Sprayer Help... Acceptable uses for PTO sprayers

[getut]

I know the normal uses deal with spraying weed killers, lawn fertilizing, etc. Add a wand and use it for spraying fence lines and the like. Also good.
I only have 5 acres with about 3 in pasture. I am FAR from what I call a yard freak. I WON'T be using it to fertilize the lawn, it just means I'd have to mow more. I would use it for weed killing the general lawn as well as getting a wand to do the fence lines. With only those two uses alone I can't justify the cost of the spray rig.

Here is where the real question begins... My house is cedar sided. Many people use low pressure sprayers to apply water sealers either alone or with stain in it. I also have lots of deck space to water seal as well as the whole exterior of the house every couple of years. Will these PTO spray rigs work for water sealants, or water sealants with stain without ruining the spray rig... OR without messing it up just enough to where it still works but only for that purpose from that point on (not suitable for lawn tasks anymore).

If they can be used for those additional tasks, I think I've just sold myself one because it would a tremendous time saver.

 

[have_blue]

My guess is that it would be OK, but you would have to clean it very carefully after use. Probably need to run quite a bit of paint thinner through it, and soapy water just for insurance.

 

[jeffinsgf]

I would not put anything that was not water soluble through my sprayer. Clean up with mineral spirits would be expensive, time consuming, and messy. When I clean mine I ususally fill the tank with clean water, park it over my gravel driveway, turn on the PTO pump and come back in half an hour when it is about done to clean the wand. I would think that even being stingy, you would need about 5 gallons of mineral spirits to clean up the sprayer, and then you would have to clean out the mineral spirits.

I've got a good quality hand pump sprayer that is reserved for water sealer, diesel fuel (for concrete forms), and other petro based sprays.

 

[getut]

Ok.. alternate question to reduce the amount of cleanup. Would it be possible to use the PTO pump and the sprayers pickup and bypass/return system to feed right out of the cans. In other words, bypass the tank altogether?

If the chemicals won't physically damage anything.. then cleanup is the only issue. And it would take a LOT of fillups to spray my whole house, 1 large deck and 1 small deck with a pump up sprayer.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

I can't see why it would not work to suction straight out of a bucket.

But just for curiosity's sake, why are you looking at a PTO pump instead of one of the far less expensive 12-volt pumps? I ask that only because in your first post you mentioned cost justification.

 

[Soundguy]

I believe thompsons makes a water mix / solubable water seal....

Perhaps valspar as well.

soundguy

 

[getut]

Bob, I would occassionally need lots of volume. My land is completely flat and if/when I get lazy and forget to clean gutters, I have had the crawlspace on my house get some standing water that I may need to pump out. I can also foresee myself using the pto pump to water a small garden from a pond on occassion.

Even though I am money conscious on the purchase the difference in the total amount to go with a PTO pump over 12v is not a concern. If I justify the cost to do it, which it sounds like I have, then I'll most likely opt for the larger volume/more capability.


Heck.. with my tractor.. I can even stand on the bucket work the steering wheel and HST pedal with strings and use the wand to get the high spots. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[getut]

Soundguy, I havn't been able to find any water sealers that say they are water soluble or water cleanup. Pure stains are a different story though. I'd love to know there are water soluble sealants out there.

 

[Soundguy]

I'm almost certain the last time I was in the hardware store that i saw a plastic bottle of thompsons and it said water cleanup, and not to mix with the 'metal' can thompsons, which was mineral spirits cleanup.

Soundguy

 

[Soundguy]

I just calle dthe hardware store. Valspar does indeed make a 'soap & water' cleanup water sealer. Instructions say it needs a couple hours cure time before 'rain'..

Soundguy

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I've used water-bourne sealers made by a number of manufacturers. It's milky looking when in liquid form. It tends to clump and clog tips in sprayers. It LOOKS terrible when you first spray it on. And it's a bear to clean up with just water.

And is it just me, or is there something sorta odd about water based water proofing? /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

I'm a carpenter by day. (Mostly office-bound as an estimator lately) We used to build a LOT of decks. The water based sealers seemed like a good idea. Time tested, they just didn't hold up like the oil based products.

 

[Soundguy]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( It's milky looking when in liquid form. It tends to clump and clog tips in sprayers. )</font>

Yep.. is milky looking.. However I've treated each of my wood barn and pole bldgs for the last few years with the same old cheapy 9.99 kmart sprayer... same nozzle. Perhaps the valspar material I'm using is just a better product?? or filtered for solids better?

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( is there something sorta odd about water based water proofing )</font>

Nothing odd about material that can clean up with water yet is otherwise permanent when cured... just look at cement.... wash away with water untill cured.. then it's 'there'

Soundguy

 

[jeffinsgf]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( But just for curiosity's sake, why are you looking at a PTO pump instead of one of the far less expensive 12-volt pumps? I ask that only because in your first post you mentioned cost justification.)</font>

Bob, I would like to address your question, since you are (and should be) looked upon as a source of knowledge here on TBN.

In doing a native prairie restoration on our place I have been doing a lot of glysophate spraying. My first experience was to borrow a 12 volt sprayer from the Missouri Department of Conservation. It was a top of the line trailer based machine. After that, I decided that I didn't want to have to go to MDC and borrow theirs every time I wanted to spray. I didn't like the wires hanging all over the place, so I was sort of intrigued by the PTO pump concept.

I bought a 55 gallon sprayer with boom that was designed to be used with a PTO pump. Then I bought the parts to build a hand wand, the valves and parts I needed to add the wand, and my 75.00 pump. None of the 12V sprayers I could find had 55 gallon capacity -- the biggest I could find was 35. So that kind of makes comparisons harder, but I definitely had a little more in my rig than a good -- but much smaller -- 12V unit. The biggest difference, however, is in the volume and pressure of the spray. There just is no comparison in the pressure and dispersal. The PTO pump vs a 12V is like comparing a 3400 psi pressure washer with a spray nozzle on a garden hose. When using the boom it is not such a big deal. The PTO pump undoubtedly does a better job of "misting", which gets the material more evenly distributed. But, when you are using the wand the PTO pump really shines. It isn't a pressure washer, but it is darned close. While I don't farm, if I had fruit or nut trees, I could spray the tops of the trees from the ground and do an even job. The PTO pump has come in very handy for several other jobs, too. I built a watering unit from a used 55 gallon drum, my PTO pump and a cut off garden hose. And, like the justification that several others here use for generators, pressure washers, and other PTO driven gear, there's one less motor to maintain and replace.

All that said, I will repeat my concern about using a field sprayer to spray stain and sealer. I might use the pump with a different tank and wand -- which is easy enough to put together, but I wouldn't put any petro soluble stuff in my field tank.