FCMP Outdoor 45 Gallon Heavy Duty Rain Water Catcher Barrel Container with Hose and Debris Screen for Outdoor Plants, Garden, and Landscapes (RC45-BLK) Black

This is a great water solution. Fills readily even with a lighter rain. The short hose that you mount to it is attached with a p-clamp, which feels janky but seems to work fine. I prefer that to a spigot for filling watering cans, because I didn't have to lift the barrel with a stand. I can just tip the hose into a watering can to fill them, rather than having to keep the barrel high enough to fill a watering can. The end of the hose has a male hose attachment, so you can use a regular garden hose to water with as well. Pressure seems great as long as the barrel is at least partly full. Next year I will be attaching this to a garden irrigation system, so all I have to do it turn the valve, to water the garden.

I Ordered 2 rain barrels. One had a product defect and leaked. I contacted the company directly and they shipped a replacement immediately.The product works exactly as advertised and is an improvement on the earlier version. I particularly like the new placement of the outlet. The older version had it a couple of inches from the bottom so it was hard to get all the water out.

Very sturdy, good plastic, easy to assemble (the instructions were pretty bad, it took me a few minutes to realize that the plastic clip hooks to the valve end of the hose, then you push the clip into the small hole at the top of the barrel (on the side)....you know, that small hole that you think shouldn't be there? :)All I got in my package was:- The barrel- The hose - one end was just bare hose, the other had the screw-top. The hose had a metal screw-clamp attached.- The valve - this hooks onto the screw top- The clip - this attaches to the top of the hose where you screw the valve, then push the pointed end into the small hole at the top/side of the barrel.The clip is easy to miss - I didn't realize it was in there until I moved the barrel suddenly and heard something else rattle after I'd removed the instructions, hose, valve, etc.So, based on the reviews, some people are getting a hose with two screw-ends, where you screw one end into the bottom of the barrel, at the hookup, and the other you screw the valve onto - that's not so in my case. I got a screw clamp and one end was just bare hose, so I screwed the clamp on as tight as I could, but I was immediately concerned this was going to leak. Another reviewer who stated "if you hook it up right it won't leak" seems to have the hose with two screw-ends, so yeah, theirs likely won't leak.The day after I got it, we had a massive thunderstorm - it's currently holding a full 45 gallons of water right now with no leaks so far (I am going to keep checking). So, if you do receive a hose with a screw clamp, make sure that sucker is on good and tight...

I've purchased a lot of gardening supplies this summer and I think this has been my favorite. I planted a pollinator garden with about 50 butterfly bushes, flowers, azaleas, etc. (One photo shows this work in progress). I love being able to water all the plants with fresh rainwater versus chlorinated water from the tap. I actually just purchased another one of these same barrels for the other side of my yard, where I have rhododendrons and other plants.The photos aren't impressive, but I wanted to add them anyway to show something. Near the top, there's a little hole for overspill when the barrel is too full. I usually keep a 10 gallon bucket there when it's raining and the overfill water squirts out into that bucket. It made me start thinking that at some point I might even like to create an entire irrigation system with these barrels. Anyway... I highly recommend this product.- It's lightweight and very easy to move when empty.- It takes only a few minutes to connect the hose and debris guard.- It does what it's supposed to. :)

Other reviews mentioned leaks. Mine arrived on time and was full to nearly overflowing less than a week later thanks to a heavy rain. I did notice the back of the barrel (flat side) had a slight bulge to it but there were no leaks. The top has a removable grate which I felt had large enough holes to allow mosquitos to pass through. To prevent the possibility of mosquito breeding (I hate mosquitos) I put a piece of fiberglass screen beneath the grate and another (probably overkill) on the top of the barrel held in place with a few rocks. This comes with a valve on the end of the hose that can accommodate a garden hose. So far I only used the water to fill a garden pitcher. With the flow rate, it did not take long to fill the 2 gallon pitcher.

Worst purchase ever. It was cracked around the seams where the spout is located so it leaked immediately. My husband is good at fixing things so he found a way to fix that. The water flow is VERY POOR. The barrel is sitting six feet off the ground and the water barely drips through the hose. I would not recommend this product.

Rain barrel is great. But the attached hose is flimsy and no longer attached to barrel nor do the “eyes” close to keep water from running out hose end

Have used this rain barrel for nearly one year and very satisfied with the quality and function.I have another brand as well and the key with these types of barrels is raising them a foot or two on blocks/bricks in order to properly drain as needed. I also placed mosquito nets over top.Excellent product, easy to use.A must for drout ridden southern CA!