Homemade Sprayer Nozzle question

[woodlandfarms]

I am mulling over building my own 55 gallon weed sprayer, handling fertilizer, roundup and crossbow.

I have a bunch of rainbird sprinkler heads floating around, why could I not use them?

 

[teg]

You can try, I know what you are talking about but my *guess* is that they would put out too much water (chemical/mix). I think they are rate in gallons per minute (really guessing now) vs. Gallons per acre. Maybe if you can drive really fast they could work. The open part of most nozzles I've worked with are about pin size but I have not seen what "Flood" nozzles are like.

You can hook it all up and if it doesn't work, swap out the nozzles.

 

[jjmarotz]

As expensive as fert,and roundup is these days you would go thru 55 gallons in no time flat. Look at the nozzle sizes, rainbirds put out probably 15 times the amount of liquid that a sprayer nozzle will. Also it would only put out at most a small stream vs. a spray pattern. Most liquids only need to be applied as a very fine mist to be most effective. A large stream of fertilizer would burn your crops, yard, flowers, etc. for the entire year if not longer. The missus of the house would let you know all year long, and your neighbors. If you need further details let me know as I just built the same thing for my tractor 3 months ago. I also have more pics if needed.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Uhhhhhhh Ummmmm YEAHHH!!!! Love as much info on from you and others who have made their own sprayers. I have seen the fancy ones, guys with machine shops and serious skills. How about those that don't have accessto that kind of stuff...

And as for the rainbird. The lowest flow heads I have are 1/2 gallon per minute.. X3... Ouch...

 

[jjmarotz]

Check with your local chemical dealer or ag supply store as they should have several different styles and sizes of nozzles. Some spray striaght, some fan out with different degrees of distance. It can be daunting to find all of the parts involved but it depends on how big of sprayer you need. Mine covers 15', but I do have electric selonoids to operate the right, left, and center section of my sprayer. One other option to a big spray rig is an ATV spot sprayer with a 4-6' boom added on. Check Northern Tool or even E-Bay for a 15-25 gallon sprayer.

 

[teg]

I kind of cheated by having two parts and putting them together... but it may help. You need to tell us a few things, like, How many acres do you want to spray? and is it one large field or many small wood plots? A simple design would be use a carry-all as the base and mount the 55 gallon drum on that. If you have a bunch of small plots, I think electric pumps are fine but if you get in to large fields, PTO pumps are better.

My electric pump connects to my battery (just a clamp with 20 amp fuse), I just run the wire to it when it's hooked up. My tank is 15 gallons but only use 12 gallons (roundup mix) to cover my driveway. I only use the four nozzles (Flat fans something like 80-02) that covers 6 feet behind the tractor. I don't use the outside booms (I run into things so I keep them folded up).

This is two units that were trashed and the boom pole is only clamped on to the main unit. Only for small spray jobs. I can change the pressure by diverting water back to the main tank. The pump can do 4.5 gallons per minute and 45psi. It was a little over $100. This is not the same unit but it seems close... ASC # 34928 Diaphragm Pump

 

[jjmarotz]

I agree with teg, the size of acreage, and specific use of a sprayer. If you are only doing your driveway a 15 gallon spot sprayer is perfect, anything over that you will want to think about a larger unit with or without fold up booms. Fill us in on what you plan on using this rig for and I am sure there will be many others who will add to this thread with good (and sometimes questionable) ideas. But you only learn from others experiences.

 

[woodlandfarms]

My tractor is the PT 1850. All implements on the front. I was thinking about getting a 55 gallon drum, using the forklift feature and mounting the barrel upfront. I need a spraywand with at least 50' of lead. I have a bunch of very nice plastic pallets I thought of using and getting a plastic 55 gallon drum for 15 bucks or so.

The land I want to deal with may be upwards of 20 acres, but it will never be sprayed at one time. Maybe 3 to 5 acres at a time. (how long does 55 gallons last, anyway?). My land is slopey and the PT can handle it. I just have to make sure the sprayer will work at 30 to 40 degree slopes.

I have a design in my head, keeping the sprayers pointing down so I do not cover much more than 10 or 15 feet at a time. I hate the thought of having the spray nozzles in front, but I am a lazy person and do not want to run a hose down the side of my tractor to atttach to a rear boom (Cancer? Ease of use? Such a decision).

Anyway. I will take all the ideas and criticism I can get.

Carl

 

[mboulais]

I bought all the parts I needed for two atv boom sprayers here:

Agri Supply® - Where we have Something for Everyone for your Farm Shop & Home - NC, SC, GA, VA, Tifton, Garner, Florence, Statesboro, Petersburg, Greenville, Lumberton

Price was good and shipping fast.

 

[teg]

You'll get soaked is my guess. How hard is it to drive in reverse?? As for how long 55 gallons will last; depends on your speed and nozzles... you'll have to figure out Gallons per Acre. For me, I put out 12 gallons per acre going 3 mph (which is REALLY fast on a hill ). I've posted before how to calculate it out...

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/owning-operating/100603-sprayer-calibration.html#post1145249

Edit: After looking over my post... I'm not the easiest person to understand Hopefully, someone can explain it in *real* english!!

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