Sprayers 101

Bill VA

Well-known Member
Spent some time this weekend with my $50 - 55 gallon sprayer I picked up used last summer off CL. It has a Hypro 6500C pump on it, two booms that fold down for an 18 ft spray and is mounted to the tractor via 3 point hitch. The goal is to knock down some weeds in my hay fields before the first cut. The absence of weeds ought to reduce my yield by at least 50% - LOL!

I'll be spraying 2,4-D and have some sprayer questions - not so much 2,4-D questions.

This sprayer has a Hypro 6500C 6-roller pump on it - which will either need a new roller kit or replaced as it is seized. I soaked it over the winter in kerosene, but it's still frozen.

I'll probably replace some of the hoses, though most look OK. I'll run water through them at pressure before I replace - don't want to fix what ain't broke.

What spray tips do you generally prefer? This sprayer came with Teejet #8003 nozzles. They spray flat with an 80 degree coverage angle.

Any particular operating pressure you work at? 40psi, 60psi, etc.

How high from the ground (or grass) do you generally set your boom?

When you are mixing your herbicides, how do you agitate everything? I was thinking about an air hose put at the bottom of the tank allowing air bubbles to do this.

Marking where you've been. Foam, die or just watch your tracks.

Pattern: do you spray in a crossing pattern to ensure complete coverage - spraying half the amount, only to double up to the full amount via the crossing pattern - or just around the field, up and down, etc - full strength.

How do you clean your sprayer? Mine doesn't have a drain, so I'm thinking I just rinse several times and pump out what's left. Leave the top of the sprayer fill cap and let the residue evaporate.

Any special clothing you wear, masks, etc?

I'll probably use the MF50 with this sprayer. Will these chemicals dissolve what's left of the paint job and speed-up rust on any bare metal?

Not looking for complete how to instructions, just some general rules of thumb you folks are using when spraying.

Thanks!
Bill
 
If it's froze that tight you'll probably break something pressing it a part.

As far as everything else go to TEE JET.com. A lot of good information.

Good Luck.
 
If that's a roundup ready pump, then rebuild it as they are EXPensive to replace. The worse I can think of is a bearing froze up and maybe needs pressed off. I'd be all over tryin' to get that pump up working again. I'd make sure to run a strainer on the pressure side ,as opposed to the suction side, and strainers in the nozzles and yes they plug up and will need to be clean frequently. I had miserable luck putting any restriction (strainer or check valve) on the suction side as if I stopped the engine I could not get primed again. My engine and pump set on top off the tank (I know, I know, relocate pump below tank) is problematic location. I'm still tryin' to get my system (similar to yours)clean enough to run for a while with everything pluggin' up. I'd think 40-50 psi would be plenty. I think lower pressures makes a heavier droplet coming out of the nozzle (less drift). bjr
 
Hey Bill,

A couple of thoughts.

You may already know this but here goes anyway. There are two types of 2-4D, amine and ester. The amine is safer as it does not volatize as rapidly as the ester.

There is probably tobacco grown near you. Be especially careful using 2-4D around tobacco, tomatoes, cotton, other broadleaf crop, and ornamentals. Documented case of 2-4D drift moving 1 1/4 miles and damaging cotton here in NC. At the time you would be spraying, most of these crops would not be up. Spray when the wind is between 2 and 10 miles per hour. Strange as it may seem, drift is more of a problem when the wind is dead calm because the fine spray droplets remain suspended in a cloud and do not disperse.

As said by another poster, the TEE JET manual gives more info than you would ever want to know apout spraying. There are charts showing tip size, pressure, speed, etc. The 8003 is a good nozzle tip for what you are doing.

Another good reference for sprayer plumbing is put out by Hypro. Don't know if it is available on line or not.

As far as special clothing, READ THE LABEL ON THE JUG.

Didn't answer all your questions but I hope this helps. I have over 40 years experience at spraying.
 
I have been through 4 or 5 sprayers in my life.

Here is some of what I learned.

Never buy a sprayer with a mild steel tank. Plastic or stainless only. Rust will drive you nuts with metal tanks. Same with the boom. Those steel pipe booms are a pain for the same reason.

Run a return line back to the tank before your boom valve for agitation. They make agitator cones to put on the end of this line.

Yes you need a drain in the bottom to completely drain the tank unless you only spray one chemical. You will never suck all the spray out. It would be good to suck out of this port for spraying as well. Makes it a lot easier to prime the pump rather than pulling it out over the top.

Read the label for proper clothing. Spray mist hitting you is not good. That is why I went to a cab to spray.

You need to refer to a spray tip chart to get the speed, gallons per acre, pressure, and height based on your size and spacing on the nozzles. After 35 years of spraying I still use a chart.

You do not want to exceed about 45 lbs. pressure or less than 30 lbs. Because of drift and spray coverage.

If you rinse the tractor off the spray will not hurt the paint job. Just be careful where you rinse. The chemical is on the tractor as well and will kill what it hits.

Where I park to fill and rinse the sprayer and tractor has not grown a weed for years.

All commercial applicators carry insurance. Why? Cause it is very easy to kill the wrong thing from drift or wrong chemicals. Even pros make mistakes. Including me.

Hope this helps. Gary
 
You might consider contacting <a href="http://hypropumps.com/EngineeredContactUs_ContactUs_Eng.aspx">Pentair Flow Technologies</a> to get the Hypro pump repaired.
 
Are PTO mounted pumps get any better suction? I really suffer try to get a 7 roller pump to take suction. It's setting on top of a 24" diameter tank driven by a 5 hp briggs. I've changed suction configurations till the cows come home and I still can't get a consistant pickup. I've tried check valves of ever style (spring check, swing check, no check. And yes, rebuilt the pump. Roller pumps Do Not Suck. What do you guys do? Maybe use a different syle pump, diaphram maybe? bjr
 
It's not uncommon for my pump to be a little stuck after storage - give it a bump with the tractor on idle and see if it gets going. Not much to lose.

You do -not- let the residue dry out into the bottom.

You run the tank empty.

Put in 20 gallons or so of water, run the pump a couple minutes, spray this out on the field.

Fill the tank with 20 gallons or so, add some household amonia, and un the pump to agitate a few minutes. Then spray it out in the field. The amonia neutralizes most sprays a fair amount. There are special tank cleaners you can find at the farm store instead.

I use a couple gallons of RV antifreeze and/or diesel fuel to winterized.

I like to be spraying at 25 lbs pressure. With the boom off, might be 40 lbs showing then.

Your sprayer should pull out of the bottom, empty completely? As well, the controller should have settings to run pressure to the boom and/or back to the tank to agitate. Typically excess pressure is retuned to the tank to adjitate it. Don't use air, that makes foam, you don't wan foam.

Paul
 
Kero won't free anything up. Fill it with 50-50 mix acetone and ATF. let it cook for two weeks. Then without draining it, or hooking up any water hoses, attach to PTO and at tractor idle. easy bump the pto lever
If that doesn't do it buy the roller kit. Someone stored it and didn't flush with oil as recommended.
 
2-4D works good. Banvel and 2-4D work better...

My pump gets stuck about every winter. There are probably 4 or so bolts holding the pump halves together. Loosen them up and tap the housing so it separates a little bit, pour some acetone/ATF 50-50 mix in there and the pump inlet, and try and get 'er to turn with wrenches. Once she breaks free, turn by hand a few times as you slowly tighten the bolts.
 

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