munzzzzzzz
08-08-2008, 04:45 PM
I am looking at building a sprayer to hang on the 3pt hitch of my JD425 garden tractor. This will be for use on my own property only. I have some questions about the best way to set up the spray tips.
First, how would you recommend setting up the spray width. I'm debating if I should set up the spray width so that it is only as wide as my tractor (50") or so that it is a little wider and overhangs a bit (say 80", 15 on each side). The thinking is that if it is the exact same width as the tractor, it should make it easier to get uniform coverage (I can just follow the tracks I leave from mowing) and I wouldn't have to worry as much going around flower beds and stuff, but that would make it more difficult when going around trees and such, as if I had to turn to get around the tree, the area right by the tree wouldn't get covered as well. With a wider spray, I would be able to be 10" away from the obstacle and still get coverage around it, but I would also be over-applying more often on the other side of the boom.
Next, it looks like most of the commercial ride-on units have the sprayers up front. I would guess this would make it a lot easier to see what you're doing. I need to have my tank and pump mounted on the 3pt hitch, but I could in theory put the boom out front. This would give me more control over what I am spraying, but also means I would possibly be inhaling more chemicals (?) and would also be driving over the area I just sprayed, which I would think would decrease the effectiveness. Is it worth it to try to move the boom up front, or should I just keep it as part of the 3pt setup?
Finally, does anyone have a preference on the type of tips used? I see that Permagreen uses Spraying Systems Turbo Floodjet for broadcast and Hypro Ultra low drift for trim, Z-Spray is using Hypro Ceramic A.I. tips, and the JRCO unit uses Spraying Systems Turbo Teejet tips. All perform differently. Given that I have my choice of tips here, can anyone with experience recommend one particular tip to use? I want to stick with one type of tip as opposed to one type for trim and one for broadcast.
First, how would you recommend setting up the spray width. I'm debating if I should set up the spray width so that it is only as wide as my tractor (50") or so that it is a little wider and overhangs a bit (say 80", 15 on each side). The thinking is that if it is the exact same width as the tractor, it should make it easier to get uniform coverage (I can just follow the tracks I leave from mowing) and I wouldn't have to worry as much going around flower beds and stuff, but that would make it more difficult when going around trees and such, as if I had to turn to get around the tree, the area right by the tree wouldn't get covered as well. With a wider spray, I would be able to be 10" away from the obstacle and still get coverage around it, but I would also be over-applying more often on the other side of the boom.
Next, it looks like most of the commercial ride-on units have the sprayers up front. I would guess this would make it a lot easier to see what you're doing. I need to have my tank and pump mounted on the 3pt hitch, but I could in theory put the boom out front. This would give me more control over what I am spraying, but also means I would possibly be inhaling more chemicals (?) and would also be driving over the area I just sprayed, which I would think would decrease the effectiveness. Is it worth it to try to move the boom up front, or should I just keep it as part of the 3pt setup?
Finally, does anyone have a preference on the type of tips used? I see that Permagreen uses Spraying Systems Turbo Floodjet for broadcast and Hypro Ultra low drift for trim, Z-Spray is using Hypro Ceramic A.I. tips, and the JRCO unit uses Spraying Systems Turbo Teejet tips. All perform differently. Given that I have my choice of tips here, can anyone with experience recommend one particular tip to use? I want to stick with one type of tip as opposed to one type for trim and one for broadcast.