Roller pump question

RHughes · Feb 11, 2005

I've been thinking of building a small 50gal sprayer for spraying the edges of my pecan orchard and hay fields. I am hoping to keep the price reasonable (i.e. low) by using a simple PTO roller pump rather than a larger diaphragm pump.
The roller pumps I've looked at come in three flavors, cast iron, Ni-resist (nickel alloy), and Silvercast (stainless maybe?) with the cast iron being the least expensive going up to the Silvercast version.
Here's my question. Do the Silvercast pumps really outlast the cast iron models by *that much* when spraying Roundup and other glyphosate based herbicides? I know Roundup and its cousins can be murder on steel; I've seen some fences practically destroyed with it. However, I always thoroughly wash my spray equipment after I use it, even those little hand plastic sprayers.

I would appreciate any input from the group.

Best regards!!

Currmudgeon · Feb 11, 2005

If you go with the cast iron pump, you might consider filling the pump with diesel before younput it away. That should protect it from the glyphosphate.

RalphVa · Feb 11, 2005

Many of those sprayers that you buy with tank and pump combined use the same little 12v pump that I've used to pump irrigation water to my garden and to transfer water out of my rain tanks. You could probably run it off the battery on your tractor, but it may be a tug on the battery and charging system. It generally will only run 1-3 hours off a small utility battery for me.

TSC has the 12v pumps. They do 1-2 gpm at a high enough pressure for sprays.

Ralph

farmermatt · Feb 11, 2005

i would suggest buying a small 12 volt diaphragm pump. ive got one on my 8 row planter to pump starter all the way from the front of the tractor to the rear of the planter. then i will take it off and put it on my small 70 gallon sprayer i pull behind my four wheeler. it doesnt take much voltage to run it. and it puts out about 20 pounds of pressure running 4 nozzles. and they are not very expensive.
but if you do get a rollerpump, run diesel through it, then fill it up with it when you let it sit, as another suggested.

matt

willywildes · Feb 11, 2005

The instructions on my roller pump say to fill it with oil and put the caps back on.

johan3400 · Feb 11, 2005

I agree with Currmudgeon. Go with the cast iron pump. The roller pumps are easy to rebuild and if you fill with some type of oil last a long tiime. The parts are are easy to purchase at TSC.

Bird · Feb 12, 2005

Ralph, I used one of the cast iron roller pumps for several years. Just washing it out with clean water after use will NOT keep it from corroding, as the other guys have said. If you do that, and don't use it for awhile, you'll find it seized up the next time you need it. It's easy to disassemble, clean and/or rebuild, and sometimes you can just loosen the housing bolts enough to turn it by hand. If so, you can slowly turn it, while you gradually tighten the 4 housing bolts, and get by without taking it completely apart. But the best thing is to do as has already been said; fill it with something after each use to prevent corrosion. I found that even just leaving it with insecticide or herbicide in it will work fairly well if it isn't too long before you're going to use it again. As long as it's full of liquid, no air can get in, and it probably won't corrode. But, like you, I liked to flush mine out after use, so I usually just filled it with ordinary Prestone anti-freeze, which I'd dump in a container the next time I used the pump and put it back in afterwards.

RHughes · Feb 12, 2005

Thanks for the help! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
I like the idea of filling the pump with diesel or oil after flushing it out. That should work fine.