Need A 3PH Sprayer recommendation

[Atlanta Panther]

I'm tired of waiting on Southern States to come kill my weeds. Now that I have a new L3200, I decided to go take the applicator's' test and spray my own Grazon P+D (we have horses) - so I need a sprayer...

I would like to get one that runs off the PTO. I understand that the electrical ones can be finicky and I am not the most mechanically inclined to do maintenance on one. I'd like to get one that will have a boom that will cover spray maybe 10 to 20 feet as well as a spray gun to use on the fence line.

Not sure how big a tank I need. I have about 11 acres split into roughly four equal pastures. I guess I would probably spray mainly weed killer although perhaps at some point I might want to put some fertilizer out there to encourage the Bermuda pasture I want.

I'd like to stay under $1000. Is this possible?

Appreciate everyone's thoughts.

 

[Bulldog]

I don't know if it's what you are looking for but Tractor Supply has a pretty nice looking rig, 60 gal, pto driven with 6 roller pump, short boom with 30' pass and 25' hose with spray gun for $850. Might be just what you need, I wouldn't mind having one myself.

 

[Paulemar]

Good find Bulldog! Tractor supply has another model for $900. It looks the same as the $850 one except for the spray delivery method. The $850 one appears to rely on the spray nozzels to get out to the 30 ft width, while the $900 one will spray only about 12 ft wide, but seems to have a more direct downward spray pattern from the boom. For weed killers, I personally would prefer the 12 ft as I think I could get closer to the edges of the pasture with more control and perhaps better coverage of the weeds.
Whatever you end up getting, make sure that you keep it absolutely as clean as possible between sprays and it should last for years.
Anyone out there have one of these models to give a first hand review?

 

[Stubbyie]

Boom type is good for controlling drift. Important if you have finicky neighbors or adjacent crops. But you run the risk of catching the boom on obstuctions and getting in a bind, while spraying herbicide. Get the boom caught up in the fence once and bust a line and you'll get a bath in Grazon real quick.

We've had better success with a cluster head sprayer mounted at rear in center of tank bracket. We get a 40-ft swath per pass and have learned where to drive to just get the fencerow. Control drift by adjusting pressure to influence droplet size.

The best we've used have been bronze or brass gear pumps that ride directly on PTO shaft. The little plastic roller pumps are okay but seem to be disposable if anything happens. The gear pumps (20-gpm at 300-psig) just keep right on going. Need pressure if doing trees or if having to penetrate brush with handwand.

With cluster head can blank off half of head and do roadside ditches easily.

Use Y-type filters between tank and pump and keep clean.

Figure out the mix quantity you need and may find you need a trailer instead of a 3-point hitch rig due to weight and your ability to do the hookup.

Contact your local Univ Extension Office for info how to calibrate your new sprayer based on output and driving speed and pump pressure then write this data on sprayer with paintstik.

Post back with information how you proceed so we may all learn.