Backpack Sprayers: Increase Productivity & Longevity

Here are some quick tips to help you select, use and maintain your backpack sprayer for maximum productivity.

1. Start with Quality Equipment. 

Ask questions before you buy so you are not surprised later.

What is the warranty? Good equipment has good warranties. Professional grade backpacks should have minimum 1-year warranties.

What service is likely and what parts will be needed? Don’t wait for equipment failure to think about maintenance. NOTE: If replacement parts are not available it’s a throwaway.

Are multiple tips or wands available? The availability of multiple tips and wands can expand the usefulness of the backpack to more applications.

2. Understand Correct Operating Procedures. 

Proper landscape backpack sprayer use is critical for good productivity. If you have staff, make sure they are properly trained.

Release the pressure. Don’t store your backpack under pressure. This will reduce the life of soft parts like O-rings and gaskets and can be particularly costly during a deep freeze (see next point).

Don’t expose your sprayer to freezing temperatures. Freeze damage can be expensive.

For electric backpacks with lithium batteries, extended exposure to extreme cold or heat should be avoided.

Don’t over pump manual backpacks. If it doesn’t spray properly, continued pumping may damage the sprayer. Seek help.

Be sure your backpack is properly secured on the vehicle. Loose equipment equals damaged equipment which means downtime and repair expense.

3. Perform regular maintenance. 

Don’t wait for equipment failure.

Regularly clean out your weed control backpack sprayer by running clean water through it. Nothing good ever came from chemical buildup in a sprayer.

Check and clean the sprayer filter. Clogged filters equal downtime.

Replace worn tips. Worn tips apply more chemical. More chemical costs more than a new tip. Keeping an extra tip in the vehicle is a good idea.

Perform preventative maintenance during slow periods or off-season. Your equipment manual will have more information on this. PM usually involves tearing the equipment down, cleaning it, and replacing soft parts (gaskets, o-rings, etc.) and any other worn parts.

One last point is to assign a backpack sprayer to a specific individual, then hold him/her accountable for the equipment and make sure they know that you want them to report problems immediately rather than living with leaks, etc.

Backpack sprayers are critical to your Company’s success. Invest the time to train employees and properly maintain your equipment. Follow up to ensure it gets done. This will keep employees productive and on schedule, your customers happy and repair expenses to a minimum.