DIY boomless sprayer

[Bigfoot]

I wish, I had the biggest tank my tractor would pull. Refilling takes considerably longer than spraying.

 

[greybeard]

Not "too" bad this year--I tapped off the 1 1/2" line coming right out of the pressure tank at the well. Still, the travel time back and forth is a time and fuel waster.

 

[lavacarancher]

You might be right about the spray pressure. Seems to me like I remember pressure being around 45 PSI. I'll dig the old spray head out again and try lowering the pressure to see if that helps.

Thanks.

 

[Caustic Burno]

How do you do your mixing M5? I put a tee and valve in both my spray tanks (35 & 300 gal) to circulate so the chemical and surfactant get mixed good with the water, tho by the time I get where I'm going to spray, just the sloshing around probably does a pretty good job...

Mine is set with a two way valve and you can circulate the tank.
Add the chemicals and by the time the tank is full they are well mixed.


I am still trying to decide on the 150 gallon or 200 gallon for the upgrade.
That mud in the cleats of those tires come off a 371 foot hill pasture.

 

[JSCATTLE]

I just bought a 200 gal fimco. 26 ft boom sprayer. I had a very expensive Wylie 200 gal that lasted 4 years befor the frame rusted down to nothing . I plan on adding the boom less nozzle to it next week if I have time to build the bracket . My femco is 3 point. I've sprayed 2 times with it this year . I like the booms because wind drift don't effect it as bad . I can lower the sprayer to about 1 ft off the ground or just above the weeds . My boom less would spray 28ft but if you had a slight breeze it would be 4 ft on one side and 15 on the other . Makes it hard to get a good kill like that . I know don't spray when its windy ect. But the wind always blows here.

 

[Caustic Burno]

I just bought a 200 gal fimco. 26 ft boom sprayer. I had a very expensive Wylie 200 gal that lasted 4 years befor the frame rusted down to nothing . I plan on adding the boom less nozzle to it next week if I have time to build the bracket . My femco is 3 point. I've sprayed 2 times with it this year . I like the booms because wind drift don't effect it as bad . I can lower the sprayer to about 1 ft off the ground or just above the weeds . My boom less would spray 28ft but if you had a slight breeze it would be 4 ft on one side and 15 on the other . Makes it hard to get a good kill like that . I know don't spray when its windy ect. But the wind always blows here.

That Fimco of mine is 20 years old on the second roller bearing pump.
Rebuilt the first one a couple times. I am OCD when it comes to flushing the the system
and washing the sprayer after spraying.

 

[greybeard]

I think some of the chemicals in herbicide/insecticide/surfactant are relatively corrosive, which may account for your Wylie unit rusting out so fast--if you have used it to apply liquid fertilize, that may account for it as well.

I've had good luck with my roller pump, but I wash it out when done spraying, remove the pump, store it inside filled with RV antifreeze solution. I have a 2' long length of 1" hose made up to quick connect (cam lock) in to pump inlet and outlet so the antifreeze stays in the pump in the off season.

I would consider changing to an electric diaphragm pump, but the cost of one that matches the GPM of my roller pump is prohibitive.

I don't understand what the big advantage or difference in the different # of rollers makes. From a 6 roller to 8 roller gives you only .7 gpm increase at a cost of $30 more.
(used a cast iron TSC just for comparison purposes)
Hypro:
6 roller: $119.95
Brand : Hypro® | Number of Rollers : 6 | Maximum Speed : 1200 RPM | Maximum Flow Rate : 21.8 GPM | Maximum Pressure : 300 PSI

8 roller: $149.95
Brand : Hypro® | Number of Rollers : 8 | Maximum Speed : 1200 RPM | Maximum Flow Rate : 22.5 GPM | Maximum Pressure : 300 PSI

Basically, same output in gpm, rpm, and pressure rating--does the 8 roller version just wear slower?

 

[bball]

I think some of the chemicals in herbicide/insecticide/surfactant are relatively corrosive, which may account for your Wylie unit rusting out so fast--if you have used it to apply liquid fertilize, that may account for it as well.

I've had good luck with my roller pump, but I wash it out when done spraying, remove the pump, store it inside filled with RV antifreeze solution. I have a 2' long length of 1" hose made up to quick connect (cam lock) in to pump inlet and outlet so the antifreeze stays in the pump in the off season.

I would consider changing to an electric diaphragm pump, but the cost of one that matches the GPM of my roller pump is prohibitive.

I don't understand what the big advantage or difference in the different # of rollers makes. From a 6 roller to 8 roller gives you only .7 gpm increase at a cost of $30 more.
(used a cast iron TSC just for comparison purposes)
Hypro:
6 roller: $119.95
Brand : Hypro® | Number of Rollers : 6 | Maximum Speed : 1200 RPM | Maximum Flow Rate : 21.8 GPM | Maximum Pressure : 300 PSI

8 roller: $149.95
Brand : Hypro® | Number of Rollers : 8 | Maximum Speed : 1200 RPM | Maximum Flow Rate : 22.5 GPM | Maximum Pressure : 300 PSI

Basically, same output in gpm, rpm, and pressure rating--does the 8 roller version just wear slower?

Great question. Been wondering the same thing as investigate sprayers and pumps. Leaning towards boomless, but have so.e concerns about wind here in windmill country

 

[JSCATTLE]

I try to clean my sprayer and wash it put after every use. I like the femco so far. I think adding the nozzle will make it more versatile. I have some places I can't get with the booms .

 

[bball]

Referencing number of rollers: from what I have been able to gather, it's just an output difference. More rollers equals more output. The .7 seems minimal in comparison, but it appears the more boom footage you want to run, the more rollers you need. Not sure how it would impact the boomless nozzle...as previously stated, atomization(system pressure) seems to be the real issue with the efficacy of those nozzle types. Anyone else have any more input on quantity of rollers in pumps?

 

[Caustic Burno]

Referencing number of rollers: from what I have been able to gather, it's just an output difference. More rollers equals more output. The .7 seems minimal in comparison, but it appears the more boom footage you want to run, the more rollers you need. Not sure how it would impact the boomless nozzle...as previously stated, atomization(system pressure) seems to be the real issue with the efficacy of those nozzle types. Anyone else have any more input on quantity of rollers in pumps?

My pump is a 6 roller and rated at 300 psi at 1200 rpms you are operating at 540.
This is simple fluid hydraulics you are operating at 45% pump capacity the max pressure
the pump can put out in an open system is 135 psi. We are operating way down on the pump
pressure output curve. That is the info not supplied in the pump info.
On my system circulating back to the tank through the pressure regulator max pressure is 120 psi
to the nozzles I can get 60 psi. The nozzle is rated at X gpm at 45 psi through the regulator I can adjust to hold that
pressure at the spray head.
You are not pumping 20 gpm at 45% capacity more like 9 gpm.
This is not exact as each pump has an operating curve of X gpm at y pressure at z rpm by design.
I actually think my pump is operating more in the 40% range.
You are looking at the maximums for that pump not in the normal operating range.
Not being a pump expert I would think the higher the number of rollers the more consistent the pressure
on the lower end of the pump curve.

 

[bball]

Thanks CB. Great explanation. I suspect youre correct about the pressure consistency.

 

[greybeard]

Except at very low RPM, you won't notice any pressure deviation between the 6 and 8 roller pumps. You probably won't notice any pulsation differences either but your regulator and nozzles will--tho again, not perceptible to us humans.
The difference between the 2 variants appears to be that less pto rpm is needed with an 8 roller to achieve approximately the same pressure and gpm compared to a 6 roller. Both are rated max pressure of 300psi.
OR, the 8 roller is restricted to no more than 1000rpm to avoid exceeding the 300psi rating.?

http://www.hypropumps.com/resources/images/740.pdf
to achieve max rated pressure of 300psi and related gpm in a Series 6500 6 roller:
540rpm.......1000rpm........1200rpm
4.3gpm........12.7gpm........15.7gpm

Series 7560 8-Roller @300psi:
540rpm...........800rpm.........1000rpm
7.1gpm...........18.9gpm.........18.0gpm

 

[Caustic Burno]

Except at very low RPM, you won't notice any pressure deviation between the 6 and 8 roller pumps. You probably won't notice any pulsation differences either but your regulator and nozzles will--tho again, not perceptible to us humans.
The difference between the 2 variants appears to be that less pto rpm is needed with an 8 roller to achieve approximately the same pressure and gpm compared to a 6 roller. Both are rated max pressure of 300psi.
OR, the 8 roller is restricted to no more than 1000rpm to avoid exceeding the 300psi rating.?

http://www.hypropumps.com/resources/images/740.pdf
to achieve max rated pressure of 300psi and related gpm in a Series 6500 6 roller:
540rpm.......1000rpm........1200rpm
4.3gpm........12.7gpm........15.7gpm

Series 7560 8-Roller @300psi:
540rpm...........800rpm.........1000rpm
7.1gpm...........18.9gpm.........18.0gpm

Never looked at the data on the 8 roller but it makes perfect sense as you are operating higher up on the pump curve.
Lot of difference in rpms to get to max capacity. So operating up on the curve pressure would be easier to maintain
through the regulator as head pressure changes due to level in the spray tank changing pump output performance.
Three foot of water in the spray tank equals almost 1.5 psi per square inch of suction pressure.

 

[greybeard]

Three foot of water in the spray tank equals almost 1.5 psi per square inch of suction pressure.

It's like having a low pressure high volume charging pump to feed the suction side of the main pump.


You notice, that with the 8 roller, the GPM actually dropped .9 gpm going from 800rpm to 1000rpm?
800rpm=18.9gpm
1000rpm=18.0gpm.

It is cause by a smaller space between the rollers--the 2 extra rollers diminish both the total volume available in the pump casing and the volume between the rollers. A form of cavitation I suppose--they are really whizzing by the inlet and outlet ports . All pumps have an rpm at which max efficiency is reached--beyond that point, efficiency decreases.

I was at the local gunshop yesterday, and saw a 55 gal drum sprayer set up on a nice heavy 3pt frame, complete with DeLaval pto pump, 3/4" hoses and wand. No sprayer nozzles but I have plenty of them. Less than $200 asking price. I probably should go buy it tomorrow. (The drum is laid down on it's side--not standing up) I couldn't even build the frame for what the guy is asking for the whole setup.

 

[bball]

Three foot of water in the spray tank equals almost 1.5 psi per square inch of suction pressure.

It's like having a low pressure high volume charging pump to feed the suction side of the main pump.


You notice, that with the 8 roller, the GPM actually dropped .9 gpm going from 800rpm to 1000rpm?
800rpm=18.9gpm
1000rpm=18.0gpm.

It is cause by a smaller space between the rollers--the 2 extra rollers diminish both the total volume available in the pump casing and the volume between the rollers. A form of cavitation I suppose--they are really whizzing by the inlet and outlet ports . All pumps have an rpm at which max efficiency is reached--beyond that point, efficiency decreases.

I was at the local gunshop yesterday, and saw a 55 gal drum sprayer set up on a nice heavy 3pt frame, complete with DeLaval pto pump, 3/4" hoses and wand. No sprayer nozzles but I have plenty of them. Less than $200 asking price. I probably should go buy it tomorrow. (The drum is laid down on it's side--not standing up) I couldn't even build the frame for what the guy is asking for the whole setup.

Wish I could find a deal like that.
Thanks for all the info and explanation on the pumps :tiphat:

 

[M-5]

I thought I would update this thread as I had to make some mods to my unit. While the sprinkler tips work very good They are thin plastic and I replaced several last yr during the course of spraying. I have since replaced those tips with a Boominator nozzle. Its got a 14' pattern which Is perfect for what I do and it works on the hunting lease roads . They only cost around 20 bucks , these tips will work most most 25gal sprayers that the pump is at least 1 gal per min.

 

[skyhightree1]

I thought I would update this thread as I had to make some mods to my unit. While the sprinkler tips work very good They are thin plastic and I replaced several last yr during the course of spraying. I have since replaced those tips with a Boominator nozzle. Its got a 14' pattern which Is perfect for what I do and it works on the hunting lease roads . They only cost around 20 bucks , these tips will work most most 25gal sprayers that the pump is at least 1 gal per min.

m-5
Glad you brought his back up because one of my customers doesn't have a 3pt hitch tractor that he could take a sprayer that will fit down a road into a hidden field that he likes to bow hunt areas about 2 acres inside but uses a farmall cub to pull a disc that he leaves in there to plant stuff for deer he and his son use back pack sprayers to spray the area I told him best I could do was take a barrel like you did or a tote he has and plum into the tote with a 3 gpm sprayer and put some yard sprinkler heads on a bar made from pvc and that be the sprayer boom. However I will check out that sprinkler head you suggest