The rain barrel guy came back today. Took one look at the barrel and replaced it with a new one.
The weird thing is, after that first day when I took the photo, the barrel had stopped leaking. Georg and I didn't understand it at all. We thought maybe it only leaked when completely full, but even after all that rain over the weekend, no leak. I told the rain barrel guy we could keep the one we had, since the leak had apparently stopped, but he insisted on replacing it. He said he hadn't noticed the patch before and wouldn't have given me that one if he had. He speculated that maybe whatever had been used to patch it swelled when it got wet. That would explain why it leaked at first, and then stopped.
He tipped the barrel over to dump the water out: wow that was a lot of water. It knocked the blocks off level in the soft soil, which no big deal, we have time to fix it before it rains again. The barrel guy happened to mention that he was going to remove the parts and use that one for a trash can. I had a light bulb moment and realized that I had been wanting to make compost tea this year, for which I need another barrel, which will not stay full all the time, so the patch isn't a huge problem. So I offered to buy the patched barrel from him, instead of him taking it away. He gave it to me for $30, which he said was his cost for the parts.
While the patched barrel is empty, I think I'm going to add some caulk to the inside of the patch. That way the water pressure will force the caulk into the crack, rather than just a patch on the outside which would have water forcing its way out.
So now we have 3 rain barrels for $150. What a deal! If you have any interest in rain barrels I highly recommend Patrick at Acque Belle. He drove all the way out here, was friendly, inexpensive, and stood by the product. I really couldn't ask for more. And I would love to send more business his way since he was so good to us. (Nice to Jane too, even though she barked at him!)
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