Hand sprayers

[jcummins]

I have used three types.

30 gal pressure with a 12v pump?.this sprayer works great.

Hand pump up pressure sprayers?.I have had several of these, cheap and expensive, and every single one of them crapped out, many times in the hand valve. I致e taken them apart, blew air through them, fixed them only to see them totally fail again.

Trigger type like a windex bottle?I致e used cheap ones, expensive ones, and all sort of ones from bottles of other stuff we致e bought and used up. It seems when I go to use them after not being used for awhile, they never work. I suspect the sprayers need to be flushed with water after use?but that痴 exactly the opposite way I need to use the trigger ones.

Over this last year I致e done a fair amount of spraying for thistles, and cactus. I知 now moving to more of a maintenance mode, and using the 12v sprayer shouldn稚 be as necessary. The pump up hand sprayers have kind of been displaced by the 12v sprayer. I need to carry in my UTV small bottles of different mixs when I come across something I missed, or hit the cows with fly spray. I really need the trigger type to work for this. But I致e tried everything, and it seems they routinely bite the dust after short periods of use, in particular after they have sat awhile.

Anybody got an answer?

 

[oliver28472]

I am OK buying a $10.00 one gallon pump sprayer when the one I'm using craps out. I haven't seen the more expensive ones lasting much longer. I usually keep one with Roundup ready to go. Always something to spray around the house, pasture or at church.

 

[4Kings]

I've got a couple of Stihl SG-10 hand sprayers. Very well made and trouble free. A little pricy at about $25 but I've had them for going on 4 years now.

Blower & Sprayer Accessories - STIHL USA

 

[herd]

I come from a Pest Control family so I've been around sprayers many, many years. The trick to increasing the life of a sprayer is to leave it primed, but not pressurized after a thorough cleaning. To do that, thoroughly clean the unit first, allow clean water to squirt thru a few minutes, then repressurize, squeeze the trigger, then release the pressue on the tank. That way, your line and pump is primed all the way up to the spray tip.

That way, all your seals/gaskets stay moist. Otherwise, they will dry out between uses and that's the primary reason for sprayer failure. WE use expensive stainless steel sprayers at $300+ each but I also use the $10 plastic ones for odd chores like spraying vinyl siding with a clorox mix. The second most common reason for failure is leaving strong chemicals in your tank and in the pump/lines.

A hint on cleaning the spray nozzles, etc metal parts: soak in clorox overnite. The clorox will dissolve the hard mineral/chemical buildup.