Good Ideas Impressions Downton 50 Gallon Rain Saver - Light Granite

Fantastic barrel, well made.

Attached to downspout and it works like a dream.

The brass fittings are nice and solid but the bottom one is rather high up and leaves a lot of water in the barrel. The planter area is nice to have but too shallow to provide much of a base for plants, plus a good rain coming from a typical slanted gutter spout will splash over into the planter area and blast a lot of dirt out of the planter onto the ground or your deck.

Bought 3 rain barrels. Very nice design. But no access to inside barrel and valves supplied are useless due to poor 45 degree design for a gravity fed system. Valve seat blocks flow of water. Had to purchase 6 new quarter turn valves to correct the problem. Contacted Good Idea's Manufacturing and they said nothing they could do about it and to contact Sam's Club.

I bought this to replace a different 65 gal barrel that had developed a leak in the bottom from a crack. This one has many drawbacks. The top does not come off so you cannot clean the inside. The only opening is a small square on top covered with a plastic screen that is held on by metal screws. This will get stripped in no time because you have to remove the screen every 1 to 2 months to add mosquito prevention pellets to the water. The upper spigot is way too high. You need it to be high enough to put a water can underneath but this one is a good 6-8"" higher than need be and this means that you can't use the upper spigot too much because it won't take long for the water level to be below the hole. The screened access hole is too small for the water to fill properly and efficiently. Water coming from the downspout splashes all over and much of it goes into the top of the barrel and overflows out the front instead of into the barrel. The overflow hole is also too low in the front overflow hole so water stays stuck in the top bowl of the barrel and won't drain out. The outside is textured and this will require scrubbing off or power washing off the dirt, algae, and grime that will accumulate in the texture. It looks attractive but that's it. Overall there are a lot of flaws and poor design elements to this rain barrel.

This was purchased to replace a different barrel that had developed a leak. I liked the look of it and thought from the photos that the top came off. It does not come off. There is only a very small opening at the top with a plastic screen screwed over it. BAD design. This means you can't clean it when it becomes yucky over the year and it will become dirty and need a good cleaning on the inside eventually. The plastic screen that is screwed on with metal screws will become stripped quickly. The screen will have to be removed every month or two to put anti mosquito pellets or donuts inside of the barrel. The upper spigot is up way too high. You will need to use the lower, hose attachment spigot to use most of the water because the upper spigot and hole are so high that it won't take very long for the water level to be below it. It is important to have an upper spigot high enough for a watering can to fit just below it. This one is a good 6 - 7"" too high. The overflow hole is too low and several inches of water that you could save in the barrel are lost to this because they flow out of the front. The top that is not removable also holds several inches of water that you can't use and that will become stagnant if left to sit. The hole where the water comes in is too small. This causes the water to splash into the top of the design and flow over the side before the barrel is even full. The inlet opening should be much larger than it is to prevent this. The design looked pretty in pictures and it looks nice when you see it. The only thing is that it is textured and will most probably hold onto dirt, mildew, and algae growth making it look dirty and have to be scrubbed or power washed from time to time. A smooth surface would be a better choice. I would not buy this again and would advise to keep looking. Chances are you will pay a bit more. My original one held 65 gal. and had all the features this one was missing. It cost about $125 more.