Ag Sprayer

[Eyecatcher]

I'd like to build a garden sprayer with booms high enough and long enough to be able to spray my maters and sweet corn. I've got a Gravely 8122 that I don't have a deck for, thinking about converting this to a dedicated spray rig. Any ideas?

 

[OldMcDonald]

I would not be on this forum if I did not like BIY and I have recently gone through the same exercise of designing and pricing what I needed. No point in giving pricing details because they will be totally different for you, but I reluctantly decided I could not build what I wanted for less than the price of a new manufactured sprayer - pto driven, tpl mounted, hand lance, 2metre fixed central boom and 1m extensions either side. It has to fit between rows of olive trees so width restricted. I also wanted to be able to isolate the extensions or use them upright when required. 500 young olive trees need sprayed at least 4 times a year and an upright boom used downwind can do some of that on small trees. I am awaiting delivery, and in a way I was pleased at how it turned out because I really do not have enough time to build it.

My wife also said it would be best to spend the money rather than have to push myself to complete it before it is needed in the autumn. Wifely concurrence is a good starting point for anything.

 

[DaveOmak]

eyecatcher, morning.... I use a small garden cart behind my mower to haul the tank/pump etc.... I use a hand wand to direct the spray....

Dave

 

[BHD]

depending on what your spraying and the accuracy you want, there are bloomless nozzles. years a go I bought a small field sprayer,

and had some booms or 6 or 8 row, not modern wide, but had some booms, seems even on these simple booms they were a lot of hassle, I discovered a boom less nozzle, and when I was spraying ditches and the yards it was great as there was no boom to hit things, and would spray 30 foot wide, I fed it with a garden hose that was connected to a PTO pump, with a pressure relief circuit on it, NO it was not accurate as a boom with spaced nozzles but for many things it was more than accurate enough.

and depending on cost and amounts a plastic 30 or 55 gallon drum may work for a tank,

 

[OldMcDonald]

eyecatcher, BHD is correct if space permits a boomless nozzle and you are not worried about drift. I cannot allow something like glyphosate to drift onto my young trees so have to have a small boom. The hand lance can cover many uses, including covering a few yards of wiidth if it is directed properly - but nowhere near as much as BHD's boomless nozzle. These nozzles are used very effectively in more mature olive groves for applying insecticides and foliar feeds to trees.