PTO sprayer or 12v

[Old Red]

Cropcare makes some very nice sprayers in the smaller sized sprayers. This is what I see a lot in the smaller home or small commercial spraying demands. What I see are junky/cheap sprayers. There are only very few high quality "top of the line" type sprayers that I know of for small stuff. I believe crop care is one of them. Does anyone else know of any other models in the "high quality" arena for say 25 gallon and 40 gallon spraying? 2.5 acres or so?

My small one is a Fimco, and while it has lasted I would not consider it on the same level as crop care. Rural King has all sorts of sprayers in this category but they all look to be on the mid to lower end.

 

[Old Red]

I have a 40 gallon fimco on my 739. It works well for my 2.5 acres. I welded a spring loaded return spool on the top and upgraded the sprayer wand. I love it. Though, I did replace the pump with a better one. Use the wand more than the boom, mainly because I'm spraying weed n feed and have a lot of flower beds that can't be hit. Photo below.

That said, with your acreage and needs, I would think a PTO driven sprayer would give you better performance with less issues. However, as you probably know, the cost is several times that of the fimco.


View attachment 541166

What motor did you swap out the OEM one with? Surflo?

 

[Jamming]

Probably the one that comes to the doubtful conclusion that Roundup causes cancer. But then the greenies have been trying to get the stuff banned for years.

Everything causes cancer. Thankfully i have good genetics. But your probably right. Thats the study.

 

[Jamming]

As long as you have an alternator that can run the pump and keep the tractor battery fully charged then I'd use the electric pump. PTO pump will be quieter and you won't have to run the PTO at 540 rpm either it'll build good pressure at engine idle speed. My FIL switched from an electric to a PTO pump on his JD 3038e for spraying his yard and he never runs the engine above idle speed. He uses a TSC 3pt hitch carry-all with a 25 gallon poly tank, 4 foot boom with fan nozzles and a handheld wand...works great.

Plenty of amperes . I think its a 85 amp alternator. Any experience with the fimco systems in 40 to 55 gallon ones.

 

[Jamming]

Excellent info folks. I appreciate it. Going to look into pto unit at local dealer and read through all this info. Running my pto at 540 might be a consideration not to go Pto. Looking to hard wire power back to unit. Dont care for the battery alligator clips. Seems cheesy. If i do go 12v. Any pumps i should consider reliable. The fimco was all plastic and was not impressed with the hands on quality.

 

[Gittyup]

What motor did you swap out the OEM one with? Surflo?

It was a Northstar NSQ 3 gpm at 60 psi. If you are spraying vegetation killer (roundup type stuff), that is really hard on valves and pumps. Certain classes of pumps are better for that material (like the NSQ series). No matter, you'll have to flush everything clean after every use if you are spraying roundup.

I think the PTO will give you high flow rates at constant pressure.

The fimco is more of a small property sprayer (like mine). 15 acres demands something a bit heavier duty.

 

[Gittyup]

Another thought: Have you considered a landscape rake? Cheaper to use, little to no maintenance, environmentally friendly. I have about 300 of stone drive and that is what I do. When the weeds get intolerable I just dress up the road with a rake. Keeps it crowned and pot hole free too. Probably takes a bit longer to do than spraying. But, then you have to clean the sprayer. So may be not. Depending on how picky you are, I only do it a couple of times per year.

 

[Huskerfan]

It was a Northstar NSQ 3 gpm at 60 psi. If you are spraying vegetation killer (roundup type stuff), that is really hard on valves and pumps. Certain classes of pumps are better for that material (like the NSQ series). No matter, you'll have to flush everything clean after every use if you are spraying roundup.

I think the PTO will give you high flow rates at constant pressure.

The fimco is more of a small property sprayer (like mine). 15 acres demands something a bit heavier duty.

I agree for a larger field go with a pto pump. But they can be problematic, my farmer brother considers them to be a an annual consumable, Round up is hard on the seals. The Fimco is fine for small properties. I have the 3 pt. 40 gal. But it was upgraded to 1/2 inch hose, bowl strainer, 6 spray T jet AIXR11002 nozzles, instant shutoff check valves and a 3.8gpm Fimco pump. Only thing original is the tank, frame and boom. This setup is perfect for liquid fertilizer for lawn and landscape plants and Square One spring herbicide for lawn weed control.

 

[Deerherd]

I have a Demco sprayer that I use around my 1/4 mile driveway/house and soybeans and corn. It has worked great for the last three seasons.

 

[Old Red]

I have a Demco sprayer that I use around my 1/4 mile driveway/house and soybeans and corn. It has worked great for the last three seasons.

View attachment 541381

I really like that sprayer....I have never seen that one or the other side by side sprayer someone posted earlier....I paid a lot of money for mine and thought I had looked at all the higher quality side by side sprayer, but obviously not. What type of pump motor do you have on this sprayer? Gas? Electric? How big is the boom? How many gallons is the tank?