Air powered sprayer

BTDT · Oct 4, 2006

I have a friend who took a 20" x 6ft pipe, welded the ends shut, put an axle under it, welded on a hitch, and wa-la, portable sprayer. He pressures it up with 12volt air compressor. It has pick up tube attatched to hose with spray handle, and pipe nipple with cap on bottom back end for drainage. Maybe someone could use this idea. He pulls his behind tractor, but you could use smaller pipe and customize for lawn tractor.

PineRidge · Oct 5, 2006

How about a few pictures to get our adrenaline flowing?

rambler · Oct 6, 2006

Metal is not a good idea for many sprays, esp Roundup & other glysophate products.

I'm not real comfortable with a pressurized home-made vessel full of chemical behind me either. Hope there is a blow-off valve on it.

I'm a farmer, need to take the course & pass the test every 3 years to apply herbicides. This project sounds like a person should know what they are doing.......

--->Paul

Highbeam · Oct 6, 2006

Sounds like a grenade. Those little compressors can get 75 psi in there. a 20" pipe has an end area of 314 square inches so there will be 23,561 lbs of force trying to blow that end cap off. It won't just go phud either, the compressed air will continue to expand and blow the shrapnel.

No way jose.

BTDT · Oct 8, 2006

Thanks for the reply's. Not trying to get anyone hurt here, just passing on some ideas of things I have seen and heard that other folks have done. Air is just what he used to power sprayer. More info: He is certified welder for the gas co., pipe was high pressure gas pipe left over from job. I think he has a guage and schrader valve that he uses to air up (like putting air in tire). Doesn't take much pressure to operate. I guess you would have to be careful with type of chemicals used, and you could put 12volt pump like on some of Tractor Supply's sprayers to operate.

rambler · Oct 8, 2006

Sounds like your friend at least understands pressurized vessels.

The other problem with it is that you get no agitation at all. Most spray solutions tend to settle out. With a pump on a sprayer, it recurculates the spray & keeps the chemical mixed.

--->Paul

BTDT · Oct 8, 2006

I guess pulling it around behind tractor/atv/truck and it bouncing around keeps it stirred up. I haven't asked him about that. But if you have ever tried to carry an open topped 5 gal. bucket of water anywhere you know how it spashes everywhere.

rambler · Oct 8, 2006

Again, I'm used to 300 gallon or bigger spray tanks, and mixing 2-5 things in the tank, & the label requiring me to agitate for 15 minutes & I legally need to follow the label - the county does stop in & check on us farmers often enough to keep us somewhat on our toes.

Different world for me.

It just sits in the bottom if I don't agitate it.

--->Paul

6or7dazeaweek · Oct 9, 2006

I'm a farmer, need to take the course & pass the test every 3 years to apply herbicides. This project sounds like a person should know what they are doing.......

--->Paul[/QUOTE]

Not to get off course, but the certification and costs involved in applying chemical pesticides is why I have decided to go organic. Yup, it's more costly but in the long run, I'm more comfortable with it.
Jon

HomeBrew2 · Oct 9, 2006

Highbeam said:
Sounds like a grenade. Those little compressors can get 75 psi in there. a 20" pipe has an end area of 314 square inches so there will be 23,561 lbs of force trying to blow that end cap off. It won't just go phud either, the compressed air will continue to expand and blow the shrapnel.

No way jose.

Umm, a couple of things sound mighty funny there but maybe I'm not thinking right again ... I assumed he was talking about one of those little tiny 12V emergency air compressors that we keep in our cars for pumping up a tire. If so, it takes me 3 hours to go from flat to 15 psi in a 33x12.5x15 tire ... I wonder how may DAYS it would take to fill that 20" x 6' pipe to 75 psi.
But, even if it could pump to 75 psi in that size container in a time frame relative to spraying, isn't the psi calc you made on the end caps only valid if the tank was completely full and the pressure was applied with a fluid in a sealed system ... as in a hydraulic circuit?
I think the rig is plenty safe and cool idea.