I put barrel on a stand about 15 inches tall. The install was straight forward with a level, drill and tape measure. The barrel fills to within 2 inches from top and then drains out the gutter perfectly. Im not sure how winterizing is going to go but I think you have to remove insert in gutter which was easy. The only thing I thought could be improved upon was all the plastic parts. The water valve is plastic and the hose from gutter is plastic. The install and operation is perfect and I ran a hose from barrel to garden, which is downhill, and all I have to do is open valve at barrel.  For my application it is really good.