Ag sprayers... I need some education

   / Ag sprayers... I need some education #1  

Dadnatron

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2016
Messages
1,113
Location
Versailles, KY
Tractor
JD 5100e with FEL
Growing up, I think we hired a sprayer once... perhaps we borrowed one, but otherwise, we had a pump handheld which we used for problem areas or specific issues.

Now, I find that I have a need for an Ag sprayer. I've had several times, over the last year, in which I hired out the duty. The last time, I had to wait a week for it to be completed, given other commitments. While it is nice to simply make a phone call and the problem is solved, it isn't so nice on my bank account.

I'm surprised at how little information I have been able to find on the purchase of an Ag Sprayer. How to size, differences in types, pumps, nozzles, tow vs 3pt, cleaning/flushing (this is a big concern for me), etc etc. It has been hard for me to find the information I need. Its almost like it is a secret... either that or it is so simple, no one feels a need to put it on the internet. And given all the crap on the internet, I doubt that is the case.

So... my needs...

84ac. at least 40 of which will be permanent pasture. I've been thinking about putting about 30 into hay/alfalfa. And I have waterways, roads, and whatnot with other 'sprayer needs'.

Tractor is JD 5100e with cab. 2 remotes on back.

I'd like something which will do what I need on these areas. Something which can spray the entire 30ac with whatever I am wanting to use, in a single run. Basically, unless it isn't feasible, I'd rather not have to constantly refill in order to do the main pastures. But in the same vein, it is unlikely I will ever need more than 40ac worth of 'anything sprayed' all at once given differences in paddocks and fields.

I don't know enough to even ask good questions, but some that I still haven't found answers are:

- I've seen sprayers with more than one tank. A large water tank, and smaller tank as well. What is the smaller tank used for?
- I would like a sprayer which can be used for herbicide, pesticides, but also fertilizer. (although I have never applied liquid fertilizer and don't know anything about the ins and outs compared to other means. This is another area of which I have had limited luck in finding information.)
- What are the ins and outs of purchasing a USED sprayer? What things are common problems and what should I look for if I go this route?
- Are there brands which have a better value than others? What are they?
- Are there brands which tend to hold up better (as a used sprayer) that you would recommend keeping an eye out for? Brands or specific equipment/parts to stay away from on used/new sprayers?
- Are hydraulic booms worth it? What about hydraulically raising and lowering the entire boom apparatus to keep it close to the target?
- I've read about lots of types of pumps... but have yet to hear anything 'definitive' that some type is the way to go.
- 3pt or tow for my needs?

I am sure there is a lot of information that is important that I don't know enough about to ask... so any help in this endeavor would be greatly appreciated.
 
   / Ag sprayers... I need some education #2  
Tractor is JD 5100e with cab. 2 remotes on back.

I'd like something which will do what I need on these areas. Something which can spray the entire 30ac with whatever I am wanting to use, in a single run. Basically, unless it isn't feasible, I'd rather not have to constantly refill in order to do the main pastures. But in the same vein, it is unlikely I will ever need more than 40ac worth of 'anything sprayed' all at once given differences in paddocks and fields.

I am sure that there are exceptions, but many herbicides specify mixture application rates of 20 to 25 gallons/acre. You would be talking about a sprayer with a capacity of 600-750 gallons for once-over coverage of 30 acres. Would your tractor be able to handle the weight of the spray mixture and the sprayer on the 3ph?

I'm guessing that once you start pricing sprayers you will decide that a sprayer with less capacity will fit the bill.:)

Steve
 
   / Ag sprayers... I need some education #3  
whats your budget ??

wanting to spray 30 acres on a single fill would be 300 gal min and 10 gal to acre of water . Personally I like more water per acre 15 to 20 gal per acre . You can find good used tow behind sprayers at auctions that with a little tlc will last you a really long time . I still use a 200 gal 3pt 30' boom sprayer I bought from my grandfathers estate sale and it was 20 yrs old 16 yrs ago. It works well in my open pastures . a boomless sprayer is what a lot of people use however they put out a lot of water but are more maneuverable in wooded areas. Liquid fertilizer requires a different setup and IMO its best to hire that out or use granular. The corrosiveness of fert would limit the service life of the equipment, A standard Roller pump will be the most economical and they last along time with a little care.
 
   / Ag sprayers... I need some education #4  
- no idea about smaller tank
- as long as you clean it out, sure. glyphosate is about the worst chemical on a sprayer. What we do is clean it out with ammonia afterwards to neutralize the acid
- the pump and nozzles are the money item. If you can, put some plain water in it and check all the nozzles for a nice cone.
- we've had good luck with our Ag-Meier sprayer
- ours is a 3 point model, for something used twice a year, my opinion is keep it as simple as possible. JD 6403 tractor has 500 pounds of weights in the front and foam filled front tires and the front tires still come of the ground when you get going with a full tank.
- our brass gear pump is pretty bullet proof, but it's more expensive. In 15 years the only issue was a rolled pin that sheared off.

The sprayer is calibrated for 22 gallons an acre. So for the 300 gallon tank the max acreage that can be sprayed at once is 13. We calibrated it several years back and haven't messed with it since. I'm sure it could be changed to go farther or could just drive the tractor in a higher gear. But the higher the water to chemical ratio, the less drift.

 
   / Ag sprayers... I need some education #5  
If you were to search some states Ag Schools have some good info.

First you must have sprayer with electrical controls, no manual with the cab. Can find them for 3 section boom for about $450 at Agri Supply.
Second I think you will want some fair GPS for when spraying such as a grass field for me it is guess if I am over meeting where I just sprayer, over lapping by several feet or skipping several feet. I still need this but only recently began spraying grass land, on row crops you just count the rows.
I have a 500 gallons pull sprayer with 30 feet of boom. My fields are from 1 to 14 acres. I like it. I mostly use 20 gallons per acres and with two fill ups spray my crops. Even with nitrogen.
Roller pump is good for low volume but I have not found one that will supply the volume needed with my 30 feet of boom and 20 gallons per acre and keep the chemicals suspended. Mess me up last year on chemicals setting out with the 500 gallon tank and went to about a $1,000 centrifugal pump much like this one (Centrifugal Pump, Hypro Pump, Centrifugal Pumps). You really have to keep the water moving to keep the chemicals suspended or you will not have equal coverage. Be sure you but pump for the speed pto you have. I only have 540 slow that limited me on many pumps. I really like my pump upgrade but rollers do cost less and require less care as they can run dry for short period of time with no issue.
Buy good spray nozzles and I recommend no drop nozzles if you will be around any area you would not like trails of chemicals over. Such as lawn next to a field. It seems like there is a thousand options in different style nozzles and capacity, I suggest you read the label on the chemicals you use to find what they recommend and then buy good nozzles. Buy extra and strainers and get you a storage container and keep them on the sprayer, they will get knocked off by limbs and something just fall off.
The small tank is either for clean water in case of you need to wash due to chemicals on your or in your face or an induction tank to pour the chemicals into and be sucked into the system for mixing rather than you climbing on top of the sprayer and pour from there. I added one last year and really like it. Much safer.
Liquid nitrogen I have sprayed with mine and will again with grass some chemicals recommend using liquid nitrogen as the carrier over water. Impose is one to cut down on injury to the grass.
If you are in and out of fields or have any health issue with manually handing the booms then hyd control would be nice. Do realize some if not all booms require unlocking before you operate the cyls or you bend them. If you have large heavy boom would say hyd lowering would be nice. I have pull sprayer and have maybe once had to change my boom height and with 30 boom was not a major issue the way it is design. Have seen some with boat winch to raise and lower the boom with.
My booms fold and lift up for storage, wish they folded and then swinged beside the tank as less weight to handle. My booms are at the rear of the sprayer and not the front as some are. I like that for two reason, my rig is not coated in what ever is being sprayed, my tires do not run over it and also the spray is further from me on the tractor. Ok that was three.
If you go with three point hitch you have the lift to do some boom height adjustment with.
Another option that is popular here is with boom on the 3 pth hitch and tank on the front of the tractor or one or two saddle mounts on either or both sides along the engine. Have a neighbor who keeps his about 200 gal tank on the front of his for counter weight.
If buying used you want to test it, if possible. Weather hoses are burst. Some hoses are costly. Pull filter off of used sprayer and inspect it. Count on replacing nozzles and strainers. Also count on needing pump and controls. I was on large dealers lot a week or two back and they had a nice pull sprayer that they need to really discount for still new it has been there long enough hoses are weather cracked so watch even new.

I really like my pull sprayer, 500 gallons loaded you have about 4,000 pound back there but have pulled it with a Kubota B2710 with 4 wheel drive and 27 hp. NOT the best setup but it did fine. Would never put that on the road due to stopping it. 500 gallons sloshing around is hard to stop. Be sure if you buy pulled sprayer you can adjust the wheels to match your tractor's. Be aware over time you may want to change the width so I would not buy a fixed witch pull sprayer myself.

It has been mentioned but do clean your spray ad one thing I did was use quick connects on my pump to the sprayer and have them install can not connect the pump backwards to the tank. When finished I pull my pump and let the tank finish draining, connect the two tank hoses together but do not lock them tight to allow gasket to relax but to keep bugs out. And when using roller pumps lowered them into a 5 gallon bucket of oil to flush them and lubricate them, worked well for me, Need to get a different bucket for the centrifugal pump for it is too large for my bucket. This also allows you to use a different pump if need be (some do not work with certain chemicals and not picking on roller pumps but need to check that with them for some rollers and some seals will not take roundup and even some of the metal bodies will not either.
One thing I need on mine is a tube to let me know how much is in my tank, I have a fiberglass tank and you can not see the liquid level. Oh they do have a system to let you know if you have a nozzle not spraying but I have never used one. On the booms can see them so only ones behind my tank can not.

You have not asked on this but also study how your water can affect the chemical you are using. If you have high mineral water can cause issue and if you have high ph can really affect like roundup. You should that info on the internet.

One reason I really like pull over 3 pth is the hook up. One reason I like the 3pth over the pull is easy to back up with it. However be very careful backing with any sprayer with booms out some at not design to release if you hit something backing up. Booms can be too long for your rig and if you begin rocking you have to slow down for it to stabilize and may not get proper chemicals ratio on the crop. Also long booms are slower when turning around. Of course short booms are more trips. Realize long but hope it helps and yes I have missed something. kt
 
   / Ag sprayers... I need some education
  • Thread Starter
#6  
KT, thanks for that great information. It is very helpful.

So you use the same sprayer for nitrogen as well? How do you apply it? In what form does it 'come'? I'm going to need to fertilize as well, and I've wondered how the best way to go about it. I'd like to learn more about fertilizing both pastures and hay. Growing up, the fertilizer we used was whatever the cows left on the fields, after winter grazing.
 
   / Ag sprayers... I need some education #7  
Liquid nitrogen used in pulled sprayer. Different nozzles. Do watch nozzles spacing among pressure and speed when spraying. You can apply some chemicals with nitrogen. At least here the companies selling the liquid nitrogen will loan 1000 gallon tanks on trailers with transfer pumps for you to pull to your sprayer for loading.

You can use granular nitrogen with a whirley type spreader. I am more use to the granular but think I get better coverage with the liquid. Regardless the type of nitrogen you need to really clean the machine, it will really is corrosive.

For the general fertilizer check on bulk having it spread. To me hard to beat. Price applied last I checked is about same as buying bagged here.

You need to do soil test, most likely your state has county agents or such to help you with such. As to the fertilizer you grew up with, I have dug it out of stables into mule drawn wagon and then into field with pitchfork some growing up.
 
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   / Ag sprayers... I need some education #8  
Do research on the nozzles before you buy them. At least some herbicides give good info on the nozzle best for their recommendation but such as nitrogen will need different nozzles with at least the ones I have used different spacing.
Good web site TeeJet - Welcome to TeeJet.com get the charts to calculate pressure, speed and gallons per acre. Keep it handy for your nozzles.

I can not emphasize it enough to be sure you get sufficient capacity and right type of pump for your sprayer and needs. Be sure you do the math for the nozzles you will use but also to keep the tank agitated. Bigger the thank the more capacity needed. There are sites that help with this. Not keeping the chemicals fully mixed will cause issues one being poor results in some areas and other areas hurt by too heavy application. I KNOW THIS FIRST HAND, again reason I gave up on roller pumps for my needs on 30 boom but do use roller on smaller 10 foot boom used for small jobs.
 
   / Ag sprayers... I need some education #9  
Yesterday I sat in a insect and insecticide class and after it as in many meetings some of the best info was talked. Not sure the chemical they were discussing but said for it to work properly it was to be applied with 100, yes one hundred gallons of water per acre. It was also said many of the guys using the new dedicate sprayer do good to get 15 gallons per acre. It has been years since I sprayed any insecticides but so far have not used a herbicide that 20 per acre was not sufficient per the label.
 
   / Ag sprayers... I need some education #10  
Good information here.

Your knowledge base is so low that I believe you need to do a LOT of studying before you go much farther. There are sooooooo many variables in chemical types, sprayer nozzle types, pressure used, that it will be hard to define your needs in this thread.

High end sprayer systems use very little solution to do the job. Some can be as low as 5-6 gallon of solution per acre. But you'd have to sell your farm to buy one of those. :)

Any grain elevator/farm store will have someone on staff that can educate you about your needs and equipment requirements. I'm not talking about Home Depot's Garden section. Chase down a farmer and ask him where to go, he'll know.

I'm going to add this video I shot of a Top Of The Line sprayer system. Not saying you need this. Just saying it's an example of how broad the range of equipment is being used. :)

17 Final Spray Soybeans - YouTube
 
 
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