[DA Quality Lawn & YS]

Guys - as the temps creep up here in MN, looking forward to getting the Centri out to calibrate it for the first time since I bought it.

Before I start that process, I want to be sure I have the best possible spray tips in the Centri that give me decent coverage at lower drift potential. I can see right now that I will probably NOT be using those upper two nozzles for application, 2ft high off the ground are you kidding?? Would rather use the lower nozzles exclusively. Right now, the machine is set up to run low gear/lower nozzle set with lower volume S.S. Floodjets (sorry don't have the # offhand), OR high gear/high nozzle set with higher volume S.S. Floodjets (brown ones). Again, the heck with the upper nozzles, I am going to do my own thing.

What nozzles can I run on the lower set to give me at least respectable results? Should I pull the higher volume nozzles off the top set and put them in the lower set? Or go with a new nozzle totally? For reference, I am running the original 1GPM pump (no, I am not changing pumps) and I believe the pressure is governed at 15psi though I would have to confirm that.

Any advice? (Just looking for constructive stuff here guys. Not PG bashing. Don't make me feel bad, I just bought this machine just to start out for a couple years

 

[DA Quality Lawn & YS]

Bump for a good cause

 

[DA Quality Lawn & YS]

Bump again - apparently no one has done any experimenting with a Centri (or Ultra/Magnum for that matter)?

 

[RigglePLC]

You are doing the right thing DA. Calibrate and plan in advance. I am familiar with the Ultra. Sometimes I wished it had nozzles up high as then I would have had wider coverage. I suggest you use water or antifreeze and find out how much pressure you have. And find out how much volume you have available from the pump in ounces per minute. Spray the cement and get an idea of the pattern. Tip the nozzles up or down. collect the spray at the nozzles to determine if the nozzles restrict the flow much. If the pump was stronger I would like to see 3 nozzles at 20 inches high--wider coverage and still cover the center. Click my name and look at my pics of the Ultra coverage. Other albums. Nobody ever uses the low gear speed (except their first day). So maybe you should set up a low gear nozzle to act as your trim nozzle. Maybe set up to spray the width of the machine and 12 inches left of the left wheel. Practice trim spraying on cement with some artificial plants. Or just get your wife to stand there in her white jeans, as you spray around her like a flower.
I had another chance to look two new Permagreen Triumphs at my dealer's yesterday. Earth Service. It appears that they COULD have made the tanks bigger by expanding them to the width of the wheels. Maybe I can get a chance to demo one. The fert agitation system is rotary--better.

 

[DA Quality Lawn & YS]

Upon doing some preliminary testing...high gear on the Centri leaves something to be desired. A pretty holey droplet pattern with gaps approaching and possibly over 1".
What can I expect for weed control with this? Is overlapping somewhat the key?

 

[a plus bob]

I have only been around ultras but the spray is crappy at best.

 

[n-green]

Are you getting 11ft when you go in high? Is that the right nozzle for high?

 

[RigglePLC]

You can always go slower on weedy lawns. Sounds like it is performing about right. In my hands the weed control with the Ultra was just fine. The Magnum uses a similar floodjet-type nozzle. Also the Triumph. Spraying Systems knows how to make a good nozzle. How many gallons per 1000 sqft are you applying?

 

[Runner]

Switch your nozzles around, so your higher output nozzles are on the bottom. Set your nozzle pattern so you have an even arc in front of you with minimal overlap in the center to just make an even spray throughout the arc. The arc should span out to your sides at a 90 degree angle where the edges (like the bottom of a rainbow) will be ALMOST parallel to front and back. Now, your pattern is also adjusted by tilting the nozzles up or down to get the distance in front of you. The turning adjustments for the arc are always readjusted after you do this. You spray SHOULD come out in front at about a level plane and then drop down. Just stand still and spray an arc for a second or two and look at your pattern. you will see if it gets quite a bit wetter in areas than others. When I do this, I just keep mt machine in reverse. That way, I hit it...back up a bit and look at my pattern, hit it again, etc.. get you spray pattern dialed in. Your nozzles SHOULD put a tiny droplet on about every 1/4 inch of area while you are driving forward at full speed. Also, make sure you have taken these nozzles all apart and cleaned the stainless nozzles and especially the screens. THIS can really block alot of material. Mark off an area of width in a parking lot (like a school after hours). Mind you, this is ALL done with plain water. Go back and forth, slightly overlapping on every row so you can see where you last were, and spray out about 2 gallons. When it is all sprayed out, measure your area. this will tell you how many thousands of feet you sprayed by how many gallons you sprayed. Repeat, to get a more accurate reading and include your borders this time since you'll know about what area you'll be covering. You will now know how to mix for YOUR sprayer.

 

[DA Quality Lawn & YS]

Switch your nozzles around, so your higher output nozzles are on the bottom. Set your nozzle pattern so you have an even arc in front of you with minimal overlap in the center to just make an even spray throughout the arc. The arc should span out to your sides at a 90 degree angle where the edges (like the bottom of a rainbow) will be ALMOST parallel to front and back. Now, your pattern is also adjusted by tilting the nozzles up or down to get the distance in front of you. The turning adjustments for the arc are always readjusted after you do this. You spray SHOULD come out in front at about a level plane and then drop down. Just stand still and spray an arc for a second or two and look at your pattern. you will see if it gets quite a bit wetter in areas than others. When I do this, I just keep mt machine in reverse. That way, I hit it...back up a bit and look at my pattern, hit it again, etc.. get you spray pattern dialed in. Your nozzles SHOULD put a tiny droplet on about every 1/4 inch of area while you are driving forward at full speed. Also, make sure you have taken these nozzles all apart and cleaned the stainless nozzles and especially the screens. THIS can really block alot of material. Mark off an area of width in a parking lot (like a school after hours). Mind you, this is ALL done with plain water. Go back and forth, slightly overlapping on every row so you can see where you last were, and spray out about 2 gallons. When it is all sprayed out, measure your area. this will tell you how many thousands of feet you sprayed by how many gallons you sprayed. Repeat, to get a more accurate reading and include your borders this time since you'll know about what area you'll be covering. You will now know how to mix for YOUR sprayer.

This is VERY helpful, thanks. In fact, I did already move the higher volume nozzles down low (no plans to use those upper outputs any time soon). I'll dial in my pattern like you say (I think I am almost there, ran out of daylight today. Then calibrate. Have to figure out my clutch problem first, then she's all downhill from there. Just to note, I took off those venturi's, don't see a ton of need spraying larger droplets down so low.

Just to confirm, you say there should be a droplet every 1/4 inch at full speed. I assume you mean high gear??

Also, my pattern was spraying about 8 ft wide today. Sound about right with those higher vol. floodjets on the bottom?

 

[RigglePLC]

I always used my nozzles aimed out, at about a 45 degree angle. Enough to cover the center and wide as possible to the sides. Set up to just miss the tires. Excellent advice from Runner. Tilt up to get a little more width, if you want. How many ounces per minute does the pump put out? How many volts are you getting to the pump? You only get full volts at wide open throttle. Is there any corrosion on the wire or splices? Ideally you should be putting out about a third of a gallon( 43 ounces) per minute from both nozzles combined. If you have long arms you can manipulate the stopwatch, the throttle, pump switch and hold the measureing bucket in front of the nozzle at the same time. Aim the nozzle straight down into the measuring cup just for the test. Or...just catch it at the bottle fill valve at the lower left of the tank.