Sprayer Pattern

[aaluck]

I bought a boomless sprayer last year. First sprayer for me, so still learning. I have been using the hand wand regularly since getting it. This weekend I used the boomless sprayers for the first time. Was shooting for Saturday but the winds were steady at about 20 mph. Sunday was perfect, no wind.

As you can see from the photo there are two blue sprayers (nozzles) on the outsides that spray 90 degrees out back and to the side. There is a yellow one in the middle that sprays about a 90 degree V to cover the area under the tank. Each of the three has an 'adjuster' which seems to do very little unless turned all the way to the point of stopping flow.

My problem is it seems the one in the middle is a fine mist that doesn't change when adjusted. The ones on the sides seems to be a heavier spray that is most heavy at the outer limits. In other words the Laser (Blue color) is barely seen in the middle and is extremely heavy on the outer edges. Is this normal? Are my spray heads just cheap? Should I try brass heads?

I'm running at about 35-40 PSI with the sprayers on and spraying.

 

[Matt Ellerbee]

What have you been spraying? Glyphosate and most pre emergent will get gunky if not agitated while spraying. The nozzles “should” have a filter, maybe that black knob comes off with a filter inside?

 

[chim]

Along Matt's line of thinking - especially if you've been using the wand. The lines to the nozzles may have accumulated gunk. Before spraying real stuff, I run clear water through mine and spray an area of blacktop to see the pattern. Frequently one of the nozzles needs cleaned to get it working properly.

Also, you could verify that the nozzles you have are the correct ones for their locations.

 

[aaluck]

What have you been spraying?

It was a pre emergent. I believe it was mixed pretty good in a bucket and them poured in. I let it agitate in the tank for about 15 minutes before spraying.

The nozzles “should” have a filter, maybe that black knob comes off with a filter inside?

I will check that. Thanks

 

[hedgerow]

Like the others have said. First thing to do is to make sure all nozzles and body's are clean. When you have the nozzles out see what number they are and brand they are and then look up on the internet what's the GPA they are at what PSI. I like T-JET brand as they have nice charts to show all about there tips.

 

[Motion]

Consider adding three 12-volt solenoids one for each sprayer which aid doing fence rows.

 

[Matt Ellerbee]

Took a second and pulled the nozzles on our JD sprayer. Here is what the filters look like.

As you can see, pre emerge is gunky. This unit has agitation while spraying, but hasn’t been used in a while, so stuff probably settled.

 

[armylifer]

I run water through my sprayer after each use to ensure that there is no residue to accumulate in the sprayer heads. I also fill with water partially and spray to ensure that the nozzles are still clear before adding whichever pesticide, fertilizer, or weed killer I am spraying.