Tree Sprayers That Work???

My garage and my shed are full of sprayers that don't work to spray my fruit trees. The trombone sprayer rusts up. The pump sprayers are underpowered. The hose-end "sprayette" won't pick up the spray solution; it just sprays water. I would really like a hose-end sprayer that sprays stuff, but I would be happy to find ANY kind of sprayer that will actually reach the tops of my trees [no more than 12 feet] and actually spray the fungicide and stuff.

I have never heard of a hose-end sprayer designed for fruit trees. Many people including myself are very happy with backpack sprayers. If you want to get higher they sell wand extensions for more reach. I'm not sure why you are having problems with power, I get all I need. But my trees are at most 8-9' tall.

Scott

Ortho makes it, but it sucks.

Solo's backpack sprayers and attachments work wonderfully with my 15 plus foot trees. The pump provides more than enough power since depending on model, they can get up to either 60 or 90 psi.

The sprayers are 80-120 bucks depending on whether they are diaphragm or piston type, but are worth every penny. Wand extenders and replacement parts are easily come by to maintain the sprayer.

If you buy one, make sure to lube the rubber gasket with some petroleum jelly - I forgot to do that once and ended up with Bt all over my back.

ick!

Thanks for the rec, I'll look for one. I've easily spent that much on crap sprayers that don't get the job done and leave my trees short on protection.

Do you have a recommendation for the diaphragm vs the piston sprayer?

Does this machine do well at spraying Surround?

I have a piston backpack sprayer which works well with Surround. It is not Solo brand but is very similar to their sprayers in terms of design. You need to agitate well when mixing or the powder will try to feed through the piston and it can clog. I never once clogged it bad enough to need to take it apart (I did do that once with copper powder though -- what a mess!).

Scott

If you go the Solo route, you'll need a diaphragm sprayer for wettable powders. The one I have is a Solo 475.

Kaolin clay in backpack sprayers (or any sprayer for that matter) requires the sprayer to be dismantled after every use and cleaned throughly. The clay degrades rubber parts.

I guess I'm a sprayer abuser, I never take it apart after spraying Surround and its still going strong after five years of Surround. I heavily rinse out after every kaolin spray, run until the water flows clear. Maybe this isn't the greatest thing to do, I don't know. When I took it apart the one time all the parts looked OK to me.

Scott