Sprayer Help... Acceptable uses for PTO sprayers

[Farmwithjunk]

I've used water-bourne sealers made by a number of manufacturers. It's milky looking when in liquid form. It tends to clump and clog tips in sprayers. It LOOKS terrible when you first spray it on. And it's a bear to clean up with just water.

And is it just me, or is there something sorta odd about water based water proofing? /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

I'm a carpenter by day. (Mostly office-bound as an estimator lately) We used to build a LOT of decks. The water based sealers seemed like a good idea. Time tested, they just didn't hold up like the oil based products.

 

[Soundguy]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( It's milky looking when in liquid form. It tends to clump and clog tips in sprayers. )</font>

Yep.. is milky looking.. However I've treated each of my wood barn and pole bldgs for the last few years with the same old cheapy 9.99 kmart sprayer... same nozzle. Perhaps the valspar material I'm using is just a better product?? or filtered for solids better?

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( is there something sorta odd about water based water proofing )</font>

Nothing odd about material that can clean up with water yet is otherwise permanent when cured... just look at cement.... wash away with water untill cured.. then it's 'there'

Soundguy

 

[jeffinsgf]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( But just for curiosity's sake, why are you looking at a PTO pump instead of one of the far less expensive 12-volt pumps? I ask that only because in your first post you mentioned cost justification.)</font>

Bob, I would like to address your question, since you are (and should be) looked upon as a source of knowledge here on TBN.

In doing a native prairie restoration on our place I have been doing a lot of glysophate spraying. My first experience was to borrow a 12 volt sprayer from the Missouri Department of Conservation. It was a top of the line trailer based machine. After that, I decided that I didn't want to have to go to MDC and borrow theirs every time I wanted to spray. I didn't like the wires hanging all over the place, so I was sort of intrigued by the PTO pump concept.

I bought a 55 gallon sprayer with boom that was designed to be used with a PTO pump. Then I bought the parts to build a hand wand, the valves and parts I needed to add the wand, and my 75.00 pump. None of the 12V sprayers I could find had 55 gallon capacity -- the biggest I could find was 35. So that kind of makes comparisons harder, but I definitely had a little more in my rig than a good -- but much smaller -- 12V unit. The biggest difference, however, is in the volume and pressure of the spray. There just is no comparison in the pressure and dispersal. The PTO pump vs a 12V is like comparing a 3400 psi pressure washer with a spray nozzle on a garden hose. When using the boom it is not such a big deal. The PTO pump undoubtedly does a better job of "misting", which gets the material more evenly distributed. But, when you are using the wand the PTO pump really shines. It isn't a pressure washer, but it is darned close. While I don't farm, if I had fruit or nut trees, I could spray the tops of the trees from the ground and do an even job. The PTO pump has come in very handy for several other jobs, too. I built a watering unit from a used 55 gallon drum, my PTO pump and a cut off garden hose. And, like the justification that several others here use for generators, pressure washers, and other PTO driven gear, there's one less motor to maintain and replace.

All that said, I will repeat my concern about using a field sprayer to spray stain and sealer. I might use the pump with a different tank and wand -- which is easy enough to put together, but I wouldn't put any petro soluble stuff in my field tank.