Power Sprayers - How to Anticipate & Prevent Problems

This power sprayer was damaged because of poor design and technician carelessness. The technician tossed the spray gun into the truck bed. Because of poor design, the plastic fitting cracked, and 50 gallons pesticides spilled. See photo below.

This problem could have been prevented.

Here are key points:

1. Technicians need to be smart about their equipment. Pest control spray equipment is not to be thrown about like a beach ball. If the technician had to pay for damage, it would not occur as frequently.

2. Don't buy crappy power sprayers. This sprayer used a plastic fitting in a critical place. This saves money up front, but as you can see it costs money in the long run.

3. Proper valving can reducing spills. If there was a valve at the bottom of the tank, the tech could have closed the valve, and reduced the severity of the spill by a lot.

Here is a photo of how it should be done properly:

As you can see, all brass fittings are used, then a ball valve to allow the technician to shut off chemical flow to reduce the spill.

4. Just because a power sprayer has a cheap purchase price, doesn't mean it will save you money. I am not for wasting money, but there are places to save money and places not to save money.

5. When buying a power sprayer it is important to know who you are dealing with and what you are getting. Many buyers focus only on key components (engine, reel, pump, etc.). They don't worry about less important parts like fittings. As you can see in this example, saving a few dollars on the purchase was not worth it.

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