Garden/Weed Sprayer

[CJM8515]

Has anyone else had the wands continuously fail on these cheap plastic garden sprayers? I have bought 3 home depot HDX brand 1 gal sprayers and it could be 2 weeks or a year and the stupid wand fails. one it leaked at the base, another the tip broke and this last one I just took out today that was fine-the plastic handle area has a crack in it like it broke from freezing. BUT the thing had no water in it and was dry as can be.. Its like the round up eats it something.

I googled all over, checked lowes and home depot and unless I want to spend 100 bucks everything is freaking plastic. At this rate I can go to home depot, buy another one and take mine back and tell em the wand broke and I want my money back! I get that its a cheap thing, but cmon...3 wands failed in like 2 years?

im considering buying this round up brand one b/c the wand is designed differently https://www.lowes.com/pd/Roundup-1-Gallon-Plastic-Tank-Sprayer/3192525

 

[scooby074]

I have a RoundUp branded one that I use for spraying caustic cleaning chemicals. I never empty it. Leave chemical in it all winter (in a heated garage). Its going on 5 years old now, no issues.

https://www.homehardware.ca/en/premium-multi-use-tank-sprayer-1-gal/p/5050052

 

[rlitman]

Yeah, I've ponied up to the big bucks, and STILL upgraded from there. Nothing lasts forever, but at least the quality sprayers are repairable, and most importantly for me, the wands don't end up leaking product on my hands, even if other parts fail.

 

[cody1325]

I have a RoundUp branded one that I use for spraying caustic cleaning chemicals. I never empty it. Leave chemical in it all winter (in a heated garage). Its going on 5 years old now, no issues.

https://www.homehardware.ca/en/premium-multi-use-tank-sprayer-1-gal/p/5050052

My folks have had several of those for years, and use them for darn near everything--pesticides, herbicides, some kind of sealant, and I myself have two of them--one for degreaser, one for Dawn+water. They work great.

 

[BurtEggley]

nothing lasts forever, and some of the cheaper plastic ones don't last. That said, we have a couple like that for bleach that have held up. My go to are these but you absolutely have to drain them, wash them out, and let them dry after each use or they will rust. Replacement parts are available. I have a stainless one Chapin made that I bought from Sears that is about 35 years old now and still going. I have replaced the wand a couple times, and the spray handle maybe every six to eight years. The Chapin steel ones at the link below. Try to get an Ace coupon like $20 off purchases over $100 etc that they mail out and use it in your local Ace. https://www.acehardware.com/search?query=chapin sprayer There is also a vinegar sprayer that is plastic but the wand looks pretty well made. I am guessing that it will hold up. So will their stainless ones farther down the page.

 

[zak77]

I have good luck with the ones from TSC. A couple are over 10 years old.

 

[CJM8515]

the chapin stainless ones look super nice but i use the sprayer like 5x a year tops.. roundup one at lowes for 25 bucks seems to have a different wand that looks better made than most of the others. or i could spend 84 bucks at lowes for a chapoin with brass wand but people also had issues.

cant win lol

 

[Hank11]

Try one of these. Maybe the solution is to spend a bit more for a quality tool and not buy the lowest priced thing from a big box store.

Home - Solo

solo delivers the results you need, time after time SOLO® products are German engineered, built tough and made to last. That’s why they are the first choice of farmers, professional landscapers and do-it-yourselfers everywhere. In fact, SOLO® has earned global recognition for continue reading

us.solo.global

 

[HotRod68Camaro]

I use some from amazon that were about $10, i'm religious about rinsing them out well after use and i get a few years out of them.

 

[Sumboodie]

.m12

 

[Renegade1LI]

I bought the dewalt 20v and am very happy. I have two and one is going on its 3rd year with no issues. Once you use a power one you never go back, and they're built pretty heavy duty. Keep it clean and dry when not in use, it's the best sprayer I've ever used.

 

[CJM8515]

Try one of these. Maybe the solution is to spend a bit more for a quality tool and not buy the lowest priced thing from a big box store.

Home - Solo

solo delivers the results you need, time after time SOLO® products are German engineered, built tough and made to last. That’s why they are the first choice of farmers, professional landscapers and do-it-yourselfers everywhere. In fact, SOLO® has earned global recognition for continue reading

us.solo.global

per amazon reviews and pics, no good. wand issues among other things

maybe my issue is i need to wash it out fully after every use? i suppose the chemicals could be causing an issue as this is now num 3 that failed. but even so, i dont always use the entire thing up each use..

 

[BurtEggley]

pay cheap, get cheap life. Yes, if you are using chemicals they need to be cleaned each use. Look for ones with Viton if you plan to use chemicals in them other than water based pesticides etc.. I also use a dedicated Chapin sprayer for each type use. Roundup has its own sprayer. Broad Leaf Weed killer with 2,4D has its own. Pesticides have their own. Bleach has its own.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I found one at Menards for $10. I figured if it lasted the year, I'd be fine with it.

 

[Hank11]

per amazon reviews and pics, no good. wand issues among other things

maybe my issue is i need to wash it out fully after every use? i suppose the chemicals could be causing an issue as this is now num 3 that failed. but even so, i dont always use the entire thing up each use..

Yes, you need to wash it out after each use. I have Solo sprayers with carbon fiber telescoping wands. They work fantastically. Of course the wand can break if you are not careful. These things are not clubs.

Skip over the cheap stuff. Spend a little money. I just fixed a 35 year old sprayer with a new hose. First time it needed help. A $15.00 sprayer is worth about what you paid for it. Like a $1.99 wrench — don’t expect much.

 

[Torque&Recoil]

per amazon reviews and pics, no good. wand issues among other things

maybe my issue is i need to wash it out fully after every use? i suppose the chemicals could be causing an issue as this is now num 3 that failed. but even so, i dont always use the entire thing up each use..

We have a Solo backpack sprayer that has been fairly heavily used for what seems like 20 years. Original everything. I do wash it out every single time, including the wand and valve.

 

[lolaetype]

I've been using a four gallon backpack hand pump spryer from Harbor Freight for about 15 years. No problems yet. I do run fresh water through it after using it.

 

[racecougar]

I've been using a four gallon backpack hand pump spryer from Harbor Freight for about 15 years. No problems yet. I do run fresh water through it after using it.

Ditto. My Greenwood 4 gallon backpack sprayer from HF has outlasted three of the 1 gallon sprayers, and it even gets more use than those.

 

[Shiftless]

I still have my stainless steel, brass wand sprayer from 30 years ago. The plastic hose crapped out so I replaced that with rubber fuel line hose. Rubber o rings wear out and get replaced.
I use it for glyphosate weed killer and every time I’m finished I run clean water through it and then invert the can and keep spraying until I just get air out of the nozzle. Once in a while, I lube the pump with silicone spray.

So based on my experience, I would say that if you are willing to spend more money up front, and are willing to take care of that tool, it is better to buy once and cry once. It would bother me to throw away a $10 sprayer once a year. But maybe others don’t have the time or patience to flush out garden sprayers after each use. I understand.

 

[Daedalus]

I bought this 8 years ago, put it away wet when done, do no maintenance other than cleaning out the tip or filter when it gets clogged, and have put hundreds of gallons of Roundup through it so far.

 

[starquestMM]

Try one of these. Maybe the solution is to spend a bit more for a quality tool and not buy the lowest priced thing from a big box store.

Home - Solo

solo delivers the results you need, time after time SOLO® products are German engineered, built tough and made to last. That’s why they are the first choice of farmers, professional landscapers and do-it-yourselfers everywhere. In fact, SOLO® has earned global recognition for continue reading

us.solo.global

I have one of these Solo 424 and have HATED it since first use. The method for admitting makeup air is faulty making it very easy to spill out the top. if you fill it, you'll end up wearing most of it. I only put 2 gallons in mine and even then you have to be careful about how you move or bend over to spray under stuff. If you're spraying something like roundup, you'll leave a trail of destruction behind you. JUNK.

 

[Kaizen]

Also a fan of the hF backpack. I think its important with any of these to order a maintenance kit from Amazon or such and know how these things are put together. Those one gallon ten dollar jobs imo are for spraying oil or other one time things. Winter prep and not allowing garbage in the tank is important.
I picked up a 2.5 gallon self pump batter job at lowe's.....forget the brand.......but man i love it. just makes the chore quicker. It was on sale for like 60 bucks.

 

[CraigStu]

How in the he11 do you clean a sprayer after every use? Pour the stuff back into the refill bottle, put water in the sprayer and spray it? That will be fun pouring through the 2.5" top of the sprayer can into a 1" top in the refill bottle. Use a funnel? Yeah so I can clean that too? Jeez, not interested in spending as much time cleaning as spraying.

 

[draco_1967]

I also have the Harbor Freight backpack sprayer. I know about how much I need to spray my yard, so I only fill it and mix that amount. I'm usually pretty dang close. When done, I put a bit of water in it, spray it for 30 seconds, then dump the water. I haven't had any issues with it after 5 years now.

 

[Hank11]

How in the he11 do you clean a sprayer after every use? Pour the stuff back into the refill bottle, put water in the sprayer and spray it? That will be fun pouring through the 2.5" top of the sprayer can into a 1" top in the refill bottle. Use a funnel? Yeah so I can clean that too? Jeez, not interested in spending as much time cleaning as spraying.

I clean mine so I can use different materials. You would not want to mix an herbicide with a fertilizer just as an instance. I also try to measure closely, and I put all the mixed material out on the plants or ground. When the tank is empty, it’s time to wash up and go home. Fill the tank partway shake it pump it spray it. Repeat until you think it’s clean enough.

 

[Hank11]

I have one of these Solo 424 and have HATED it since first use. The method for admitting makeup air is faulty making it very easy to spill out the top. if you fill it, you'll end up wearing most of it. I only put 2 gallons in mine and even then you have to be careful about how you move or bend over to spray under stuff. If you're spraying something like roundup, you'll leave a trail of destruction behind you. JUNK.

Maybe you bought the wrong model for your use.

 

[racecougar]

I also have the Harbor Freight backpack sprayer. I know about how much I need to spray my yard, so I only fill it and mix that amount. I'm usually pretty dang close. When done, I put a bit of water in it, spray it for 30 seconds, then dump the water. I haven't had any issues with it after 5 years now.

Ditto.

 

[roc_on_the_rocks]

I also have the Harbor Freight backpack sprayer. I know about how much I need to spray my yard, so I only fill it and mix that amount. I'm usually pretty dang close. When done, I put a bit of water in it, spray it for 30 seconds, then dump the water. I haven't had any issues with it after 5 years now.

Arm or battery powered?

 

[draco_1967]

Arm or battery powered?

Arm powered

 

[petee_c]

I have about 9000sq ft of grass. I want to spray a liquid iron supplement on it to darken it up some. Just started researching backpack sprayers....

Currently I have a pump style sprayer that holds ~3 gallons. I used it to apply a pre-emergent herbicide maybe 5 yrs back to get rid of a crabgrass infestation. Havent needed to do that since.

I also used it to spray a grub killer once, and it seemed to have gotten rid of that problem.

I do use it to spot spray 24D mix (about 1 gallon) each spring, and it works fine for that.

If I do the iron, I'll likely need to dilute it down to about 10 gallons worth to do the whole lawn. That's a lot of stopping and pumping to get the job done. I'd likely need to do it 3x/yr.

The Ryobi one seems to get poor reviews on YouTube. I do have a whole bunch of Makita 18V tools, but their 4 gallon sprayer is over $400CDN.

 

[PopcornSutton]

Cheap sprayers are the are the luck of the draw. I bought one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/PetraTools-1-Gallon-Pump-Sprayer-Disinfectant/dp/B08QM7Z3SD/?tag=atomicindus08-20

So far works great, definitely better quality than the cheap ones.

 

[Bill T]

I am getting older (69) with a bad back. A few years ago, I gave up on carrying a backpack sprayer. I bought a 12 volt /16 gallon sprayer from Tractor Supply. I made a simple carrier which out of 1" pipe and plywood. I ran the power from the battery (with a fuse) and a weather proof quick connect under the seat. I has about a 15' hose with a good quality spray wand at the discharge.
I can either use the wand as I drive or get off the mower and spray every thing within a 30' circle. Works great for me.
I did install a simple toggle on/off swich near the battery to prevent inadvertant battery drain. See attached photos.

 

[petee_c]

I decided to try the Scotts Dial n Spray.

Got it calibrated to my walking speed, and the max solubility of the iron product I used FeSO4*7H20.

On Setting 15 (They changed the markings on the dial in Canada to be mL/L dispensed) according to the literature.

In my testing I got 400mL to cover roughly 1600sqft on setting 15

Here were my notes for next time:
~9000sqft
828g in 2250mL of hot RO water.
15 on Ortho/Scotts sprayer.

? Try 750g in 2250mL of hot RO water next time. - at the end, dilute remaining Iron chemical in dispenser and continue spraying at 15 setting. when it reaches halfway again, dilute further and spray at a higher setting to get rid of all the chemical.

Could be my imagination, but I have heard that the sprayer dispenses more product when the container is full.... I had spent a bunch of time at the end trying to get rid of the last 200mL out of the container (holds 1000mL) on setting 5... I think diluting the product further and then going willy/nilly over the lawn seems to be the way to get rid of the rest of the product.

The max solubility of Ferrous Sulphate Heptahydrate is about 40g/100mL water at 40C (124F). I had heated the water on the stove to about 150F/50C to dissolve the iron.