Boomless spray nozzles - any good?

[sellercreek]

Thankyou all for such good information.

Based on the points raised I'll go with a good quality boomless nozzle and I'll make sure I have the flow/pressure data available from my PTO pump to ensure I can adjust my flow to give me rudimentary control over the droplet size. As a homeowner I have the luxury of choosing my times and can select to only spray on windless days.

Its going to take me a week or so to get this together and I'll do some trial runs with just water and report back (maybe even with a picture or two!).

Be careful of inversions on windless days. I recently attended pesticide applicator licensing training and we were advised to avoid completely windless days. Following is a quote from the manual:

"Most pesticide labels will state that the product is to be applied when wind speed is between 3 and 10 mph. Windless conditions would seem ideal, but calm conditions can be associated with inversion conditions that cause the volatile components of a spray to remain in the area longer than if a slight wind exists."

 

[MFL]

Grubs,

A little over a year ago I inherited a 100 gal sprayer from a farmer friend who said it was too small for him. The unit was (is) in pristine condition, and the only problem was that it only came with a wand attachment. Since the company that built it is in our area, I called them about adding a boom unit and they suggested that for the type of spraying I would be doing that a single nozzle would work better and be cheaper. The tech I spoke to told me that unless I was spraying row crops or spraying lawns with a lot of landscaping, that the boom wouldn't give me any extra benefit. Since my only use is spraying a pre-emergent weed killer on my pastures, I went with the boomless. I drove the unit to their shop, had it installed in less than an hour and was ready to go. I've used it four times since, and it works great! I try and spray on fairly calm days, keep the tank and nozzle as low as possible while still getting a good spread (about 15-20 ft), and wear a mask. Clean well and run a lot of water through the unit when you're done, and that's it!

 

[Grubs]

Thats really good to hear MFL.

My sprayer is in pretty bad condition. It's over 30 yrs old and I think it spent much of that time out in the sun as the plastic tank is crazed on the outside and the red lid is no longer red...however it does hold water and the PTO pump is the same model they are still making today so I can source new diaphragms and valves without difficulty. A couple of new hoses for less than $50 and I'm about $2450 in front compared to new!

 

[forester2]

If I was spraying Roundup or another herbicide in an open field where I didn't care about incidential damage, or a fungicide or insecticide where no damage would occur to non target plants then I might use a boomless nozzle. However, you indicated you were spraying herbicide in your yard; any valuable trees, landscaping or garden that could be damaged? If so, there is no way I'd use a boomless nozzle. Watch professional lawn care companies. The use either a handgun with huge droplet sizes or a boom srayer on larger jobs. Much easier to control overspray and calibrate application. Just my opinion.