Our pull-behind sprayer finally gave up and died. I’ve been pulling it behind a zero turn on just over 5 acres. This one connected to the zero-turn battery which was convenient. We also have a Kawasaki mule that could be used to pull a sprayer. Our sprayer also had a wand that I could use to spray over fences which was great for the Japanese stilt grass in the woods. What’s a reliable model that’s built well? Are there any I should stay away from? Are there any special features I should look for?
Other options? – I’m open to other ideas. I just can’t do a lot of walking anymore due to sciatica.
Thanks in advance for the help!
You didn’t say what your previous brand is, but I have been using a 40 gallon FIMCO spreader without a single problem for ten years so far. I run mine from my Mule battery, it has a hose and spray wand, and folding spray booms to cover around 10 feet per pass.
As we used to say in the research biz that’s a study with n=1. Also called a single case report.
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I’ve also got a Fimco and it’s been solid. I do nothing special to take care of it and it just keeps going. Only thing I’ve ever had to replace are the little sprayer nozzle things at ends of the boom, and then only because I got it too close to the fence. Whoops.
Mine is 3 point and rides on the tractor, but if I needed a tow behind, I’d def check out Fimco first. Having stuff just work when you pull it out the few times a year you need it is SO nice. (Knock on wood, hopefully I’m not tempting fate! 
)
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I too have a Firmco 30 gal pull behind sprayer. It’s my second one in 30 years. I beat the first one to death. I have 20 acres of hilly lawn and pasture that I spray for broadleaf weeds while also applying fertilizer for my grass.
I pull mine with a Kubota tactor.
Because I am lazy, I had my tractor outfitted with a “pig tail” plug so I don’t have to connect to the battery --like my horse trailer, I just plug it in.
The 30 gal Firmco has fold-in-able arms --that’s a real up grade from the first one I had. Secondly, it seems to be better designed with the fluid coming out of a hole in the bottom into the intake hose, instead of the intake hose sucking it up from the bottom. I had to weight my old intake hose with a curb chain to keep it from floating up.
I can spray my whole place in about 6 hours --I do it in May --I do it in 2 hour “sections” --don’t want to have too much fun all at once. This year I sprayed about a week too early --April was lovely and warm --and I had more “regrowth” of weeds than in previous years.
I also use Round Up to spray my riding ring and keep it completely grass/weed free --please don’t natter at me about “Vinegar and Salt” --labor is a killer when figuring the cost of a job, and vinegar and salt (also chemicals, I might add) must be reapplied more often than Round Up. Twice a year spray with the Round Up keeps the grass/weeds off my electric fences and out of my riding ring.
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I also have a Fimco sprayer. It is tractor mounted. We just bought it last year, on sale. I used it for the first time last week. Unfortunately… I’m an idiot, and got too close to SOMETHING, and bust the end nozzle and metal bracket that holds the nozzle OFF. Don’t know when or where this happened. Can’t find the lost pieces. The field I was spraying is ROUGH going. I should have had the unit HIGHER off the ground than I did. But, I didn’t, and thus the current issue. But, apparently, you can get the parts, just not to local to us. So I am in the “dog house” at the moment. I can’t tell you how well it all worked, or would have worked if I wasn’t an idiot. Anyway… lesson learned. And I’m warning anyone else taking a first turn around your ROUGH field with one of these thingies… don’t run it low enough to hit bumpy ground. (At least I think that’s what I did here, dunno for sure since I can’t find where I lost the pieces.) Next time, I won’t have it set too close to the ground when in rough pasture. Also, don’t think that just because the arms “give” if you hit something you are passing by, that THIS ALSO won’t result in damage.
Sometimes I just think that I should just stay away from machinery. Then, by hook or by crook, I do learn how to use it without killing myself or others.
I have now brush cut the rest of the field, so at least I can SEE where the issues ARE that I’m going to drive over.
What I really NEED is a bulldozer, to level out the dam field. If I win the lottery… at least I could rent a bulldozer AND someone who knows how to operate it, to level the dam field. Not flat like a pool table, just gently rolling would be fine. Dream on.
I have a pull behind sprayer that we got at Tractor Supply. It hooks to the battery as you described, I pull it with a cub cadet riding mower. We have had it several years and I beat the crap out of it and it keeps going.
