Definitely agree on plastic screens warping—seen it happen a few times myself. If you're aiming for reliability, here's what I'd do: start with a solid overflow plan first (think oversized pipes or a secondary outlet). Then, pick your mesh carefully—stainless can be great, but it still needs regular checks for debris build-up. And don't forget about maintenance access; nothing worse than wrestling with clogged screens during heavy rain... been there, done that, got soaked.
Good points about the overflow setup—learned that lesson the hard way myself. Curious though, have you found stainless mesh worth the extra cost? I tried it once, and while it held up better than plastic, debris still piled up pretty quick. Ended up switching to aluminum mesh with slightly bigger holes... easier to clean and still kept most junk out. Anyone else had luck with aluminum or is stainless really the way to go long-term?
I've actually bounced between stainless and aluminum myself—honestly, I think aluminum hits that sweet spot. Stainless mesh is sturdy, sure, but it's pricey and debris still cakes on pretty quick. Aluminum with slightly bigger holes works well enough, and cleaning it is way less of a chore. Plus, if you accidentally bend it during maintenance (speaking from experience here...), it's easy to reshape. Long-term, aluminum's been solid for me—good balance between cost, durability, and convenience.
I've mostly stuck with stainless myself, but you're making aluminum sound pretty tempting. How's it holding up against corrosion long-term? I've seen aluminum get a bit iffy over time, especially in wetter climates...but maybe I'm just overthinking it.
I've had aluminum gutters on my rain harvesting setup for about five years now, and honestly, they've held up better than I expected. I'm in the Pacific Northwest, so it doesn't get much wetter than here... Initially, I was worried because I've seen aluminum patio furniture turn pretty gnarly after a few seasons. But with gutters, as long as they're properly coated and you keep debris from sitting in them too long, corrosion hasn't been much of an issue for me. Curious though—are you planning to filter your harvested water for drinking, or just gardening?
