Yes, for several of our rain heads. The Hood Upgrade kit adds a hood to your existing Leaf Eater® Original, Leaf Eater® Advanced, or Leaf Eater® Commercial, which converts an open rain head into an enclosed one for better water capture. The Clean Shield™ screen is an upgrade screen for the Leaf Eater® Original, Leaf Eater® Plus, and Leaf Beater®, which improves leaf-shedding and reduces maintenance. Both upgrades fit existing rain heads without replacing the whole unit.

sghsdfhkshgdfkshdfkhskhskjhasjhdjshfjshdfkjsahgjkhsagd

A few things matter beyond the style. How much debris your gutters catch: for high leaf load, an open, angled rain head sheds leaves naturally and needs less attention. Where it's installed: for tight spaces, the Slimline, Slimfit, Advanced, or Beater models suit narrow locations. For commercial roofs and larger downpipes, the Leaf Eater® Commercial range handles higher flow rates. Maintenance access: if your rain head will be high up or hard to reach, choose one designed for easy cleaning. How much rainwater you want to capture: if every drop matters, an enclosed or bucket-style rain head will capture slightly more in heavy rainfall, because they stop any water that would otherwise splash off the screen.

All our rain heads use a 0.955mm aperture (955 micron) stainless steel mesh. That's the standard mosquito-proof aperture, fine enough to keep mosquitoes and larger debris out of your downpipes while still allowing water to flow through freely. The Leaf Catcha range is slightly different: it includes two internal screens, a 6mm aperture screen for catching larger leaves and a 0.955mm aperture mosquito-proof screen behind it.

It depends on whether your system is wet or dry. A wet (charged) system has pipes that sit below the tank inlet and stay full of water between rain events. In this case, your rain head needs to be at least 500mm above your tank inlet to give the water enough head pressure to travel down through the pipework and back up into the tank. 1 metre is even better, particularly for longer pipe runs. A dry system is one where pipes drain fully between rain events. There's no minimum height to worry about beyond enough fall (around 200mm before the bend to the tank) to keep water moving. For best results, consult a licensed plumber to discuss the optimal height for your installation.

You can run a system with just one stage, but each layer you skip means more contaminants reach your tank. Rain heads on their own will catch most leaves and debris, but fine sediment and dissolved matter will still flow through. A first flush diverter handles that finer material but won't stop leaves from clogging your pipework. A tank screen alone leaves your downpipes vulnerable to blockages. Most Rain Harvesting™ systems use rain heads and first flush diverters together, with a tank screen as the final barrier. The right combination for you depends on your roof, your environment, and how high a water quality you're aiming for.

Test A

Our rain heads come in three styles, each suited to a different situation. Open rain heads have an angled, exposed mesh screen. Water flows over the surface and leaves shed off the side, which means less debris sits on the screen and maintenance is minimal. Most of the Leaf Eater® range and the Leaf Beater® sit in this category. Enclosed rain heads have a cover or shield over the screen. They capture a bit more rainwater overall because the cover stops any water from splashing off the screen during heavy rainfall. The Hood variants of the Leaf Eater® range, the Slimline, and the Stream Shield all use this design. Bucket-style rain heads catch debris inside the body of the unit rather than shedding it off a screen. The Leaf Catcha range is bucket-style. To clean it, you reach in and remove any leaves or debris that have collected.

Pre-filtration is everything that filters rainwater before it enters your tank. As water runs off your roof, it picks up leaves, twigs, fine sediment, and other matter. Pre-filtration removes this in stages so what reaches your tank is much closer to what fell from the sky. The main types are rain heads (which catch leaves and debris from the downpipe), first flush diverters (which divert the dirtiest first portion of rainfall away from your tank), and tank screens (which sit at the tank inlet as a final barrier against pests and any remaining debris).

The simplest answer is to match the rain head to your downpipe. If your downpipe is 90mm, choose a 90mm rain head. If it's 100mm, choose a 100mm one. Most residential rain heads come in both sizes and several are dual-fit (90mm or 100mm). For commercial buildings, larger roofs, or high-flow applications, you'll want a larger rain head like the Leaf Eater® Commercial range, available in 150mm and 225mm. If you're not sure about your downpipe size, or you have an unusual setup like rectangular downpipes, ask us and we can match it up.

Each type catches a different kind of contaminant. Rain heads sit at the top of your downpipe and filter out leaves, twigs, and larger debris before they enter your pipework. First flush diverters sit further down and capture the first portion of rainfall, which carries the highest concentration of fine sediment and dissolved contaminants washed off your roof. Tank screens sit at the tank inlet and act as a final barrier, keeping mosquitoes, pests, and any remaining debris out of your stored water. They're designed to work together as a layered defence, not as alternatives.

Water lands on your roof, runs into your gutters, and exits through your downpipe. A rain head catches leaves, twigs, and larger debris at that exit point. The remaining water travels down towards your tank. Along the way, a first flush diverter captures the first portion of rainfall, which carries the highest concentration of fine sediment and dissolved contaminants. Once the diverter is full, the filtered water that follows is directed on towards the tank. At the tank inlet, a tank screen acts as the final barrier, keeping mosquitoes, pests, and any remaining debris out. The diverter then resets itself once the rain stops, ready for the next event.

There's no single "best" style. Each has its own strengths.

Open rain heads require the least maintenance. The angled screen sheds leaves naturally with the water flow. In very heavy downpours you might see some splashing off the front of the screen, which most installs don't notice or mind.

Enclosed rain heads make sense when you're installing somewhere splashing or stray debris would be a problem, like above a deck, patio, or walkway, when you want to capture as much rainwater as possible, or when aesthetics matter and you want a cleaner finish on the wall. The trade-off is maintenance: because the screen sits behind a cover, leaves and debris build up out of sight. If an enclosed rain head gets fully blocked, the water has to go somewhere, and that often means backing up into your gutters. Regular checks matter more here than with an open design.

Bucket-style rain heads are simple and easy to empty by hand. They're a good fit for easy-to-reach installs and a popular choice as a catchment device for tank overflows rather than downpipes. If a bucket-style rain head blocks up, water will overflow out the sides rather than backing up into your gutters, so the failure mode is more contained.

Many setups use different styles in different locations across the same property.

The ideal location is directly beneath your gutter outlet at the fascia board or eaves. Where access is difficult, for example on a two-storey house, your rain head can be installed "mid-mount" lower down the wall away from the gutter. The trade-off to consider is height: your rain head needs to sit above your tank inlet (see the next question), so the lower you mount it, the less flexibility you have on tank height. Your chosen installation point should balance maximum height in relation to your tank inlet, with safe and easy accessibility for maintenance.

Rainwater collects contaminants as it runs across your roof and through your gutters. Common pollutants include leaves and debris, dirt, sand, sediment, animal matter such as bird droppings, flaking paint, rust or metal corrosion, pesticides and other airborne pollutants, and ash from bushfires. Without pre-filtration, this material ends up in your tank, where it settles as sediment, feeds algae, and can damage pumps and appliances downstream. Filtering at multiple points before the tank means better quality stored water, less tank maintenance, and longer life for your pumps and fittings.