Side by Side Comparison of: Algreen vs RTS Companies Inc

We had landscaping and a flower bed put on the opposite side of our house away from the water hose. So whenever we had to water the flowers in it we had drag the hose 100 feet. Now that we have the rain barrel our watering problems are gone, the spigot is high enough so there's plenty of water pressure, and the barrel doesn't look cheap, it's actually quite sturdy and fits nicely against the side of our house.

This is my first water barrel. Works exactly like they said.

Good product works as advertised. The two that we purchased didn't swell out when full nearly as much assome reviewers experienced

Excellent rain barrel! I had been looking around for quite sometime for good rain barrels. High quality plastic with a brass spigot and the mesh debris guard is great! I love that this one has a flat back to sit flush against the wall and takes up less space. A lot of people are complaining about the spigot being too high up to connect a hose, but the spigot placement is pretty low compared to most of the barrels you find out there.With the Socal watersmart rebates of $75/barrel I was able to get 4 barrels (max # for the rebate) at $480 with $300 in rebates.So I only paid $180 total for the 4 barrels with free prime shipping!

I do rain wafer harvesting for a.living and thought I'd test drive this .model... And like most, the barrel is fine but these mfg'rs don't seem to understand that the overflow spouts MUST BE EQUAL TO OR GREATER THAN THE DOWNSPOUT FLOWING INTO THE BARREL.!!!!! THINK ABOUT IT. If you get a heavy downpour...these tiny overflows will back up a cause your barrel to overflow at the lid....and I bet your barrel sits right next to your foundation!Not something I would want!

My barrel came today within two days was very surprise that it looked so real I got the stand with it both barrel and stand are flat on one sideI have wood chips about three feet from my house raked back the chip and leveled the ground which was a little hard as I have a small down slope Ididn't use stepping stones I used treated 2x4 to make the base to sat the stand on it and raked chips back.The spigot I have read here that a lot of people have trouble screwing it in "it is brass" I took my time and made sure it started perfectly in line.Screwing into the thread port if it gives any problem at all to start stop and start again till you feel it starts to turn easy about three turns then you'll know its right, screw it on in till it gets hard to turn then turn more till the spigot is face down. This will work.I used a 1 and 1/8" hole saw to cut the hole for the drain port to my Fiskars 5962 rain barrel diverterpro, kit the barrel is rounded so put it onflat part of the barrel at very top careful not to get to close to the back of the barrel if you do it will be hard to screw the holding nut on andmay leak because it may be where the flat part starts to round stay center of flat part.If you can sat your barrel about 10" to 12" from your diverter with your inlet port no more then 3" below the outlet port on diverted there will be small offset in the flex hose this is good don't worry about it. If you sat the barrel much more then 12" the hose will drop down in the middleThe water will not go back up hill to fill the barrel if you do have to make a long run you will have to strap the flax hose level.This is the way I did mine. If anyone hads better ideas please let me know I will delete mine I sure don't want to give bad advice.Up date 6-25-13 Had two little showers about five minutes each my barrel is half full now with no leaks

Looks beautiful and holds water!PROs:- love that it's a half barrel so it fits along the house- cute, rustic aesthetic- nice large sizeCONs:- came in a broken box and was missing all the hardware. Called the company and they sent replacements quickly.- the spigot leaks on mine. I put on a ton of silicon caulk all over it and it seems to be holding now.Overall I like it now that the leaking is fixed!

I like these (have 4) because they fit the style of the house. What I don't like is that they bow in the back once filled, the screens float off of the top too when full. Overflow is too small and allows for top hole to overflow. Retro overflow fit with screen on the inside to keep mosquitos out.

This rain barrel looks convincingly like a real wood wine barrel. The construction is more light-weight than my other barrel which is built like a tank:http://www.woodlanddirect.com/Outdoor/50-100-Gallon-Rain-Barrels/Rain-Catcher-Water-Barrel-54-GallonI didn't like the brass spigot it came with because the opening was too narrow. Plus the hole was too high, which leaves a lot of water in the bottom of the barrel below the spigot. So I bought some parts:PVC plug: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008O1X99QBulkhead fitting: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0079JTVRIBrass hose fitting: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015AOR8KFull flow valve: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000A4XS0KI used the PVC plug to plug the existing hole. Then I used a hole saw to cut an opening below it, through which I attached the bulkhead fitting. The brass hose fitting gets screwed into the bulkhead, and the valve gets screwed onto that. Now I can a short garden hose and the flow is much better. It also leaves less water in the bottom of the barrel as it is emptied. Having the hole near the bottom of the barrel is not an issue because it's on a stand.

This is no doubt the best looking rain barrel out there and I'd like to give this 3.5 stars if I could. For it's rather expensive price there could however, be some improvements made to the rain barrel's structure:1. When it's full the flat back bends outward about an inch (maybe more) so if you're looking to sit this flush against a wall that could cause a problem.2. Screwing the brass spigot fitting into the plastic barrel felt weird and was chewing up the barrel the entire time. It's difficult to get it to go on straight and it's hard to tell just how many turns to make. This process required a ton of force to do and the whole time I was afraid I was doing it wrong. I'd like to see them factory install some kind of brass female fitting into the barrel so it would feel more comfortable screwing in the brass spigot.3. The screen/filter just sits atop the barrel in a recessed groove. Every time it rains hard the screen pops out of place. They should design the screen to slide in and under some kind of rail or clip so that there is something above the screen's edges holding it in place.

The product itself is fine. What we did not do is research on installation. The problem we had was that we installed the barrel by our garage downspout. I built a small stand to put in on so it would be easy to attach a hose or fill a watering can, but here is the issue. In heavy rains the barrel fills up so fast that the over flow cannot keep up with the volume of water and than the water spills over the top of the barrel as well. In addition the over flow runs out so fast it will make a hole in the ground. We were going to put a plastic tube attach it to the over flow and than bury a drain pipe under ground and place the over flow tube in it. The other problem is when you store it for winter you have to reinstall the original gutter so you can have the gutter drain into the drain pipe as well. It is just too much work.

Other reviewer notes a 'cheap plastic faucet', the one I got In February of 2013 has a vary nice brass or bronze faucet that seems solid. The back is also 'corrugated' so that it's fairly strong. Mine was filled up after one storm and there was no bowing when it was full or after I emptied it.The only complaint, if I would call it that, is that the spigot thread was almost larger than the threaded hole in the barrel. I had to work REALLY hard to get it to thread into the barrel and to get it to thread straight! I don't know how else they could have done it to make it easier, without making it more likely to leak though, so I'm content with it. You just need to know that going into it or you'll strip the first few threads and make it that much harder!Over all I think it looks great and does the job well.

The barrel itself is very nice and well made. My only complaint is with the brass spigot assembly. The pre-drilled hole for the spigot was garbage and it cross-threaded every time I tried to tighten it. I eventually said the heck with it and just kept cranking on it until it was in all the way. Its fine now but do yourself a favor and get the stand for the barrel, I didn't and the spigot is so low to the ground you can't get a hose on without kinking it.

It's ok, it's pricey for plastic. Lets see how it hold up under our Florida sun.I do not like the brass turn hose nozzle that comes with it, I changed mine to a better quality handle nozzle. it's much easy. Quicker to turn off & onThe company should give buyer & option for either nozzle

I had bought a rain barrel from a different company, but it was not linkable. So I ordered this one. I might have found it acceptable if I had never seen the other. The spigot was difficult to put in straight. I just isn't as nice looking as I had hoped. It horrible. I might not even have minded how it looked if I hadn't had to manhandle the spigot. Never did get it in exactly right. But I had some plumbers tape on hand and it doesn't leak.

Barrel arrived quickly and it looks good.Just as described.Could easily have been 4 stars but...My only reservation is it does appear to have been re- sealed in the carton and the fact the the bag containing the hardware had been cleanly sliced open and resealed with tape makes me think I may have been sent a "used" barrel and not a new one. It also appeared that the threads where the spigot is installed had something previously installed as they didnt look new either.But overall the barrel does look good and after installing the valve I filled it with a few gallons of water and it didn't leak so Im waiting for the weekend to install it on my downspout...so aside from someone possibly getting over on me for a few bucks as the used ones are a bit cheaper, Im still pretty satisfied with this product as long as it doesn't leak after it fills....Will have to wait and see...I will update after its installed...Well it's been over a year and my rain barrels are serving the purpose well...A few issues....first thing you probably want to do is swap out the spigots that come with the barrel...They are crap...get yourself a full ported valve of your choice...they won't clog as easy and you will get a better flow....Like some other reviews mentioned, the flat backs do now a bit when the barrel is full, and I did empty the barrel before the first freeze....not the end of the world though.What it does though is it skews the opening on the top where the screen fits into allowing debris and Mosquitos to easily enter the barrel....,Other than that ...I irrigate my raised gardens with the water and Im pretty happy with my purchase..

as its on a narrow porch outside my bath. Use it to collect "warm up" water from my shower/sink in order to water plants, as CA is in drought. Delivery was fast. Came w/brass faucet. Found it impossible to install faucet all the way down to the barrel as instructions state. I wrapped plumbers tape twice around faucet, and w/wrench (the indentation from the surface of the barrel made it very difficult to use), much swearing, and all the patience I could muster, got within 1/8" from barrel. No leak so far. Not sure If I'd buy another, unless it had to be pretty and flat backed.

I love the look of this barrel. 2 annoying things though, 1) The overflow is right at the front which detracts from the look of the barrel when a hose is attached. 2) Also, when it is full of rain, it expands and the back 'bowes' out. As mine was positioned quite close to the house wall, it caused the barrel to 'push' out against the wall and ended up tilted slightly. It is still full of water right now and I hope it goes back to the original shape when empty.

The aesthetics of the rain barrel are great but our model came with a plastic connector. The fitting leaks and you damage the rain barrel if an attempt is made to tighten the connector. In my opinion the function of the rain barrel is to reclaim the rain water so I can’t give this product high marks, due to its lack of functionality.

So far...disappointed. The cover does not come off. The brass spigot does not have a good seal and will have to buy something so it doesn't end up leaking. I did not realize the back was flat and the barrel was not round. Hoping the barrel does not bow when filled as other reviews have relayed. Thought about returning.

purchased 2 barrels, love the design and look great in the yard. HOWEVER, the brass spigot was very hard to install, no way to tell if it is threading correclt and the brass damages the plastic threads! returned one for a replacement, and had the same problem with the replacement barrel. Returned it as well. i have one that does not leak and is functioning well. The overflow just spills out the center front top, not sure how I will be able to rig up a tubing to direct the water away from the house. hopefully I will be able to cross connect to another barrel of different design to avoid overflow.

I've had two of these for a couple of years. They are OK but don't let them fill over three quarters full. They bulge and deform if they actually fill up. One of them has also developed a small leak in the bottom even though I empty them and put them in the shed during the winter. For the price I would expect to get more than two years use.

Looks great but when I buy a product I want it to go together smoothly and work like it's suppose to. Purchased 3 of these barrels and with all 3 it was an aggravating time consuming process trying to get the brass spigot installed straight into the composite material threads in the barrel. Had first rain on central coast of CA. since I bought these and all 3 are leaking from the threads today. Guess I will spend more time working on the manufacturer's engineering flaw and try plumber's tape. I don't recommend this product unless you enjoy tinkering and fixing problems.

hose connections at top of barrel need to be more adaptable. have to cut plastic to connect tubing or hose.screen on top sticks, hard to get out.

This is NOT a BPA free product. I bought one of this and bought four of Algreen rain barrel. Water comes out of RTS rain barrel was purple for a while but the water from the Algreen was clear. To make sure the rain water will not pollute my vegetable bed over time with poisonous rain water, I wrote to the manufacturers of both RTS and Algreen. Algreen wrote back and assure me that their rain barrel was made from BPA free material but RTS never wrote back to answer my question. I will not use the rain water from RTS rain barrel for my veggie bed. I can only use it for the flower bed. In addition, the facet of RTS did not fit most of the garden hose head.

The barrels are very attractive. I tried to screw the faucet into the drilled area and was unable to screw them in as directed. The predrilled place to screw in the faucet was so poorly done that I could not screw in the brass faucet without it turning sideways. The sites leaked with a small water test. Ordered 4 and this happened on all. I never tried to fill them all the way to find out if the back bowed. I called the company for assistance after the first failure as directed and no one answered the phone and I never received a call back when I left my number as requested. Very poor quality!

This is the 2nd one I've purchased and while the 1st one has worked out great this particular barrel leaks. Unfortunately for me, I didn't set it up right away and now that I found a leak it is too late to return to the company. Lesson learned, the hard way.

The barrels have the drain at the very bottom. A hose cannot be put on as the barrel sits too close to the ground to get the hose on. They expand and warp and then sit lopsided. I bought two and they are junk.

Poor plastic quality! It makes no sense to have a rain barrel that can't hold water. Do not buy from RTS

I have bought a lot of stuff from Amazon and never been so disappointed. I can't get the brass spigot to align correctly to go into the barrel. The spigot is brass and the barrel a soft plastic. Within moments I have stripped the screw in and the barrel may be worthless. Stupid to screw a hard material straight into the soft plastic but that is how it is set up. I put together things like this all the time with no problem. Other reviews say the spigot goes in easy but not my experience at all. May be an isolated problem but I would never buy from this company again.I thought maybe it was just me so had a friend try. He is very very good at putting things together. He had exactly the same problem. We then caulked up the spigot and got it in just a bit out of alignment. It leaks just a tiny bit but at least is useable. From the reviews it looks like it is luck of the draw whether you get a good one or a bad one and the company may not have enough quality control to ensure the same results for all customers. I still would never buy from them again.