We have two acres of Cab. Franc right now (1450 vines), with two more of Merlot (1500) going in this spring. Eventually ramping up to about 10 -12 total.
Yeah, used the backpack about five times and then sold it when we found the Hardi. Backpack worked well but weighed about 65# fully loaded and not as even spray coverage.
Calculated the walking distance at about 3.5 miles per spray. When it's in the 60's that's fine, but in the 90's like it is this week, it gets pretty old real quick.
I about fell out of my chair when we came across the Hardi on eBay. We had been looking at buying one brand new for next year, but couldn't justify the cost right now. The model has had some very minor manufacturing changes since first introduced, and is still selling very well today. Spare parts are readily available from the manufacturer, so we figured buying one at auction was a no brainer.
Tony