Custom Sprayer

[Berniep]

Hi Berniep,

Thanks for the note. I'm not so sure that there would be a higher concentration of chemical in the foam than in the tank itself.





In the end it's a pretty easy and cheap project. I hope some other folks are helped by the photos and make thier own similar spot sprayers.

PS Anyone out there with a better spray gun that give more distance?

I just meant that if its making foam then it's not in the fluid that you are spraying. Like I said probably not enough to make much difference. I don't know the chemical makeup of roundup but I would guess there is a detergent to cut the waxy coating on plant leaves and this is what makes the foam.

I would think you would need to go smaller nozzle in your wand to get more distance. Constrict the flow, raise the speed of the fluid. ya know that Bernouli guy?
Anyway it's a great sprayer and I will use your design to build a brush sprayer of my own, probably get it done about the first snow fall

 

[mjncad]

I should have built my own sprayer; but I bought a FIMCO 55-gallon unit that fits on my 3PH.

Although I can't complain about the fabrication quality of the unit; making it quick-hitch compatible, and some other convenience features makes me feel like I'm trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

One of these day's I'll document what I've done to it, and I have more to do as I learn what it can and can't do.

I'm going to get some defoaming agent for the next batch of Pro-Deuce I run through mine to kill weeds. It foamed up big time, and the agitation comes via the return to tank line entering the tank bottom.

Off on a slight tangent; does anyone know if using water with too high a salt content reduces the effectiveness of weed killers? Last year I used Ortho's Triox or whatever they call it, and it didn't seem to be as effective as I would have liked. The same for the Pro-Deuce this year and I am mixing the stuff per instructions.

 

[djw250]

Off on a slight tangent; does anyone know if using water with too high a salt content reduces the effectiveness of weed killers? Last year I used Ortho's Triox or whatever they call it, and it didn't seem to be as effective as I would have liked. The same for the Pro-Deuce this year and I am mixing the stuff per instructions.

The water quality can affect weed killers and other chemicals. High pH, dissolved minerals, suspended sediment, and organic material can all reduce effectiveness. There's a table listing some of this at Farm Chemical Spraying and Mixing Water Quality

 

[mjncad]

The water quality can affect weed killers and other chemicals. High pH, dissolved minerals, suspended sediment, and organic material can all reduce effectiveness. There's a table listing some of this at Farm Chemical Spraying and Mixing Water Quality

Thanks for the link as Pro-Deuce and Triox both contain glyphosate, and I'm not getting the burn down I would expect. Where I live, our water department has a two-pipe system that provides potable water consisting of a blend of deep well water that is high in salt content with surface water that is ultimately treated by a reverse osmosis system. Even with this blend our potable water is quite salty. I have been using potable water to mix the herbicides.

The other pipe provides untreated water for landscape irrigation. The water department filters out the big chunks so to speak, and I have a strainer on that system to catch what the water department misses. I'm going to try the irrigation water with the herbicide instead to see if there is a difference.

 

[bostonrats]

I just meant that if its making foam then it's not in the fluid that you are spraying. Like I said probably not enough to make much difference. I don't know the chemical makeup of roundup but I would guess there is a detergent to cut the waxy coating on plant leaves and this is what makes the foam.

I would think you would need to go smaller nozzle in your wand to get more distance. Constrict the flow, raise the speed of the fluid. ya know that Bernouli guy?
Anyway it's a great sprayer and I will use your design to build a brush sprayer of my own, probably get it done about the first snow fall

Hi Berneip!

I think there is a surfactant built into Roundup. I have a seperate spreader / sticker for other stuff I use. But back to "foam physices" My guess is that just like beer, the foam is just puffy Roundup. I don't think there is a greater concentration of chemicals in the foam, just less of the same mix in the barrel. If you pull the head off a beer it turns back into the same beer it came from. Right?

On the nozzle, I'm not so sure there isn't more going on here. If it was just the Bernoulli principal, a faster stream should go father...but we know a pinhole will not make a stream that goes 100 yards. I think that the distance is related to the volume of fluid out the nozzle, that the weight of the fluid has to overcome the air resistance. Again, I've only done a tiny bit of research on nozzles but I thought I read somewhere that the volume is a big part of distance...that's why I drilled my tip out. My question is of nozzle shape. Is there a mfg that has a killer spot nozzle design? I've noticed that the old stainless steel water fire extinguishers had nozzles that seemed to shoot forever. I don't know if it's a taper, proper match, exit curve..or what but that's the kind of shooting I want.

I hope you get to building one too! It's a great tool. On the snow...my next project is to motorize my Kubota 60" snow blower attachment. There is NO WAY I'm going to pull my loader and frame off every spring and back on in the fall to use the designed front PTO. I'm set to put an 18 hp horizontal shaft motor on the blower with a fuel tank. I'll use the original electric clutch and pin the "skid" blower into my bucket. It will be easy in and out to allow me to use my bucket during the winter. Lots of power to shoot snow to the moon, suck in mailboxes etc...and no backing up. I'll post the entire project when I build it.

Best to you and all the good folks in Indiana!

 

[TwinWillows]

MJNCAD - About your question on salty water affecting the chemical action -

I do know that if the PH of the solution is too low the effectiveness of roundup is diminished. I don't have salty water but do add Ammonium Sulfate (AKA AMS) which raises the PH & seems to help. I also add a defoamer & sometimes dish soap as a surfactant to improve the "stick" on slick weeds/grasses. YMMV

 

[Berniep]

Hi Berneip!

I think there is a surfactant built into Roundup. I have a seperate spreader / sticker for other stuff I use. But back to "foam physices" My guess is that just like beer, the foam is just puffy Roundup. I don't think there is a greater concentration of chemicals in the foam, just less of the same mix in the barrel. If you pull the head off a beer it turns back into the same beer it came from. Right?

On the nozzle, I'm not so sure there isn't more going on here. If it was just the Bernoulli principal, a faster stream should go father...but we know a pinhole will not make a stream that goes 100 yards. I think that the distance is related to the volume of fluid out the nozzle, that the weight of the fluid has to overcome the air resistance. Again, I've only done a tiny bit of research on nozzles but I thought I read somewhere that the volume is a big part of distance...that's why I drilled my tip out. My question is of nozzle shape. Is there a mfg that has a killer spot nozzle design? I've noticed that the old stainless steel water fire extinguishers had nozzles that seemed to shoot forever. I don't know if it's a taper, proper match, exit curve..or what but that's the kind of shooting I want.

I hope you get to building one too! It's a great tool. On the snow...my next project is to motorize my Kubota 60" snow blower attachment. There is NO WAY I'm going to pull my loader and frame off every spring and back on in the fall to use the designed front PTO. I'm set to put an 18 hp horizontal shaft motor on the blower with a fuel tank. I'll use the original electric clutch and pin the "skid" blower into my bucket. It will be easy in and out to allow me to use my bucket during the winter. Lots of power to shoot snow to the moon, suck in mailboxes etc...and no backing up. I'll post the entire project when I build it.

Best to you and all the good folks in Indiana!

Good point. I don't know the concentration of the chemical in the foam.

On the nozzle.
With the pressure and volume you have available you should be able to put out house fires with that thing. I think you should be able to get 50 feet out of it easily. Something is not right.

Good idea on the snow blower. I look forward to seeing your project