertised.

One of the reasons I purchased 2 of these barrels was the fact that they are advertised as having brass spigots!!! Was very surprised when I got them yesterday to find plastic spigots and not brass! Have to see how these work out but not happy!

Barrel worked well at first during the summer months, but because the spigot is raised, it's impossible to completely drain the barrel without dumping it out. The remaining water froze, consequently expanded, and split the barrel open. Even without the freezing water aspect, the raised spigot is annoying.

Others are correct, I received a plastic faucet/fitting, not brass. I set it up last summer. Towards the end of the summer, the barrel stretched enough that the faucet pulled loose and dumped 50 gallons of water into my flower bed. Now it's spring and I went to set it up again and fix the faucet, but even drained properly, the emotive bottom broke.

To begin with, when it arrived I was unhappy with the design. The spigot is 10"-12" above the bottom of the barrel - I had hoped the space below the spigot was hollow, a raised platform of some kind to get the spigot off the ground. It was not.I hand tightened the spigot into place, because the direction warn against over tightening. It leaked. I went back and tightened a bit further with a couple of wrenches, this temporarily stopped the leaking.When I hooked a hose up to the spigot, the spigot moves, loosening the seal, causing the barrel to leak. I go back in and tighten the spigot again. At this point the spigot washer is destroyed, the spigot still moves freely, ever loosening the nut on the inside of the barrel.The barrel is leaking. I empty it. There is a crack in the bottom. I have no idea how it got there, if it was there when I got it and didn't notice. It really doesn't matter, because it's not like I am banging this barrel around. I lives stationary on top of a platform, never to move, never subject to impact.On the whole, this thing is a piece of junk. It will only waste your money and time. I am unable to return it.

The base cracked after one season, it was a mild winter and we had it supported at the base, very disappointing experience

We bought this in Feb 2015, and by winter 2015 it stopped collecting water. We assumed there was a problem with our gutter and with the warm weather, finally got around to looking into it. Turns out that there is a 9-10 inch crack on the bottom of the rain barrel and the water has been seeping out for months. We're very disappointed with this purchase and absolutely do not recommend that you purchase it.

Initially I was in love with this rain barrel. Easy to install and sits flush up against the house. Unfortunately after just one use the spigot has come loose and pulls away from the barrel all together, leaving a gapping hole! All of my rain water that I worked so hard to collect, just drips right out... The barrel design is great concept, however the spigot design and attachment is very poor. i would not recommend this rain barrel. I shouldn't have to constantly unscrew the lid and try to re-secure the spigot with rubber gaskets for the price I paid.

Website states it comes with a brass fitting. Typical bait and switch to some cheap ass piece of plastic.