What boom sprayer to get?

catscratch

Well-Known Member
Looking for a new portable boom sprayer. Nothing bigger than 25 gallons. From your guy's experience; what brands should I avoid, and what brands have you been happy with?
 
I've got a 25 gal fimco boomless that you can get with boom. Decent, but too many hassles over the years. Just recently got a King, you can read at bottom of this page under New Sprayer, my review. Love it, more expensive, but worth it so far. I've got the boomless but option is also with boom.
 
Curious, why do you want a boom over boomless?
Well... I've never used a boomless so I don't know much about how well they work. I have two factors that I worry about; precision and wind. I have a several plots that I really want to have a very precise boundary of where I spray (inches matter where I spray). My fear of a boomless is that it will fan out beyond where I want and kill something not targeted. The wind factor is just that, it's always windy and it seems like a fan of spray would be harder to control than a boom with the nozzles pointed straight down.

Feel free to correct me on these perceived issues as I don't have first hand experience like some of you guys. I'm always open to new ideas. What's the benefit of a boomless?
 
Well... I've never used a boomless so I don't know much about how well they work. I have two factors that I worry about; precision and wind. I have a several plots that I really want to have a very precise boundary of where I spray (inches matter where I spray). My fear of a boomless is that it will fan out beyond where I want and kill something not targeted. The wind factor is just that, it's always windy and it seems like a fan of spray would be harder to control than a boom with the nozzles pointed straight down.

Feel free to correct me on these perceived issues as I don't have first hand experience like some of you guys. I'm always open to new ideas. What's the benefit of a boomless?
The benefits of boomless sprayer nozzles is that you get the opportunity to buy more chemicals to kill the same amount of weeds because you are squirting droplets sideways towards the leaf edge and stem instead of misting from the top down onto the leaf surface.
 
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I have a 25 gallon cropcare ATV sprayer with 13' booms, a wellbuilt unit for around $600.
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This rig has worked great for us. By adjusting the PSI we can get coverage from about 6-8 feet wide out to about 15. We don’t have to worry about the inches like you do, but do play the wind as I believe everyone that sprays should. Ran about 400 bucks.


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The benefits of boomless sprayer nozzles is that you get the opportunity to buy more chemicals to kill the same amount of weeds because you are squirting droplets sideways towards the leaf edge and stem instead of misting form the top down onto the leaf surface.
Lol, I'm not great at reading inflection sometimes but I'm feeling some sarcasm in your post.
 
It looks like Crop Care, King, and whatever Tractor Supply sales are doing ok for you guys.
I think I know the answer, but what about Fimco? I think that is what my local store carries. Dogghr mentioned it and didn't seem real positive on it.
 
Lol, I'm not great at reading inflection sometimes but I'm feeling some sarcasm in your post.
My bad, sarcasm isn't a virtue, I just get tired of guys extolling the virtues of boomless sprayers. I've used both extensively, spraying acres of cherry trees when I was 12 yrs old, sprayed corn for my dad, been spraying food plots for a long time with both types. There's nothing wrong with using a boomless sprayer if that's what you have, It's just that boomless is not equal in coverage to spray booms, and results of chemicals applied to plants depend 100% on the adequate and consistent coverage of the application.
 
Fimco sprayers are all plastic parts. There are lots of stories out there about guys going back to the hardware store to upgrade to better parts so hoses don't blow off, fitting don't crack, and so forth. Boomless is good for tight spots in the woods that would otherwise hook your booms and damage your nozzles.

For out in the open, I'd take an actual boom every day of the week. Spraying downward with pressure is way more effective than spraying sideways with all your might. That spray is almost lofted out to the edge and has lots of opportunity to get picked up by a Kansas wind and thrown all over hell.
 
Theres no wind in Kansas, Cat. Well at least no more than 70 mph most days from my experience. So a boomless sprayer may not be as appropriate. But better watch opinions of Mennoniteman as I bet he likes tree tubes over cages also!!:)
Anyways, the Fimco uses inline water hose type filters that I had problems with the chemical plugging up requires me disassembling, and getting dowsed with that crap. Also the pick up line is poor especially for those of us who navigate hillside plots, maybe not a problem for you. And for whatever reason, once fluids got low, mine refused to pick up remaining solution. The drain hole takes forever to drain remaining solution and the water you are rinsing out the sprayer after using. I modified a lot of things on mine and it obviously used it for 8 years I think, but I had to go to church many a Sunday to compensate for my mutterings while using it. For the money, not bad. TS carries most the parts in large stock (that should tell you something).
As for boomless, just convenient for trail use, not gonna argue. boom may be more efficient . But added benefit for me is managing one sprayer/boomless is sure easier than my lazy ass managing a dozen on a boom.
 
I also have the 25 gal Cropcare sprayer. It's alright but there are things about it that drive me crazy. The regulator has never worked very well for me and I've replaced it once as it was bad from the box. I have both the boom and boomless setups and always use the boom. The boomless just didn't seem to have a good pattern, which is too bad cause it would be nice in the thick stuff. The tank itself has been replaced once as it cracked at the inserts where it bolts to the frame (it's also strapped down). I wrap the boom nozzles with electrical tape so the don't get unlocked and fall off when hitting brush. The other modifications made is extra shutoff valves to isolate each side of the boom. Using only one side works great for narrow areas or the driveway.

I was talking to an employee with the state that does a bunch of spraying and he said they were having good luck with the Enduraplas Pro series ATV Sprayer. It seemed like a nice setup and the hardware seemed high quality but the price is $1000!
 
I have a sixty gallon boomless PTO driven made locally. Where I spray I’m afraid the booms would be laying on the ground more than they would be on the spray rig. I have noticed spots from time to time that at least don’t look as if the spray hit them, but I don’t know if that’s wind or......?

For smaller plots or spot spraying I modified a 25 gallon Fimco (that was on a little trailer) to fit in my Ranger bed. It’s great for narrow places as it has two small nozzles that just spray around 12’ wide. I can switch between the nozzles and the wand or turn it on and off from the seat.

Both have their respective places I guess.
 
It looks like Crop Care, King, and whatever Tractor Supply sales are doing ok for you guys.
I think I know the answer, but what about Fimco? I think that is what my local store carries. Dogghr mentioned it and didn't seem real positive on it.

I have a fimco 25 gallon with 10’ boom that has been a decent rig for me. I had to replace the pump after about 2 years of use but I’m pretty sure that was due to not draining the tank well prior to winter. The new pump was easy to install and has been working well thus far.

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Thanks guys! I appreciate the input and experience.

Mennonite, don't apologize for the sarcasm. I rather enjoy it and like your honesty.

Buckdeer, I just checked TSC online. Looks like they carry Fimco and WorkHorse. Never heard of WorkHorse before...

As many of you point out there seems to be plenty of frustration with the Fimco, but there are plenty who say it works fine for the price paid (for a few years anyway). I don't want something that I have to tinker with all the time, but I'm not going to spend a grand on one either. I need to make some notes and go shopping. Nothing like knowing what design problems to look for, then looking at the actual part before buying it.

Next I need to ask what chainsaw I should buy (I'm honestly looking... as dogghr pointed out I had to spend extra time in church last Sunday due to it's latest episode).
 
A neighbor and I made one ourselves for our golf cart. I just couldn't see spending the kind of money they ask for a new one. I'll see if I can find an old picture of ours somewhere on my photos.
 
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