spraying a grass field

moday · #1 05/12/09, 10:41 AM

Has anyone used a pull behind sprayer like you buy at Tractor Supply to do 5 acres? I'm not sure if I should be looking at something like that or a 3 pt model to get a boom that is twice as wide. Any experience?

Windy in Kansas · #2 05/12/09, 01:11 PM

Personally I would recommend that you get the drawbar sprayer. Most of my recommendation comes from reading posts by other that have had both and recommend the drawbar kind.

No reason you couldn't add larger booms to the drawbar unit except for cost and unless the ground is so rough the booms might flop around like flapping wings. I am assuming that the pump would have adequate volume for additional width. If not just use smaller spray tips and slow down to achieve the same rate per acre.

Old Vet · #3 05/12/09, 03:16 PM

Either one will work. I have used them both. I like the draw bar hitch because it is easy to remove and hook up. When you get one you need to calibrate it to the size nozzle you have. The way to do this is to fill it up with water and spray an acre area. That way you know what you will be putting out and mix accordingly. Be sure that you always run the same speed all the time. If the ground is rough you will run slower and if the ground is smooth you can run faster but always run the same speed for the mix you have in the tank.

Minelson · #4 05/12/09, 10:39 PM

We got the pull behind from TSC. We are not happy with it at all. We have to buy replacement parts every year for it to work. I believe it is the plastic filter thingy that keeps breaking. Also, it sits too close to the ground and it's hard to spray in longer grass. Just my opinion....waste of money.

Old Vet · #5 05/12/09, 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minelson

We got the pull behind from TSC. We are not happy with it at all. We have to buy replacement parts every year for it to work. I believe it is the plastic filter thingy that keeps breaking. Also, it sits too close to the ground and it's hard to spray in longer grass. Just my opinion....waste of money.

When You get one get one that is not for yard work but field work. It will have better parts and hight for the boom to get over tall grass with. You can use the one for field work in the yard with no problem but you can't use the one for yard use in field work.

foxtrapper · #6 05/13/09, 07:16 AM

Something else to consider is having the field sprayed by your co-op. That can be surprisingly cost effective, especially when you consider the blending of expensive chemicals that they can do.

catahoula · #7 05/13/09, 08:42 AM

We use a 3 point 200 gallon sprayer with a pto pump and a twenty four foot boom. Bigger boom equals fewer trips around the field. Callibrating a sprayer is easier than you think. We use Tee-Jet spray tips, the book tells you how far appart your tips should be, how far off the ground you need to be, what ground speed you need to travel and what PSI your regulator should be set at, the tractor manual tells you what gears you need to be in to achieve your ground speed and maintaining proper RPMs to keep the pump rolling. We put down ten gallons an acre @ twenty PSI, set the boom twenty inches off the ground put the tractor in BL-3rd gear engage the PTO throttle up and we are spraying. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy.

The hardest part of spraying for me is playing how close to the fencline can I get, even though I know I'm going to come back around and spray the fence line with the little sprayer, I always hook a post or a wire and even though I know I should just jump off and unhook the boom I always try to ride it out and see what happens, sometimes I don't break any tips other times I'm not so lucky. I digress.

I've used a 150 gallon tow behind sprayer for field work before and didn't really care for it, I sit to low so it's harder to see my tracks, I get too much skip and too much overlap, it was harder for me to maintain a steady speed with the four wheeler, the four wheeler was under powered for the job and I ended up stalling on an uphill pass, I jackknifed the sprayer backing up and do to poor pump placement broke the pump, not my finest hour. The shorter boom made the job seem like forever, breaking the pump didn't help.

If you get an applicators license you can get any combination of chemical you want, and cheaper too.

Old Vet · #8 05/13/09, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catahoula

If you get an applicators license you can get any combination of chemical you want, and cheaper too.

If you want to get a applicators license it is easy. Call your county agent and ask where the classes are held pay your Fee and take the test. I have never seen a failure of a test and I was license for 10 years. Every year you take the test.