Akira Rain Chain

Beautiful and very functional design! This was the only chain I found with large openings at the top AND bottom of each piece in the chain, which keeps leaves from clogging and allows heavy rain to pass freely. This was a requirement for any rain chain I bought. It had to do something more than just look pretty. (I have other rain chains hanging from the pergolas, but they're not attached to gutters, so if leaves fall into them, it doesn't matter...they are more decoration than functional.) I had wanted rain chains for years, but held off, because our old gutters were weak and needed replacing. Didn't want to replace them until we did the roof...you know, sometimes this stuff is all 'connected' and it's best to wait to do everything at once. So when we put on a new roof, and new gutters, I had our gutter installer put up 3 of these beautiful rain chains in the front of the house. Our rains are so forceful here in Miami, that even w/ 3 chains on 1 gutter, each looks like a firehose when there's a heavy rain. The roofline across the front of our house is approx. 100' long. We had 3 downspouts on the old gutters and because they were not spaced correctly, one section kept sagging and then falling after every heavy rain. When we had the new gutters installed, I placed 2 rain chains at each end and 1 in the middle. The symmetry of the chains is lovely and I get to watch through my living room window as the rain falls down the center chain. From the front porch I can watch them all in action. I couldn't be happier. In a way, I'm glad it took so long to get them because it gave me time to think about the kind of chain I needed, (as opposed to just buying something pretty and then being unhappy with it's performance), and also time to consider where would be the best place to put them. If you're replacing a downspout that's already in place, then the answer is easy. Buy if you're getting new gutters, then you have to give it some thought, cause once you make the hole in the gutter...you're sorta obligated to hang the chain there! The chain needs to be functional, but it's also nice to have it in a place where you can admire it from inside the house, or on your porch/patio...so picking a spot for me was a little difficult. I was afraid to hang them someplace and not like them there, and then be stuck with that...so I gave it a lot of thought before hanging them and even had to move one because the water flow was too much for it, and the ground was always soggy, so I replaced it with a down spout and French drain. Even with all the consideration, you just don't know how much and how fast water is going to come off your roof and rain chains can be overwhelmed...making them look silly each time it rains as the water is splashing down sideways, spraying everything in a 5' radius. Some of the things I considered: Was the drainage good or did I have to build it up with rocks, or a pot or barrel? Was it too close to trees, the front or back door, (chains splash, so location near a door is not always ideal), would I be able to see it from inside the house, would it be in a spot that gets too much wind exposure, where it might break loose and bang against a window, glass door, or the house? (that's a concern with all the unexpected high wind storms that pop up here). Was it going to flood onto pavers, or something set in sand, and if so, did I have enough of a buffer/under liner/rocks/pot, or all of the above, to keep the overflow from washing out the sand or dirt over time, or drowning all the plants in a garden. I wish the chains could stay shiny copper colored. I thought about spraying them all with a clear sealant paint, but I knew they would wear unevenly due to rain & sun, and the sealant would eventually fade/chip/wear off in patches. A rain chain with copper spots is not on my 'must have' list, and I'm not OCDC enough to re-spray the chains every year...so I left them as is, and now they all have a nice patina. They haven't turned green...don't know if they will. Sorta hoping they won't. I 'ended' them all inside blue and white Talavera pots, with blue under liners. After hearing them bang and rattle against the pots during windy and rainy days, I decided to place large white river rocks in the pots to hold the chains steady during heavy wind & rains. Life in the Land of Hurricanes presents challenges, so I know when the next 'big one' blows through, we'll have to get on a ladder and bring the chains down, but after putting up storm shutters, rain chains are not a big deal. I suspect people that live in cold climates have to remove their rain chains so they don't freeze over in an ice storm, causing a gutter to fall from the additional weight of the ice. If you get heavy rains, or live near trees that shed a lot, this is the perfect chain to use.

UPDATE April 2025. It's only a year old and the finish has oxidized. The pewter is now dark flat black. Customer service impossible to reach. Send a message on web site gives error and no phone listed. One I found on the web is no good. On the trouble shooting page on Amazon it says to clear with vinegar and a cloth, then spray with protective product. Really! Obviously it doesn't come "protected." We really liked it but very disappointed in the quality after only one year. Original review: We like the looks of this chain. The water flows through well and surprisingly we aren't getting a lot of splash. Perhaps being close to the gutter at the top helps, I'm not sure. There's no way for this type of item to not splash some. I made sure it could hang perfectly straight without any restriction that might make it to go sideways as it descends, as that would definitely make it splash more. Of course in a windy condition that probably will not work and it will splash more. We like it so far. Hope the finish holds up. Time will tell.

Looks nice, but the cups are smaller than the same one I previously purchased, so hopefully it’s OK in heavy Florida rains. I had to buy a separate gutter adapter (sleeve), because this one didn’t come with one. The piece it comes with works fine, but the adapters look much better..

We have had this rain chain installed since October 2024, so made it thru a winter & now spring. We are very pleased with the performance thru our heaviest rainy seasons. The esthetics and sound of the chain is beautiful. Would highly recommend this product.

Surprised by the quality at this price point. We put it on a covered pergola. Looks and sounds like a fountain during heavy rain. Requires an anchoring basin or stake to stabilize.

The copper is really pretty it is very long which is great I think we removed 2 cups. I didn’t have to extend the gutter with this and it sounds awesome when it rains. We did chalk as recommended so the water flows freely without splashing all over. Just so you know you do have to purchase the drill bit and the separate piece that you install in the gutter unless you have the correct size to make the hole in the gutter we ended up installing an end cap so the water just comes down the train. Very happy with my purchase.

The video shows the chain handling the full output from my garden hose. Perfect? No, you can see it’s losing a small amount of water to splash, but overall, it’s very good. The chain is definitely solid copper, so I’m hoping the patina will form to eventually match the 105 year old copper gutters (which will probably take about 105 years 🙄). The video above is of my first attempt to figure out how to use a rain chain in conjunction with a drain pipe. There will be several more attempts, I’m certain, but I kind of like the idea of the transition from the chain to the pipe pull double duty as a bird bath. We’ll see. 11/11/2019 Update: I doubled up a dual rainchain (2 X 16 feet long) for a gutter handling a very large amount of roof area. Works like a charm, and the birds love the copper fire pit modified to act as a large catch basin. Pro-Tip: if you wish to massively accelerate the formation of patina on copper, spray it once a day for 3 days with, no kidding, Miracle-Gro liquid plant fertilizer.

This rain chain is awesome. No other word for it. It was a great purchase. The cups are larger and frequent, allowing water to actually pass through them rather than run over the sides. It looks so cool outside the front window. It comes with a triangle piece to place inside the gutter to secure the chain. Unfortunately, it was hard to manipulate with the gutter connector right above it. So I also purchased the adapter that goes inside the gutter to help secure the chain. I think it was $8.95. I had to shave it down to the correct size and then glued it in. Other than that, it really does make the whole system function better. Other rain chains have smaller and fewer cups...with larger gaps (several chain links) between them. Videos of the smaller ones showed water running outside the vessels. Not true with these!