Sprayer TSC Boom Sprayers

[Eric_Phillips]

I am looking at Tractor Supply Company for a boom sprayer. They offer two in the 50-60 gallon range set up for a 3ph. One is a Fimco the other may be a store brand, there is no infomation on their web site. Any one have information positive or negative about either sprayer?

Thanks,
Eric

 

[Bird]

Eric, I'm not sure whether you're talking about a PTO powered, or a 12 volt electric powered, sprayer. I've no experience with their PTO powered rigs, but the last I knew, the 12 volt ones used a Shurflo pump, which is basically the same pump as the one used for the water system in RVs. They're good pumps, and even if you do ever have a problem with it, they're easy to repair and the parts are cheap.

 

[Inspector507]

The one I saw at TSC was a 55 gallon that required a PTO pump.

 

[Eric_Phillips]

Yes both of these need PTO pumps. After looking closer I noticed that both of them come with out pumps. TSC has 6 roller PTO pump kits for $132 so I need to add this to the cost.

Eric

 

[Bird]

Eric, the roller pumps are good ones if properly cared for. The biggest problem with them is corrosion if left unused and no liquid in them. Some people use oil; I used antifreeze. When I finished with mine, I'd pour Prestone in it. Next time I used it, I'd pour out the antifreeze first into a can and put it back in when I finished, if it wasn't going to be used for awhile. I used mine primarily for insecticide and if I intended to use it again within a week or two, I'd just leave it full of the insecticide. As long as it didn't have air in it, it wouldn't corrode. And if it's ever necessary, it's easy to repair or rebuild. Of course the roller pumps are capable of much higher pressure than the 12 volt pumps; i.e., 300 psi vs 60 psi approximately.

 

[nomad]

Does it look like this? (see attachment.)

If it is a PTO powered sprayer, go for a bigger one, for ex. for 100 gallon. Anyway, there will be no much price difference between 55 gallon and 100 gallon pto pump sprayers. What is the length of boom at that 55 gallon sprayer?

 

[MikefromMI]

I love my sprayer. But TSC was brain dead when it came to what I needed to connect up to my PTO. I use a 6 Roller pump. Very nice. Plenty of pressure. They tried to sell me this torque chain setup which was the dumbest thing I've ever seen. I just want to plug this thing in and go. Not be messing with chains on either side of my PTO shield. So I got it home and hooked it up. TSC forgot to add the quick disconnect on the PTO side. Another hour trip..... OK, so I get it all hooked up. Keep in mind that the IN/OUT hose connected to the pump already has enough drag to not allow the pump to spin. But just incase she froze up alittle I added a 8" long peice of 1/2" angle iron to the pump's "torque chain" mounting holes. This will hit the draw bar if she tries to spin. I've complained to TSC forever about their support both online and the children in the stores.... Thank God for TBN.....
About the corrosion Bird talks about. It will get ya. Especially if your spraying broadleaf spray which is made to stick to the broadleafs...imagine that /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
Buy yourself a bottle of Nutra-Sol. You'll hate the price. For me 7.00$ for two uses. But it cleans the whole system. Also, don't forget to add in the time... The foam takes forever to wash out of the tank before you run the Nutra-Sol through. Then you have to run a half tank with the Nutra-Sol. For me this is as long as it takes to spray the 5 acreas. But I still do it. Just mumbling under my breath... /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif
Let me know if I missed anything.
Mike

 

[Bird]

Mike, fortunately, when mine corroded, I had a sandblast cabinet (actually using glass beads), so it was easy to disassemble the pump, clean it thoroughly, and reassemble. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[PineRidge]

Eric we have been looking at 3-point TSC boom sprayers ourselves. We weren't thrilled with the $487. price tag on the 55 gallon unit especially since you still had to factor in a roller pump valued at over $100. to use the sprayer.

Since we needed another project anyway we purchased a 65 gallon poly-tank and are in the process of putting a boom sprayer together ourselves.

 

[MikefromMI]

Ya,
I keep telling myself I'm going to purchase one of these. Maybe someday when I grow up..... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[MikefromMI]

A lot of people are doing this. You can save a lot of money. Used plastic 55 gal drums can be found all over for 5 -10$. I just didn't have the time back then. But it is really the way to go. Plus you can add seperate containers incase you want to mix something else while your spraying. Do a search... There's details all over this board.

 

[OkieG]

Eric,
The 50 gallon Fimco from TSC is the sprayer I have. It's probably 4 or 5 years old. I bought the PTO pump they recommended, which is the HyPro 6500. It pumps 9.7 gpm, which is more than enough for the sprayer.

This is the only sprayer I've used, so my breadth of experience is limited. However, the Fimco seems to work well. It is used to spray a couple acres 2-3 times a year. It's been reliable.

Three drawbacks for me:
1. When a tree trunk catches the 10' long boom, sometimes the nozzle on the end will be pulled off as the boom arm folds and brushes past the trunk. No big deal, but I have to stop and clip it back in place. I haven't found a way to keep that from happening.

2. Some sprayers come with a diverter valve and a handheld sprayer wand attachment. The Fimco did not. Seems like a cool option. My preference, though, is to load the last gallon or so into a separate hand pump sprayer and walk to the spots the larger sprayer can't get to.

3. The sprayer is not set-up to easily drain left-over liquid. I like to have a little left over for hand spraying. It's not too hard to splice fittings into the rubber hoses underneath the sprayer to make a drain hose. That's what I did this Spring. I mounted a brass (corrosion resistant?) water faucet to the metal sprayer frame and connected the drain hose to it. Now, at least, I can drain the extra chemical solution and not get it all over myself.

Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with the sprayer.

OkieG

 

[Eric_Phillips]

The price tag on te TSC sprayers have been making it difficult for me to get past my wife. Now that she knows she can use it to water the horse ring I have been given the OK to buy one. The thing is I need to get the weeds killed ASAP so I can start preping the ground for lawn around the house. So my problem with building my own is time and I don't weld so making a platform to carry the sprayer is a problem unless I buy something like the carry all form TSC. Does anyone have a source with excellent customer service for buying sprayer parts? The whole thing does not look difficult to build. The most engineering comes in the folding or break away boom. Right now the only obsticle in the area is my house so I think I can miss that so I can build a very simple boom for right now.

It sounds like there are no major problems with the Fimco sprayer. I have been reading several threads dealing with the PTO pumps and it has sunk in that I must do something to it when not in use. The Nutra-sol sounds like a good idea if the wife is going to be watering the horse ring.

Thanks,
Eric

 

[MadReferee]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Does anyone have a source with excellent customer service for buying sprayer parts? )</font>

I bought all my sprayer parts from Agri-Supply. There latest mini catalog is on-line. Good prices and great customer service.

Agri-Supply catalog

 

[Eric_Phillips]

Thank you for all the help. I ended up getting the Fimco sprayer form TSC. My wife decided the couple hundred dollars saved by trying to build my own right now was not worth the stress. To make it more useful I will be outfitting it with a PVC boom so she can water the horse ring when we get it put in.

Thanks,
Eric

 

[OkieG]

Eric,
The OEM nozzles put out a fairly fine spray. I believe several sizes of tips are available. You may need larger tips to dampen the horse ring very well.

Why a PVC boom?

OkieG

 

[Eric_Phillips]

My idea for the horse ring is to disconnect the stock boom and add a piece of PVC pipe that has holes drilled in it. Dealing with the nozzles and the pto pump as many times as she will be watering the ring will be too much work. Gravity will work just fine.
Eric