Sprayer - Is this possible?

[kfvintx]

I currently have a 25 gallon boomless sprayer with wand (12V) used on ATV that serves its purpose very well. However, I need to cover more ground now without repeated fill ups of the tank.

Is it possible or worth it to trade out 25 gallon tank with larger and still work? Thinking maybe 150-20 gallon. Still all the same equipment but just sitting on larger tank.

Or is it better to have secondary tank with some sort of transfer to 25 gallon tank? What is best way to transfer between tanks?

All of this will be built into carry all for back of tractor to be used (side benefit is easier to control speed on tractor then ATV). Just don't have the money right now for larger PTO driven sprayer so trying to figure something out that works for now. The intent is for larger tank purchased now to be used when long-term sprayer built.

 

[smstonypoint]

Wow -- 150-200 gallons of spot spraying in one shot! I don't do that much in a month.

I defer to those more knowledgeable, but I would have two concerns.

1. A pump designed for a 25-gallon sprayer may not hold up with continuous spraying of 150+ gallons. You would be out the cost of a new pump.

2. Have you priced the individual components of a PTO-sprayer? I suspect that "building you own" may be as expensive as buying a complete unit off the shelf.

Steve

 

[Dave M7040]

I am an engineer not a farmer so my advice is from a technical perspective.
Pump will be OK. I suspect right now there is a bypass line running from the pump output back to the tank to minimize the pump starting and stopping.
Just don't forget to include this feature in your new "design."
150 gallons is a lot of weight. 12-1300 lbs so you need a strong structure to hold it.
Dave M7040

 

[Gary Fowler]

I would second the use of a PTO pump with either 6 or 8 rollers if you plan to spray 150-200 gallons continuously. I don't think even the heavy duty 12volt pumps will hold up long in that kind of duty. I am thinking that you want a boom sprayer to cover more area and it may be cheaper to just buy a unit complete with pump than to piece together one from components.
If buying a unit is out of the question, I would suggest getting one of the 275 gallon tote tanks available at most commercial factories for free. They have a valve on the bottom that you could plumb in your current components and spray till your pump quit working. This is dependent on your ability to carry the tank. My Kubota RTV would handle it well even with the full load but we don't know what you have to work with.

There are some high capacity 12 volt pumps available but I have no experience with them other than pricing them at my local F&R store ($199) For that price or less a PTO powered one will produce much more pressure than the 60 PSI those do and lots more volume so you could run a 20 foot boom if you were so inclined.

 

[schmism]

to give everyone an idea of the size of a 200 gal sprayer

that will be 1600lbs in liquid alone.

If you were wanting to go to like a 30 or even 55 gal drum i might recomend trying to adapt your current setup. but an order of magnitude larger is start from scratch IMHO

 

[kfvintx]

Thanks for all replies..... certainly appreciated and informative.

I never thought about the continued use and running of the pump -- how does it know it only has 25 gallons versus 200? But I now see the possible need for thinking about in this situation. The weight is certainly an issue as well but I think I'm OK on that with tractor and 3PT lift capacity.

Having said that however..... maybe 200 gallons is a little aggresive . Maybe I will keep it around 100 gallons and give it a try.

My initial use for this setup is to spray about 20 acres with "Roundup" to kill off all weeds and natural grasses for plowing under next spring and planting Tifton 85 or Coastal for hay. The boomless sprayer has about 20 foot spray width already and not looking for exact science in this case. I have about 100 acres to eventually get to and when ready for fertilizer and/or herbicide requiring more precise application then a larger PTO driven setup with boom will be in order.

Any other concerns?

 

[super55]

Like others have said adding a 275 gal tote might work for a short term solution. I agree with others that 20 ac to spray is asking a lot of a dc pump but it would probably handle it.

If you live in an ag area check craigslist or use searchtempest and see whats available in your area used. I've seen 200 gal sprayers listed in my area for under 400 dollars quite regularly. Usually they have flat tires and may need a little elbow grease to get them back operational but if $$ is a concern its worth looking into. Like they say ones own labor is free and it doesn't get cheaper than that.