Cheesy Weed Spayers

[John in OH]

Do any of you use the 2-3 gallon, hand-pump sprayers for spraying weeds or such? I’m taking about the ones from the local hardware or box stores with the plastic tanks, plastic hand-pump in the center, and the cheesy wand similar to this:



I use one for spraying the weeds in my driveway and around my outbuildings. The plastic tanks are OK, and the pumps, though annoying, seem to be OK for the most part, but the tube-valve-wand assemblies are truly junk!! The wands are too short and kill my back, the valves leak, the hoses kink, and the nozzles have no adjustment.

So, my question is, has anyone made up a wand assembly of their own design?? If so, how did you do it and what hardware did you use?

 

[theoldwizard1]

Do any of you use the 2-3 gallon, hand-pump sprayers for spraying weeds or such?

My last one just died. I got one free for buying a quart of RoundUp.

The plastic tanks are OK, and the pumps, though annoying, seem to be OK for the most part, but the tube-valve-wand assemblies are truly junk!! The wands are too short and kill my back, the valves leak, the hoses kink, and the nozzles have no adjustment.

Squirt a bit of WD40 on the pump shaft. It helps.

The rest of your complaints are pretty much correct except for the nozzle. Tighten or loosen to adjust.


Hint: Menards sell "generic" glyphosate. 2.5 gallons for $37.

 

[tjdux]

They sell different wands online. Northern has several with decent reviews and I found an actual "roundup" brand one on amazon.

They are all plastic and 15 to 30 bucks. Not sure you could build a great one much cheaper with a wand style valve. Metal pipe and ball valve could work cheap and easy but would be hard to be precise

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[ynned]

Better ones exist, but they're a bit more costly:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006T6E64/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[mv213]

Better ones exist, but they're a bit more costly:



https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006T6E64/?tag=atomicindus08-20

That one is nice. It has a carry strap so the plastic pump lugs won't break off making the tank hang down by the ground.



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[EOC_Jason]

Stainless tanks with brass wands are nice if you do a lot of spraying especially with nasty chemicals.

I bought a D.B. Smith "R" style professional sprayer and I'm really happy with it. Has a long warranty (maybe lifetime?), several nozzles, and the company will send you replacement o-rings for free I think.

http://www.thefountainheadgroup.com/sprayers/professional/two-gallon-pro-sprayers.php

It appears they still sell them at lowes, but under the Husqvarna name. The support # is still the same and it's the identical design.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Husqvarna-2-Gallon-Plastic-Tank-Sprayer/1000093019

 

[scooby074]

Look for an Echo dealer. Their sprayers are excellent. Ive had Stainless Hudson and Chapin and some other ones and the Echo is the best so far.

The larger ones carry plenty of Roundup to spray a large area. I have a 3gallon. Also they come with fan nozzles for ground application as compared to the round ones for insecticide. Key it to wash the sprayer out when finished, no matter what the brand. Leaving chemical inside the sprayer does a number on them.

http://www.echo.ca/products/sprayers

 

[JRC3]

I have a small Roundup and another small generic. maybe HF. I just bought the HF backpack and I'm impressed for $20. Nice long, heavy hose and long wand (I mean looong). 4 different spray ends. The only thing that ***** is the way the straps clip into the bottom. I fed the straps through the slots and it now works great. Also, the hose is almost too long.


Can't go wrong for 20 bucks.

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=garden+sprayer

As stated about lubrication, this pump is pretty wet with lube. I also like the huge fill opening.

 

[ken w.]

I used to buy the "good" ones but I started to buy the 1 1/2 gallon 2 pack from Tractor Supply. I've had too many brass wands break if you drop them on a hard surface. I feel they are the best value now. They spray good , you can put anything in them and they hold up. You need to empty them out over the winter tho.

 

[Voi]

My wife used to keep orchids and other plants and I lengthened the hose on one and replaced the plastic nozzle with a brass one. I think I had to buy an adapter or two but it worked and was a worthwhile upgrade.

 

[PelicanPines]

For some reason... thought this thread was about cheese wiz.

I also like the metal sprayers from TSC. I also get a few small hand disposable plastic ones for touch ups at the dollar store. One is for bugs... the other for weeds.

 

[-Brent-]

I've gone through two plastic ones, I should've bought a quality one from the outset.

 

[Norcal]

I use a Solo backpack sprayer, works great & parts are stocked locally if needed.

 

[ToolmanGary]

I use to buy those cheapo specials. I got tired of throwing them out all the time so I broke down and bought a Stihl backpack type sprayer. The Stihl works so much better and you can buy replacement parts if you need too.

 

[padroo]

The sprayers on my backpack sprayers seem OK. My newest one is a roundup I bought at TSC is all plastic and works good. I have also bought better wands and put them on cheap sprayers.

 

[slip knot]

I use a flowjet wand and valve. They hook up with a garden hose attachment. Each sprayer has a longer hose and a garden hose adapter. I just move the wand from tank to tank. One tank is for soil sterilant, one for glyphosate and one for garden pesticides.

 

[wasfuzz]

Hint: Most farm Coop's sell "generic" glyphosate for about $7.00 a gallon, unless you live in a state were you must have a license to purchase!

 

[Rewind97]

I have a small Roundup and another small generic. maybe HF. I just bought the HF backpack and I'm impressed for $20. Nice long, heavy hose and long wand (I mean looong). 4 different spray ends. The only thing that ***** is the way the straps clip into the bottom. I fed the straps through the slots and it now works great. Also, the hose is almost too long.


Can't go wrong for 20 bucks.

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=garden+sprayer

As stated about lubrication, this pump is pretty wet with lube. I also like the huge fill opening.

Think I'll get one of these with the 25% off coupon!


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[theoldwizard1]

I bought a D.B. Smith "R" style professional sprayer and I'm really happy with it. Has a long warranty (maybe lifetime?), ...

Better find your paperwork. The only thing I can find says it has a 1 year warranty.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Classic. New pump assembly, $5.99 Shipping $7.99

 

[NewShockerGuy]

I have like 3 or 4 of these:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000E28UQU/?tag=atomicindus08-20

They are cheap and do the job. I have been using all 4 for almost 5 years now.

One has the weed spray for spots like dandelions and other weeds. One is a bug spray to go around the house. Another one gets acid in it which surprisingly hasn't destroyed anything on the pump yet. I've done muriatic acid for both garages, and the acid for cleaning pavers. The other is for cleaning solution to spray the fence/wood surfaces.

I used to have larger size sprayers but found them harder to use, and more importantly my wife isn't lugging a 3-4 gallon sprayer around. The 1 gallon size is perfect.

When the above completely die I will probably give this a shot. Looks like a nice pump with nice nozzles.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002YNSAGM/?tag=atomicindus08-20



-Nigel

 

[EOC_Jason]

Better find your paperwork. The only thing I can find says it has a 1 year warranty.

I do have it, even have the original box in the attic... lol.

 

[JRC3]

I used to have larger size sprayers but found them harder to use, and more importantly my wife isn't lugging a 3-4 gallon sprayer around.

The trick is to put about two gallons in it. I feel it's more about the easy pumping and not the capacity. Also the easy filling. Nothing worse than having a small sprayer suds up when you're squirting water into the little fill hole. Just the other day I was using my 1.5G sprayer for weed killer and had to keep spraying the toxic suds from the fill hole as they rose to the top...Then you have to put that pump handle in displacing more poison suds.

 

[PeterT]

So the Stihl is worth the $38 at HD? I've got a stainless Hudson but you have to really crank it down, or it leaks air pressure.

 

[CajunJohn]

My last one just died. I got one free for buying a quart of RoundUp.


Squirt a bit of WD40 on the pump shaft. It helps.

The rest of your complaints are pretty much correct except for the nozzle. Tighten or loosen to adjust.


Hint: Menards sell "generic" glyphosate. 2.5 gallons for $37.

Tractor Supply Sells one for about $10 bucks, I buy one about once a year. You can take apart the pump and put Vaseline on the shaft also


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[Hawk]

I have a small Roundup and another small generic. maybe HF. I just bought the HF backpack and I'm impressed for $20. Nice long, heavy hose and long wand (I mean looong). 4 different spray ends. The only thing that ***** is the way the straps clip into the bottom. I fed the straps through the slots and it now works great. Also, the hose is almost too long.


Can't go wrong for 20 bucks.

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=garden+sprayer

As stated about lubrication, this pump is pretty wet with lube. I also like the huge fill opening.

I agree it is a good little sprayer, but I am having the same problem you were talking about with the straps. A picture of your solution would help.

 

[PelicanPines]

I just ordered two of these... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003DKMX0O/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[JRC3]

I agree it is a good little sprayer, but I am having the same problem you were talking about with the straps. A picture of your solution would help.

On second though, I don't remember how it was originally.

The original way is super crappy and mine is the best. It wouldn't take any more money for them to design it the right way. For $20 it's worth the little extra effort.

 

[ishiboo]

Hint: Most farm Coop's sell "generic" glyphosate for about $7.00 a gallon, unless you live in a state were you must have a license to purchase!

Just to clarify - glyphosate is "generic" RoundUp. When you buy Roundup in the store, you get it ready to spray at whatever percent that is. The 2.5 gallon at Menards is not only $35, it will make 120 gallons of "tough" RoundUp, or 213 gallons of a weaker general-purpose.

RoundUp as you buy it ready to use is 96% water, and only 2% Glyphosate. The other 2% is Nonanoic acid, which is a bit harder to find outside pre-made weed killer products. It provides more of the "quick burn" you see when you spray RoundUp.

 

[Shootinok]

Best sprayer I've ever used - (and I still use several times a year to spray my trees) is a slide sprayer.
No tank - there is a pickup hose and a screened end that you drop into a bucket. The sprayer pumps like a trombone.
It sprayes on both the in and out slide - works amazing!
I've had mine for years and have had to replace the leather seal inside once - but I will never go back to a pressurized sprayer that pumps up a tank.

 

[JRC3]

Best sprayer I've ever used - (and I still use several times a year to spray my trees) is a slide sprayer.
No tank - there is a pickup hose and a screened end that you drop into a bucket. The sprayer pumps like a trombone.

That's almost how the HF sprayer works. It doesn't pressurize the tank like the little ones.

 

[cajunfirehawk]

Just to clarify - glyphosate is "generic" RoundUp. When you buy Roundup in the store, you get it ready to spray at whatever percent that is. The 2.5 gallon at Menards is not only $35, it will make 120 gallons of "tough" RoundUp, or 213 gallons of a weaker general-purpose.

RoundUp as you buy it ready to use is 96% water, and only 2% Glyphosate. The other 2% is Nonanoic acid, which is a bit harder to find outside pre-made weed killer products. It provides more of the "quick burn" you see when you spray RoundUp.

I have and use the cheap roundup sprayers and other generic sprayers, you get what you pay for but you can rebuild the pumps on the round ups, I use this for my weed killer, a jug last me 2-3 yrs, its in granular form.

 

[stormin]

I saw one on sale at Walmart for 8 bucks. Works ok and if it craps it goes in the trash.

 

[CJ7VFR]

I bought a Flowmaster sprayer 15 years ago from Sears and it has worked great for everything I use it for.

I bought it because it was a 2 gallon sprayer and it had a brass wand that was the longest one I could find at the time. I am 6 feet tall and using a short wand sprayer gets old really fast. A nice feature of the one I have is that the brass wand snaps into the pump handle to hold the wand assembly when your not using it or when you want to carry the sprayer.

It cost about 35 bucks back then, and it has worked for everything I needed it to. Below is a picture of the current model they sell. It is pretty much the same as mine except mine is green instead of white, and the trigger on mine can be locked down to spray constantly if you want. This new one is about 40 bucks now. It is very similar to the one the OP has pictured in his original post.

Jim

 

[Scotland]

B&G Univar Model 1028 is what the pros use. Expensive suckers. A 1gal with 18inch wand is about $275 on fleebay.

 

[Algoma56]

I use mine for putting out the bonfire at our cabin. It was cheap, bought it for weed control, then switched to dry granulate, so brought the sprayer out to the lake. Still going 10 years later, but just water now.

 

[scooby074]

B&G Univar Model 1028 is what the pros use. Expensive suckers. A 1gal with 18inch wand is about $275 on fleebay.

This is true. Both "bug guys" that used to spray our family business used this brand. From what I saw, they do appear to be high quality.

 

[JRC3]

^
They gotta somehow justify charging that much to spray Borax around the perimeter of a house.

 

[AffableCurmudgeon]

I put a Schrader valve on my cheap sprayer. The last one lasted about 10 years.

 

[rburke65]

We bought a backpack Solo a few years back .... we like that...no issues. Had a boat load of the round plastic 1.5 gal. or hat ever.....always an issue it seemed ith them.