What's wrong with this setup (Gallons per k)?

[GCLC]

I'm new to this spraying stuff, and just did a test run today. We have a 60 gal tank (really holds only 55) and the spraying systems lawn gun. We measured off 1000 sf and sprayed it. We used 18 gallons. So we mixed the chems and sprayed the yard accordingly. I must have started overlapping more or slowed down, because I estimate that I was closer to 25 gal/k towards the end. We were using barricade and triplet.

The gun is spraying maybe an 18" swath. As you can imagine it took forever. We didn't time it but probably 3 hrs to do a 11,000 sf lawn :hammerhead:

What are we doing wrong? I guess one problem may be my assumption that the area should be completely blue when done. Is this correct? Basically I mean that the grass looks painted, no areas of yellow at all really.

[Rayholio]

That's a lot more than we use.. we average about 1-2 gallons per 1k on most apps, and it varries by applicator.. I always have my guys spray the same area a few times, monitoring their consumption, and then averaging it for the mixture.. it is important to be consistant when spraying..

I highly suggest using a dye for your 1st few weeks at this, after a while you won't need it.. and you'll almost immediately not want it :) MESSY!

[GCLC]

We were using blue dye. Do we need to spray until the entire area is blue, or is it ok to have a blue and yellow mix. I was assuming that to have complete coverage we shouldn't see any yellow. Of course, when you assume....

[Rayholio]

Very light blue, or very dark blue after the app.. either one is fine, as long as the entire lawn is the same shade.. and you have properly calibrated your equipment, and yourself :)

It's VERY important to walk, and spray at the same speed as you did when calibrating. The blue is MAINLY so you can see where you have missed.

Sounds like you were so busy watching the colors that you were putting down, that you forgot how you moved during the calibration.

[olive123]

you need to run your spray tests a bunch of times so you can gauge how you are applying. If you have a tendancy to spray too heavy you have to know it.
You will be sorry in your costs or worse burnt grass

[RAlmaroad]

I'm new to this spraying stuff, and just did a test run today. We have a 60 gal tank (really holds only 55) and the spraying systems lawn gun. We measured off 1000 sf and sprayed it. We used 18 gallons. So we mixed the chems and sprayed the yard accordingly. I must have started overlapping more or slowed down, because I estimate that I was closer to 25 gal/k towards the end. We were using barricade and triplet.

The gun is spraying maybe an 18" swath. As you can imagine it took forever. We didn't time it but probably 3 hrs to do a 11,000 sf lawn :hammerhead:

What are we doing wrong? I guess one problem may be my assumption that the area should be completely blue when done. Is this correct? Basically I mean that the grass looks painted, no areas of yellow at all really.

Without sounding presumtious, did you mix your barricade and triplet according to the label/1000 to 18gal of water. If so you're about 1/3 A.I. over. Try to aim for about 2 gal/K. Do you have the normal regulator with the recycle back to tank setup. That return is your mixing agitation. If not, you will HAVE to put them on. With 18gal/K, you can't hold enough to do a small lawn. Most lawn are in the 15K ballpark. A good thing to do is to practice on dry pavement with just water just like the backpack. Let us know

[Atlantic Lawn]

Saturday and Sunday 7am school parking lot....Practice ...Practice...Practice

[vegomatic40]

As with any situation involving spraying turf I would suggest starting with a "bucket check". Use a sharpie pen to mark off on the inside of the bucket in 1 quart increments. Start your pump and begin spraying (straight water if possible) outside of the bucket. This eliminates the typical "surge" you may get when the gun initially starts spraying. Have someone assist you in timing for 30 seconds to 1 minute of spray-time. When they say "GO!" put the gun in the bucket until they say "Stop!". Adjust your regulator until you are at your target gallons/minute and lock it down. With that small tank I would recommend a max of 1.5 gal/minute. I think with that particular spray gun you need the gray Tee-Jet spray nozzle. The black or red nozzles are for higher volumes and will screw you up right off the bat.
Measure off 1000 square feet (50' x 20' is handy) and spray this area with straight water while you are timed by someone until you can spray it consistently in 60 sec. This gives you the timing needed (walking speed/spray width) to put down the correct amount for the given area. Then work on spray technique. In the end you will likely soon get tired of using such a tiny tank. The re-fills will kill production unless you only intend on doing a handful of lawns.

[turf hokie]

I think we may need to take a step back for second.

It sounds like you know how to calibrate etc.

But it sounds like you may also be ONLY spraying as wide as the gun shoots the product out. Kind of drawing a straight line with it, I think. You need to "wave" the gun back and forth and walk at a normal pace...now what normal is, is what you need to figure out for yourself. That is where the parking lot comes in. Also, you will find that you will spray more product in front of you than to the sides. You will need to adjust for this by "double hitting" the sides or overlapping when come back in the opposite direction.

An average person will be able to spray and walk 1,000 sq ft per minute. If you are spraying at 2 gal per minute, it should work out to be about 2 gal per 1,000. Therefore, you should have used about 22 gallons of finished product on that lawn. Another check would be that lawn would take about 22 minutes to spray, not including set up and take down.

Also dont worry about every square inch being covered. It is liquid it will fill in the gaps as it works down to the soil and gets watered in. But you dont want to miss corners or an entire swath either.

[ted putnam]

I think we may need to take a step back for second.

It sounds like you know how to calibrate etc.

But it sounds like you may also be ONLY spraying as wide as the gun shoots the product out. Kind of drawing a straight line with it, I think. You need to "wave" the gun back and forth and walk at a normal pace...now what normal is, is what you need to figure out for yourself. That is where the parking lot comes in. Also, you will find that you will spray more product in front of you than to the sides. You will need to adjust for this by "double hitting" the sides or overlapping when come back in the opposite direction.

An average person will be able to spray and walk 1,000 sq ft per minute. If you are spraying at 2 gal per minute, it should work out to be about 2 gal per 1,000. Therefore, you should have used about 22 gallons of finished product on that lawn. Another check would be that lawn would take about 22 minutes to spray, not including set up and take down.

Also dont worry about every square inch being covered. It is liquid it will fill in the gaps as it works down to the soil and gets watered in. But you dont want to miss corners or an entire swath either.

Absolutely right. wave your arm back and forth so you spray in 8-10ft swaths. when you make your return pass overlap to your previous footsteps or hoseline (hose should make a line where you walked). Always remember, you are spraying the lawn, not watering it. No need to completely soak it. Water is just the carrier. Spraying too heavy can cause damage especially as temps get higher.

[GCLC]

Ok, it sounds like I had a few problems. I did the calibration and mixed the barricade to be applied at 18 gal/k. Filled the tank a thousand times, took FOREVER. It takes right at 10 mins to empty the tank, so we're looking at 5.5 gpm. We have the black nozzle, I'll get the gray today if they have it.

The second problem is I was covering it basically like you would mow the lawn with a push mower. One 12-18" swath and then right back next to it. There are no yellow spots at all really, just a very pretty blue!

You guys are saying it's ok to have some yellow mixed with the blue, because the chemical will spread out and do it's job, right?

Basically, as long as I get the .5 oz per 1000 and use at least 20 gal per acre (as according to the label) then I'll be fine?

I guess we won't have to wait for rain or water in what we already sprayed!

[Jason Rose]

Read the technique posts above. NO, you are not supposed to be using the gun like you are, and you should be using the yellow nozzle, assuming you are using a chemlawn gun, that's a 2.0 gpm nozzle. Target for 1 to 1.5 gallons per K. It should only take around a minute to spray 1,000 sq. ft.!

Yes, you have the calibration part down, you are just applying 5 times the volume that you need to be.

[Runner]

DO get it down to 2 gal. per thousand, and I would advise no less than this. If you are not a seasoned, very experienced applicator, anything else just runs way too hot. I sprayed at 1 gallon pr thousand when I dragged hose, but as I say....this is dangerous. 2 gallons is much safer.

[pieperlc]

12-18" per swath ouch! The above posts are correct regarding spraying technique and side to side motion. Make sure you adjust your mix one you have you new calibration done. I agree with runner- 2 gal per thousand is a great way to start.

[GCLC]

We did a few more test runs with much better number. First, I got the gray nozzle (1.5 gpm) for the ss lawn gun. Then we dropped the pressure way down (to about 35 psi I think), and moved alot faster.

We got it down to about 3 gal/k consistently. At that rate we'll be able to do 2 of the yards in our area before refilling. Sure beats refilling 6 times per yard!

I wouldn't want to move much faster than I did to get to 3 gpk, should I reduce the pressure a little more to try to get to 2 gpk?

Thanks for all the replies so far, you guys have been a great help.

[rmmllc]

Just want to receive notices of posts- I'm learning too, will get my Lesco 200 Gal space saver in a week or 2. Thanks guys

[RAlmaroad]

We did a few more test runs with much better number. First, I got the gray nozzle (1.5 gpm) for the ss lawn gun. Then we dropped the pressure way down (to about 35 psi I think), and moved alot faster.

We got it down to about 3 gal/k consistently. At that rate we'll be able to do 2 of the yards in our area before refilling. Sure beats refilling 6 times per yard!

I wouldn't want to move much faster than I did to get to 3 gpk, should I reduce the pressure a little more to try to get to 2 gpk?

Thanks for all the replies so far, you guys have been a great help.

Have you adjusted your technique (12-15" is just wrong)? You should be swinging your whole arm sideways from the shoulder to cover about a 5-7' (foot) width with a little overlap. Go out to the pavement and check your swath. Is your hose 3/8"? It will make a lot of difference between the 1/2".

[naughty62]

You are using a wdg or wg formulation not a EC . what goes your stainer screen look like after recirculating your barricade.65 wdg is 65% A.I. and 35%carrier , dye . inert ingredients .Crap that can clog a strainer when mixing .you have to have a pump that will handle the volume required to push the tank mix out a3/8 hose and keep the mix suspended.some sprayers can not easily handle a tank mix that weighs x lbs/gal and then when you mix a heavier /tank mix they loose a lot of pressure and volume .what size of screen is in your stainer?

[humble1]

We were using blue dye. Do we need to spray until the entire area is blue, or is it ok to have a blue and yellow mix. I was assuming that to have complete coverage we shouldn't see any yellow. Of course, when you assume....

Doesnt blue and yellow make green

[GCLC]

I mean spots of yellow grass and spots of blue grass