Fitting my new, homemade diverter-filter combo into our downspout was my next task. Its was fairly straight forward stuff.
I cut out a piece from the existing downspout to fit in the diverter. The piece I removed was slightly shorter than the diverter is tall to assure it slides into the downspout.
The diverter-filter combo is fairly heavy. I needed two sturdy angle brackets on the porch post that would hold the diverter. I also installed two saddles that would keep the diverter in position for a perfect connection to the downspouts.
Well, an almost perfect connection … My five inch downspout is still a little smaller than the six inch diverter. To overcome the one inch discrepancy, I flared the end of the downspout that connects to the top of the diverter.
Once the diverter was sitting on the brackets and pushed into the saddles, it fit like a glove. Last but not least, I strapped it to the porch post.
What isn’t included in this set up is a winter bypass. At the beginning of December, I will have to disconnect and take down the diverter-filter combo and replace it with a piece of downspout for the duration of the freezing months. This way, I will bypass the rain barrel altogether for that time.
Oh, yes! There is a rain barrel involved, isn’t there?