Rainwater HOG

Over the past year, we've had a number of readers write in with questions on rainwater harvesting. One popular question is how to do it without an unsightly barrel. It's been a tough one to answer, until now.

That picture above is the incredibly versatile Rainwater HOG modular tank. The tank is designed to store rainwater in small spaces -- think under a deck, up against the side of a house, in a narrow passageway ... And the material is recyclable.

We definitely prefer the HOG to the traditional rainwater barrel -- traditionalists might disagree.

Allison Arieff, editor-at-large at Sunset magazine, blogged the HOG not too long ago. She called it "simple and discrete." We agree.

Comments (6)

It's nice looking, but I wouldn't love stepping into my backyard and being reminded I'm a hog all the time. What's next, a light switchplate with the words "tree killer" or "air polluter" on it?

posted by SFGail on August 7th 2008 at 2:28pm
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I'm ... of two minds. On the one hand it does address a need for slimline rain tanks that can fit into urban spaces. On the other, it's more expensive than an ordinary rain barrel -- I think I could get two or three 50-gallon barrels for the same money.

posted by Eucritta on August 7th 2008 at 5:33pm
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at $450 (from DWR) I have to say you could come up with a better solution to hide a rain barrel or 2.

posted by dsgnomite on August 8th 2008 at 11:03am
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In most cities, you can find/get used food grade barrels for free. Just build a nice fence or something to hide it. $450 for one of these things is ridiculous.

posted by thisisme on August 10th 2008 at 7:58am
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Boooo, so little water for $450. I agree with the previous posters, in any urban environment you can obtain 50 gallon barrels for FREE, add a spigot for... say $10 and you now have saved $440 and you've recycled a barrel which makes you more greener than the "hog"

posted by JBPDX on August 10th 2008 at 8:08pm
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"Cheap is often not "green", in fact cheap often means short-lived. I specifically designed HOG to be "greener" than a barrel - it lasts 20 years plus, vs 3-5, with UV stabilization, foodgrade plastic, and all reuseable componentry - which add upfront cost but mean you only pay once. Two HOGs fit in the footprint of a single barrel. And your recycled food barrel? Didn't you just rinse it with bleach to clean it, and wont you be doing that every year to keep the algae and dirt buildup at bay? A Prius costs more too, so does solar. Why is it then that the cheap barrel is a comparison to a H2OG? And why would hogging RAINWATER be a bad thing?

posted by SallyD on September 22nd 2008 at 8:54am
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