How useful is a 40 gallon 3-point sprayer on a small farm?

[Libby2563]

I’m asking because I bought one to apply Pasture Pro, and I find the quality really lacking so I’m considering returning it. I think I could invest some money in it to upgrade the fittings, but online reviews lead me to question its overall durability (a lot of people report cracked/broken tanks after only brief use). After a lot of research this one was sadly the best I could find…

I bought it because the going rate for herbicide application around here is $130 an acre for Pasture Pro so I figured it could pay for itself in one application (it was $340 plus tax and a gallon of Pasture Pro is $40 at TSC).

I can think of two cons to spraying myself:

1. It would limit me to Pasture Pro and other things that don’t require an applicator’s license here in MD. Honestly I don’t know what the other options would be though. According to Dow’s website, GrazonNext is not available in MD at all.

2. Someone with more knowledge and experience than me would probably do a better job, which means fewer chemicals and lower costs in the future.

So, should I keep this for Pasture Pro applications now and in the future, and hire out an occasional application of some other chemical if necessary? Is this one of those farm implements that I will find other uses for now that I have it? I can’t really imagine what (other than clearing the driveway maybe), but I thought I’d ask some of you more experienced folks to help me decide whether to keep this thing or return it and hire out the spraying.

I have 3 acres of pasture, maybe 4 someday, and I already have a nice broadcast spreader for seeds and pellets and a 1.5 gallon spot sprayer for small jobs.

[Guilherme]

The stuff sold at TSC is not of very good quality. That’s just the straight of it.

Are you using an ATV or a 3-point hitch? Battery driven or PTO?

I’ve got a 50 gal. tank on a frame with a 12’ boom. I did not go “boomless” because spray patterns are very difficult to maintain in any kind of breeze. You can work with a boom sprayer under more diverse conditions. The boom also allows more precise application of the material. It’s a no-name brand probably of local manufacture. It was just over $1000. It has given excellent service over three years. I’ve compared what TSC sells. Compared to mine the TSC offerings are toys.

Go here for a look at products from a decent maker. These are not the highest end units but they are suitable for smaller acreage. There are also multiple types (ATV, 3 pt. hitch; tow behind, etc.).

http://www.fimcoindustries.com/comparison.html

Here is a price point: http://www.agrisupply.com/gallon-sprayer-point-attachment/p/32249/

I highly recommend that you buy something with a “gun” that will allow spot spraying, fence line spraying, etc.

You might check and see is your local Co-Op or Soil Conservation Office rent sprayers. Many do.

Good luck in your search.

G.

[kcmel]

I think we got ours at TSC, and it has worked fine for us, although we have only used it a handful of times over the 5 or so years that we bought it. But it is nice to have.

[Foxglove]

I have a 30 gallon pull behind tank sprayer I bought at TSC about 5 years ago. It has had hard use and continues to work (held together with a few pieces of duct tape and wire. Like you I did the math --Chem-Lawn wanted $300 an application to do our lawn (3 hilly acres). I bought the sprayer and the chemicals and did it myself. The first year was “break even year” and five years later, I’m still spraying. I think I paid about $200 for the sprayer. I spray 15 acres once a year, and three acres 2 times a year. If I hadn’t broken the gun sprayer, I’d use it for my fence rows. I think I’ll replace that next year. I use Trimec and not Pasture Pro. Seems to work well. Husband figures we save on hay what we spend on chemicals since our pastures have more grass (no weeds) and better grass (I spray Nitrogen when I put on the Trimec, one pass. --and I LOVE weed free pastures!

But, I suggest you take yours back, if you can, and buy a heavy duty one. The TSC one is pretty light weight for the amount of spraying I do --that can be frustrating. I wish my sprayer was bigger --bigger tank and boom –

Foxglove

[vineyridge]

I have a 40 gallon one that I bought at TSC (FIMCO), and the off/on switch to the pump died after one use. FIMCO replaced it free of charge. It was very cheap compared to the non-FIMCO sprayers that use roller pumps. However, the electric/battery pump is very cheap to replace. It’s a 3 point hitch and it did quite a nice job on my smaller paddock spraying Pasture Pro Plus.

I decided that the limits on what chemicals were available without certification frustrated me, so I became certified. Here in Mississippi, the certification process is a joke.

Given that better quality sprays cost 3 or 4 times as much, I’ll just have to live with my cheapie.

[hosspuller]

Consider your neighbors. You don’t want to kill their flowers & high priced landscaping with your sprayer. :eek: Watch for wind conditions and such. Boomless sprayers aren’t very controllable for drift.

[Libby2563]

Thanks all!

Guilherme, you are recommending Fimco, which is exactly what I bought from TSC! Mine is the LG-40-3PT-12V, so 3-point battery powered with a handgun sprayer. It seems pretty low-end to me but like Viney said, others cost 3-4 times as much. Sounds like Viney and I have the same thing. It’s good to know Fimco was responsive!

The one I bought is not boomless but I would still make sure to spray when there is no wind (all our neighbors just have horse pastures too but I still didn’t want to impose my herbicide on anyone). I find the mornings are consistently calm so it shouldn’t be too much of a challenge.

I do realize I’m not buying the very best quality but the nicer ones I found were also much larger. My little 23 HP Kubota just can’t get the big ones high enough off the ground for the spray pattern to work as designed, at least not without a lot of modifications I guess. Also I can’t find anything else locally so I was worried about paying $100+ shipping for something that didn’t work out and being stuck with it.

I’m still up in the air about this… Maybe I can fix this thing up a little with brass fittings and rubber to protect the tank from the frame. One thing that worried me as I did a dry run with just water is that in order to apply the mixture as specified on the label, I had to go pretty fast and every little bump in my pasture felt like it was going to shake the sprayer to death. I wonder if I could double the amount of water so I can go half as fast without over-applying the chemicals? Or would that change the efficacy?

Interesting idea on getting certified, Viney. I found the MD certification website and it looks like a simple process to become a private applicator, but I don’t even know what herbicide options would be available to me if I were certified. I need to investigate more.

[Foxglove]

Wow, we deal with that question all the time --slower speed, more water, less water faster speed --Remember that I use Trimec not pasture pro, but what we did (only had to do it once) was spray each area (four pastures and the yard) ONCE with just water. Going at a comfortable pace, it took one"refill" to cover the three acres, or we were putting down 30 gallons of water on each acre. After we were all done, it had taken us 12 refills to cover the first six acres. We took our chemicals and divided each container into 12ths, poured 1/12 of the chemicals into the tank, then added water until the container was full. Were we going too slow? Too Fast --irrelevant since the amount of chemical was correctly being applied as I’d bought enough chemical for 6 acres. It came out nearly perfect. Now my land is hilly and has trees in parts, but again, it doesn’t really matter. Do it once with just water, then figure out how much of your Pasture Pro you need to put in to cover the amount of ground you are spraying. FYI I was slightly off because when I bought enough for 6 acres, I forgot that we didn’t spray the “house” or the dressage ring. As a result, I had about 1/12 of the solution left. I used it on another field when I did the second half of the property. I break it into two different times to rotate the horses off the sprayed fields.

Foxglove

[Hilary]

We just got a 45 gallon sprayer with the 3Pt hitch - I am SO glad we did this.

it is small (only 2 little spritzers that cover the width of the tractor) but I can back it into the weird little corners of my pasture and other places on the farm that the little TSC tow behind just wouldn’t do. It is much much higher quality than the one at TSC - the hoses are heavier, the fittings more secure. I was able to wire it so it runs off the headlight switch on the tractor - very hand. And it has a wand that is long enough to reach the tractor seat so I can spritz at will while driving along.

Definitely a good investment for me anyway.

[Guilherme]

I don’t want to leave the wrong impression, here; I wasn’t actually recommending the Fimco product just giving a “price point.” On the quality scale, I buy Fimco replacement parts for my sprayer at TSC or the Co-Op and am generally satisfied with the quality. Sometimes I buy fittings from Home Depot because they are heavier duty. Depends on the part I need!

Foxglove brings up a very important point. The sprayer must be “calibrated.” The PTO driven pump puts out pressure based upon PTO rpm. On my rig I can adjust the spray pressure to bar or gun by “balancing” the rpm and the “pressure adjustment” setting on the rig. I usually put 5 gal. of water in the rig and then time how long it takes to run out at different rpm settings, then at one rpm setting but different pressure settings. This allows me to build a spreadsheet (I use Excel) and now I can allow for speed. My farm is rather hilly in some places and that means different speeds than on the flats.

Not being familiar with the 12v systems I don’t know how much adjustment is permitted. If none, than the spreadsheet will be pretty simple. If like a PTO, then it can be rather complex.

G.

[Tom_King]

If your pump is big enough, I can tell you first hand that this little boom does indeed cover a 30’ swath> http://www.agrisupply.com/product.aspx?p=65912&sid=asf10&eid=Easf10&utm_source=GoogleShopping&utm_medium=CSE&utm_campaign=MerchAdv&zmam=77232640&zmas=1&zmac=1&zmap=65912&gclid=CjwKEAjwmZWvBRCCqrDK_8atgBUSJACnib3l0T7pAHDsBEEPmJJYqpD5fshgTkEJ8TA0bOnXmuPUPRoCMeLw_wcB

[Tom_King]

I have one of those booms welded permanently on the back of my 7’ cutter. A 40 gallon tank is up front on one side. I have valves that I can either throw liquid to the boom, or to a wand that stays next to the seat the rest of the time. A third valve allows me to pump any leftover in the tank into something else.

Be sure to put RV antifreeze in and trough the whole system before freezing weather.

[Libby2563]

Hilary: Can I ask what brand you have? I bought mine at TSC but it is not the TSC brand. Oh and wiring it to run off the headlight switch = amazing idea!

Guilherme: Oh, gotcha, thanks for clarifying what you meant about Fimco! As far as calibration and adjustment, this sprayer did not come with a manual for some reason (it was also assembled with the tank backwards and the nozzles not connected to anything…very confidence-inspiring) but I found the manual online and apparently there’s a pressure relief valve that can be used to adjust the psi. They also give tips on calibration.

TomKing: I’ve heard that before about mounting everything to a cutter. Maybe this is a dumb question but isn’t it too low to the ground for the spray to spread as intended? Can you overcome that by angling the nozzles? Your setup is really intriguing, although I’m not very mechanically inclined…

Thank you all again for your input!

[Tom_King]

Height is not a problem on my rig. It really does cover 30’ like it is. The nozzles are angled up just a little though. It’s on a 7’ heavy duty rotary cutter with dual tailwheels. My 70hp tractor would be considered bare minimum for it though. It sticks out a little bit past the tractor wheels, so it’s good for fencelines and trails.