Sprayer Tree Sprayers

[Zephrant]

I need to spray bug spray up to 28' off of the ground and hit the eves of the house, from far enough away that I don't get a shower doing it. Last year I used a small trailer-mount spot sprayer and stood on a ladder. And got soaked trying to spray over my head.

While I used a respirator I still don't like it, so want to do something better. But it is pretty hard to find decent tree sprayers that can reach that height without spending way too much.

The only option I've found so far is the unit at NorthernTool for $330. That is a little high for my twice a year usage patterns, but I'm about desperate enough to bite.

I've also considered buying a higher-pressure pump for my small boom sprayer and a new nozzle, but I cant' find enough solid information on that kind of a setup.

So what do people do for tree spraying?

 

[Kubota-guy1911]

I have similar problems when spraying for bag worms on my 100+ pine trees that are now pushing 25 to 30 feet. I'm thinking about converting my 12 volt battery powered pump to a PTO driven 8 roller pump. I'll probably pull the trigger the next time Farm & Fleet or Rural King has them on sale. When I built my system, I used components rated for 200 PSI or greater, thinking some day I would upgrade to a roller pump. Let us know how you handle your situation.

kj

 

[Zephrant]

I had thought of that too- but by the time I priced out the pump, PTO couple, pressure relief valve and nozzle, I was at or above the cost of the self-contained unit.

I'd spend an hour setting up and tearing down the PTO pump system, just to spend 30s racing around the house to apply 5 gallons of pesticide.

But if I had someone say "this is a setup that will definitely spray 35' " and give details, I'd happily go do it that way.

But so far, no such luck.

What confuses me further is that I called a reputable shop in Seattle that does a lot of sprayer equipment, and he tried to steer me to a 60psi pump that does 4-5gpm. He claims that it is the GPM that gives the distance, not the pressure.

 

[rhett]

hi, I'll just report what I have and works for me...

PTO pump that came with a pressure relief regulator (when set pressure is reached, fluids circulate back into my drum). Not sure of specs at the moment. 200+ PSI hose on pressure side of pump. I use a good quality water hose nozzle that lets me set it to a fine stream always, not one that will fan when first squeezing the gun.

Well I dial up the pressure 100 PSI and test spray reach initially, then bring up pressure till the needed spray reaches the needs of the job.

I highly recommend calibrating your settup with plain water before adding chemicals.

I've Round-Up'ed alot of Kudzu with my settup no problems. I mix 1 oz or less to a gallon because this method shure puts out alot of fluid.

ALWAYS KEEP THE PRESSURE ADJUSTMENT BELOW THE HOSES RATED WORKING PRESSURE !!!

Good Luck, the PTO Pump is way more versitile than a 12V one.

Edit: Zephrant your guy is right about Flow Rate, a larger ID nozzle will give better reach (old style fireman's nozzle) reaching up there at municipal water pressure. Pressure increase will help and the stream breaks up for better coverage. Another option would be to rig up a boom pole spray gun, 10 to 20 foot reach advantage there.

 

[Zephrant]

Thanks for the info- Any chance I could get the make/model of that pump? That would greatly help.

Thanks-

 

[Deck III]

I have a pecan orchard that I spray with a fan mist sprayer specificly designed for trees. Something that we have discussed in the past to address a few trees here and there is a tank and pressure washer. The jet nozzle turns to a fine mist once it gets a little distance on it. The jet setting appears to be the best for spraying at any distance. Your eaves probably could be done with one of the fan settings. If you do not have a pressure washer, I think home depot, lowes, or one of your local rental company's would rent you one at a reasonable rate.

 

[rhett]

Thanks for the info- Any chance I could get the make/model of that pump? That would greatly help.

Thanks-

Hi, first here is a link to a reasonably priced PTO Water Pump @ $145.95.
ROLLER PUMP,HI-PRES-HI VOLUME
# Up to 48 GPM
# Up to 365 PSI

my pump was purchased about 15 years ago from NorthernTool, they no longer carry it and I have not a clue of its actual specs. attached is a picture of it from an Australian vendor though.

NOTE: the general maintenance after each use is to run fresh water through the pump, then run some motor oil through it to prevent rust seizing it up. This is very important especially if Highly Corrosive Liquids are used like liquid fertilizers or bleach.

again, something like a Pole Pruner could be rigged up so the spray gun could be mounted at the end and controlled by a piece of rope or something. Its reach would then be easily adjusted for different situations.

Just a couple of suggestions.

EDIT: forgot to mention that I use Plastic 30 Gallon Drums. Used 30 or 55 gallon plastic drums should be easily found locally for about $20

 

[Squeak n Itch]

To be sure the quality of the nozzle or spray tip makes a huge difference. A brass or steel tip from a quality spray supplier will help. Spraying Systems Company (Spray nozzles, spray control, spray analysis and spray fabrication from the experts in spray technology, Spraying Systems Co.) has been my choice and their website provides additional information. A simple plastic tip with a hole drilled into it will start the breakup of the stream quickly. Sometimes this is OK but for distance the stream should start with laminar flow.

Given the above, pressure supplies the distance. An open hose as basically zero pressure supplies a high volume where a 2,300 psi pressure washer at 2 gpm will go a long distance with the right nozzle. 20' should be no problem with a low cost roller pump. The problem normally with spraying is that each person has different expectations of performance. Hope this helps.

 

[Zephrant]

Thanks- that helps a lot. Running oil though the pump does sound a bit messy though. Do you think that some 3-in-1 sprayed in the ports would be enough?

Martin- Thanks for that website. It does mention 87,000 spray nozzles though....

What do you think about this one? A bit overkill?
Valley Industries Long-Range Spray Gun 30 GPM, 1000 PSI

 

[rhett]

Thanks- that helps a lot. Running oil though the pump does sound a bit messy though.

messy, yes it is = but corrosion will mean the pump might just be a once used tool... mine still works after 15+ years... i go the extra step and relube my toy after a week or so trying to ensure the moisture has evaporated. My favorite paints are oil and diesel

Do you think that some 3-in-1 sprayed in the ports would be enough?

NO !!! that stuff evaporates in days, if not hours. it is a real good adhesive remover though = kids with sticky toys... at its best removing those darn stickers off the fridge......... turns the glue too yogurt !

 

[Zephrant]

Well for a first attempt, I ordered the valley spray gun. I'm going to try it on my electric pressure washer first- I'm hoping I can keep the PSI down to 1000, and get a decent spray by feeding it from my 25g sprayer tank. Not sure if the sprayer will even run without the hose pressure feeding it, but am going to try.

If that fails, I buy the PTO pump Rhett found for me. Since they came from different companies, no harm in trying just the gun first, and if it works it saves me time and effort.

I'll get parts Tuesday, so should know more next week.

 

[rhett]

I ordered the valley spray gun..

hi Zephrant,

I would not try connecting the "valley spray gun" to a pressure washer for testing, dangerous!

The "valley spray gun" is rated up too 1000 PSI @ 30 GPM (gallons per minute). It will spray 5 gallons of liguid in 10 seconds.
Home pressure washers are rated on a rough scale of 1500 PSI to 3500 PSI @ 2.5 GPM to 6 GPM.

To get the "valley spray gun" to preform and reach near its advertised 85 foot spray hieght, pressure and flow rate of fluid will need to be near its specifications.
The link to pump above is a little shy with specs of 18.49 GPM @ pressure of 365 PSI. It would be better suited to the 250 PSI @ 15 GPM spray gun at northerntool (39.99 one).

If your interested, here is another pump that exceeds the GPM for the 69.99 one.
ROLLER PUMP-MT-300
$243.95
38 GPM @ pressure of 450 PSI

a serious spray system, man it uses fluid though. One of my 30 gallon drums would last for 1 minute. Hope this helps.

Rhett

 

[mjncad]

I use anti-freeze in my roller pump to keep it from rusting. It's not as messy and what little remains in the pump will mix better with water based chemicals than oil will for the next use.

 

[Zephrant]

The little electric washer I want to try is spec'd at 1200psi, and I doubt it makes that, but I'll be careful. I figure the gun has a little margin in it and that the pump probably does not put out what it is was spec'd at when new.

And since the pressure depends on the orifice in the gun, I suspect that the pressure will be more like running an open hose on the pressure washer.

I am counting on the gun to have an adjustment on it to cut down the flow (and build pressure). It does say "up to 30 gpm"... If it does not, I may return it untried.

Anti-freeze is a good idea- in fact since I have plenty of it used that I've not taken to the transfer station yet, I could spare some for the pump. It's the low-tox stuff too, so a little safer to have laying around. Do you just fill it up and sit it on the shelf someplace, or do you plug the openings?

 

[mjncad]

Anti-freeze is a good idea- in fact since I have plenty of it used that I've not taken to the transfer station yet, I could spare some for the pump. It's the low-tox stuff too, so a little safer to have laying around. Do you just fill it up and sit it on the shelf someplace, or do you plug the openings?

Here is a photo of my roller pump, which stays outside year round stored on the sprayer. Picasa Web Albums - Matt - FIMCO Sprayer

I also run an antifreeze mix through the sprayer to protect the hoses, valves and nozzles.

 

[Zephrant]

Time for an update- It took until today for me to get the time to put it all together. With a couple of fittings from the House of Hose, I got the Valley Ind. gun attached to my electric (1200psi) pressure washer.

The gun works great- the front handle pivots to change from a stream to a very fine mist. Looks like it works very well for spraying trees. In the stream position I could just barely hit the peaks of my roof from the ground, which is at least 30' up.

I did notice that with the pressure washer turned off (but the house water still on) the sprayer could also reach the peak, but with less flow. So in full-stream mode putting the pressure washer in the middle does nothing but add to the GPH put out.

The problem came in the area that was the sketchiest- when I try to feed the pressure washer from a bucket (simulating a water/pesticide mixture) then the washer wants to stall. I'll still need to hook up some kind of booster pump between my spray tank and the pressure washer to get this all working.

So what does the Valley gun buy me that the washer won't do by itself? Just the ability to change the spray pattern- from dense fog to a stream. Well, that and the way-cool motorcycle gripped gun with the bright red end....

Since the control on the gun can be used to turn off the spray completely (stalling the pressure washer) it looks like it work would for most any GPM pump, not just something that throws 30gpm at 1000psi, as my washer is far less than that. I've not yet measured it, but I doubt I was doing more than 2gpm max.

Next up- rig it up with my 25g spray tank as the source. I might yet buy the PTO pump, as that solves the issue, but to save cash maybe I'll try a pump or two I have laying around here first. I really only need to use this twice a year, so don't want to sink too much in to it.


But I like the gun.

 

[Zephrant]

Matt- From your Picasa page- "The blue color is from the tracer dye in the chemical cocktail."

How do you use dye? I'm having problems telling exactly here I've gone in some places- Last time I was out I grabbed a stick and drug it in the dirt once in a while to give me something to look for the next loop around.

 

[mjncad]

Matt- From your Picasa page- "The blue color is from the tracer dye in the chemical cocktail."

How do you use dye? I'm having problems telling exactly here I've gone in some places- Last time I was out I grabbed a stick and drug it in the dirt once in a while to give me something to look for the next loop around.

As I recall I use 10oz of dye for a 50-gallon herbicide and water mix. It will fade in a day or two depending on strength and available sunlight. Gemplers www.gemplers.com has it; but I bought my gallon jug at the co-op where I buy my chemicals. Undiluted, it is about the same color as Dykem's blue machinist's dye.

 

[Zephrant]

I wanted to try the above spray gun on my little sprayer- It is a 25g tow-behind model, for small lawns and such. The pump on it is rated at 1.8gpm (Shurflow 8000-248-250)

With $40 worth of brass fittings, I was set. I hooked it up and tested with some water. I was able to just barely reach the peaks of my roof- holding the gun over my head with one hand. Sorter than the pressure washer by at least 6', maybe 10'.

But it was easier to mix the bug spray and use it that way, then to come up with a way to feed a mixture in to the pressure washer. (I had been planning on a venturi/siphon on the input, or a header tank with pump.)

So I dressed up in a poncho, hat, respirator, gloves, and a coat and sprayed about 15g of water with 15 ounces of Viper (which contains cypermethrin at 25.4%) over about 4000 square feet of metal siding and about 500 square feet of metal eves. I put extra spray at the points in the facia where bees have gotten behind it via loose fittings.

I really liked the thought of metal sideing / eves / fascia for the fire resistance (and no painting), but I don't like the gaps and drain-holes that let bugs bug nests behind it.


I sprayed about two weeks ago, and I've really noticed a drop in wasp activity. Before I could not be outside without being harassed- buzzed around the head, in the face, etc. Pretty tough on my 2 year old girl... Went outside with the kids today for an hour, and didn't have any issues at all.


Coming up next- I want to use the spray tank / pump as a head-end tank for the pressure washer, and see how that goes. It means I'd need 110v power to spray, but I could always use an inverter if the cords become too much of a hassle.

Sorry no pictures, I'll take some next time I have it out and post them.

 

[zzvyb6]

I have an electric Stihl pressure washer that is used to spray trees, grass, flowers, etc. Never had a problem with the system or pump. Since its electric, I take it out on the road or fields by hooking on my tractor powered PTO alternator and put a 150 gallon solution tank in the front end loader bucket. Plug it in, feed it with a hose from the tank, raise the bucket to get some head pressure and bingo, a tree sprayer, a weed sprayer, a mosquito sprayer and a remote car washer. I even used it a few times to spray a mist on the horses. They loved it during hot August days. Set the spray wand to wide pattern and that's all I ever need. Wash out with clear water.