Battery operated sprayers?

[Dak]

I'm looking to buy a good battery operated sprayer this year, any tried and true recommendations?

[amideutch]

Do you have a particular reason for going the battery operated route. Ami

[Dak]

I seem to have difficulty with the pump styles; they work great for a while, then it seems like no matter how much I pump, or clean the nozzles, the pumping capacity diminishes.

[Barbee]

I have had a 2 gallon battery operated pull type and a 9 gallon battery operated pull type. The 2 gallon I loved and used until I finally broke the pull handle on it. The 9 gallon I hated for a variety of reasons.
Both were great at priming the tank though.

[Dak]

Not to sound altogether wimpy, I can think of one good reason not to go with a 9 gallon, that's a heck of a lot of water to haul around!

Do you remember who made the 2 gallon that you liked, Barbee? Thanks.

[kurt]

Originally Posted by Dak

I'm looking to buy a good battery operated sprayer this year, any tried and true recommendations?

http://www.amazon.com/Gilmour-Spray-.../dp/B00006LPPD No hand pumping,no batteries.Got as X-mas present 4yrs ago.I use for the mangos, citrus,down to foliar for maters.

[kath]

Originally Posted by kurt

http://www.amazon.com/Gilmour-Spray-.../dp/B00006LPPD No hand pumping,no batteries.Got as X-mas present 4yrs ago.I use for the mangos, citrus,down to foliar for maters.

I checked out the reviews at the link, Kurt, and there were lots of complaints about how much walking or rocking you had to do to keep the pressure up if you were spraying for more than 4 seconds in one place. Since you use it for maters and larger items, what was your experience regarding this? Also, is the spray powerful enough and fine enough to do a reasonably quick job covering tomato plants?

Thanks for your input- spraying is my least favorite garden job and I'm always looking for something easier/faster/better in this department.

kath

[Barbee]

Originally Posted by Dak

Not to sound altogether wimpy, I can think of one good reason not to go with a 9 gallon, that's a heck of a lot of water to haul around!

Do you remember who made the 2 gallon that you liked, Barbee? Thanks.

No I sure don't. I bought it at Tractor Supply and it was just a hard plastic sprayer on wheels and it ran on D batteries. It was bright neon green and noisy as all get out if that helps


The 9 gallon one....the biggest issue I had with it was the handle was too short. I am not tall at all.. but I was bent over too far to pull it comfortably especially when it was full. It had nice fat tires on it and a rechargable battery which was wonderful but that bending over thing was for the birds.

[kurt]

Kath,never had a problem after I found out if you do not overfill past designated hash/line.I thought also that just two or three pulls back and forth would do ,but it does need a good 10ft.walk to really pump the container.The amount of fill in the resivoir and spray setting makes the difference.I can get a stream of fertilizer to reach up to 10 ft to coat the bark of trees when I need.If you are doing 10 mater plants stick to the smaller hand helds.Since I got mine as a present never really bothered to hunt down reviews.I got 10 mangos,8 citrus,6plus bananas,numerous other ornamentals and this year 175 maters.

[kath]

Originally Posted by kurt

Kath,never had a problem after I found out if you do not overfill past designated hash/line.I thought also that just two or three pulls back and forth would do ,but it does need a good 10ft.walk to really pump the container.The amount of fill in the resivoir and spray setting makes the difference.I can get a stream of fertilizer to reach up to 10 ft to coat the bark of trees when I need.If you are doing 10 mater plants stick to the smaller hand helds.Since I got mine as a present never really bothered to hunt down reviews.I got 10 mangos,8 citrus,6plus bananas,numerous other ornamentals and this year 175 maters.

I really should be spraying more things in my garden and more often than I do, but it takes me hours/week and my window of opportunity is narrow. Usually the only time the leaves are dry and the sun isn't on them is late in the day when I'm usually already exhausted, cleaned up and dealing with dinner; taking care of it after dinner means another shower so lots of times the spraying just doesn't happen. The garden is 60' square and essentially full of fruits and veggies that could be sprayed.

I read that the thing should be rolled 80' before spraying and that's fine- it's how much I would need to move it around as I was spraying in a crammed row of plants in order to keep the pressure up that is more of concern. Again, my goal is to reduce the time and effort the job takes so the pumping that I have to do now sounds as though it might be faster and not much more effort than the walking/rocking that would be needed with the new model.

Thanks for your help.

kath

[Worth1]

9 X 8.34 = 75.6 pounds of water.

Worth

[Dak]

Worth, thanks for the math! I was just remembering how I feel lugging 5 gallon water bottles, almost twice that would be tough on my dirt/grassy paths.

Kurt, looks interesting. I have the space to charge it, that's for sure. I like the idea of not having to constantly deal with batteries too. Thanks!

[b54red]

I have some major health issues that make using the regular pump sprayers almost impossible. I bought the SP Systems backpack sprayer to see if I could use it and found it so much easier and so much more efficient. It will hold up to 4 gallons which is more than I need but I sometimes use 3 gallons. It is very easy to pump and builds to very high pressure very quickly. It cut down on the amount of spray material necessary because it can spray such a fine powerful mist that I use less than half of the spray I did with regular sprayers. I have had it for two years and it has more than paid for itself in savings on fungicides and pesticides. It makes quick work of a large spraying job so it also saves a lot of time. It is really pricey but well worth the extra money it costs.

The biggest drawback to this unit would be putting it on your back; but I fill it on a high table and just slip my arms through the straps and get to spraying. I purchased it from Northern Tools.
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...7733_200587733

[koshki]

Originally Posted by Worth1

9 X 8.34 = 75.6 pounds of water.

Worth

Plus the weight of the tank itself.

My DH bought me one of these 9 gallon tank/pumps for my birthday, and I love it. In addition to tomatoes, I grow orchids that are indoors for the winter, outdoors in the summer. I got a rain barrel last year, and had difficulty schlepping water from it in my 2 gallon pump sprayer. Oh, I should mention I'm in a wheelchair.

Anyway, I can manage the 9 gallon tank filled, but I do have a power wheelchair, so I have one hand on the tank and one on my controls. I can take it out to the rain barrel, fill it, and then wheel it back to the house. DH wheels it into it's space in my orchid room, because it's down a ramp, and I just can't manage all that fiddling to get it under the table where we keep it. We plug it in there.

We added a long curly hose to it, and I can water my entire collection without a single refill.

Did I mention I love it? My orchids love it too. They have never been so healthy.