Nurse Tank Options

[DA Quality Lawn & YS]

Anyone have opinions on the brand of nurse water tank I should look into?
Would be looking 40-60 gallons and would be filling 4 gal backpack sprayer from it. Would like one that I could fit a common garden hose to with a valve for easy filling into the backpack. Thanks.

[mngrassguy]

Fleet Farm or Northern Tool.

[mngrassguy]

I know I'm gonna get flamed on this one but...I know a guy who fills his bp from a customers hose. Few people are ever home and he always knocks. If someone is home he'll ask. If nobody's home he'll try to use the hose in back. He knows who has hoses out (almost everyone) and who might care. Treating 15- 20 lawns you shouldn't need to fill more than a few times.

[DA Quality Lawn & YS]

I wondered about that, but it didn't seem terribly professional to fill at a customer's home.....
If I can treat 4-5 customers with a single backpack full, it would make a real difference (most of my customers are here in town - I could simply run home, fill the backpack, mix, and go). However, if I am spraying like 1 customer per backpack full, then that is WAY too inefficient. Thus my reason for asking about nurse tanks.

[mngrassguy]

I usually get 3-5 L on one 3 gl fill if I'm blanket spraying. I seldom have to blanket treat lawns with a bp. If weeds are light, a full bp will last me all day.

[KACYDS]

Most of the time a BP will last me all day, but on the days that I use more, I carry a couple of 2.5 gal jugs on the truck with water. I know you suppose to triple rinse these jugs, crush them and dispose of them. But I reuse the Safety oil jugs (dormant oil). I always have a couple of them on the truck with water in them.

Hopefully this helps............

[SpreadNSpray]

I would buy a 20-50 gallon from Fleet Farm or Northern. If you end up expanding you will probably end up getting a 200 gallon skid tank. Then you could still use the small one with straight water for mixing specialty products.

We use 200 gallon Lesco space savers to fill the Permagreens. Straight water in the 200g. So we can always mix specialty products in 2 gallon pump ups.

I wouldn't fill up at the customers. I have had to do it 3 or 4 times and I always feel uncomfortable. Plus it wouldn't be as efficient.

[DLAWNS]

I bought a 60 gallon tank from Northern Tool. I believe it cost like $130. It was so worth it.

[RigglePLC]

I am not saying I am cheap--HOWEVER--you could consider using a plastic 55 gallon drum--one that formerly held Three-way. I had some a few years ago, and a used barrel company charged ME! (And they clean and resell the drums). Five dollars to get rid of it--after signing a paper that said it was triple-rinsed. Lay the barrel on its side, drill a couple 3/8 inch holes in the bed and pass a steel cable around it to secure it. The drum holes are 2 inches and 3/4 inch, so a 3/4 inch spigot valve works fine. The larger hole requires a special wrench to unscrew it--so be sure to ask the barrel company to loosen it for you. Or your dealer should be able to put you in touch with a larger company or farmer that is using chemicals by the drum.
You could also buy a 200 gallon tank. Later when you buy your skid sprayer--use a couple T connections and you have 400 gallons capacity.
Let us know how you work it out.

[THC]

Originally Posted by mngrassguy

I know I'm gonna get flamed on this one but...I know a guy who fills his bp from a customers hose. Few people are ever home and he always knocks. If someone is home he'll ask. If nobody's home he'll try to use the hose in back. He knows who has hoses out (almost everyone) and who might care. Treating 15- 20 lawns you shouldn't need to fill more than a few times.

Well I must have been doing something wrong because I calibrated at 1 gallon a thound sq ft and had to fill up sometimes twice a house. I have a 4 gallon shur flo battery Bp.

(I use the tap if I can) but I only have a dozen or so customers.

I actually think my problem was over applying. Instead of doing it like I was on cement, where I could see I was getting everything wet, I would hover for a sec over weeds to make sure I got them. Plus I had my back pack on the highest pump power, the idea was to speed up the jobs.

I also just carried around those blue water containers that you take camping with you. They are 5 gallons each, but like I say, I used the customers outside tap when ever I could.


I'm thinking I want a skid this year even if I can't justify it. Not the first stupid purchase I've ever made.