Think About Maintenance When Designing Your Pest Control Sprayer

Pest Control Sprayer - Maintenance Matters

A new customer brought his pest control spray rig for service.  The pump wasn't working and he wanted our pest control equipment repair shop to rebuild his pump.

He had built the pest control sprayer himself and had done a reasonably good job.  With one exception.  He didn't think about maintenance while he was designing and building his pest spray rig.

The photo below shows the problem. There is no shut off valve on the suction line to the pump.  This means that the pump cannot be removed for service, without dumping the chemical out of the tank.  

It also means the tech could not check his filter when there was water in the tank.

We were not able to rebuild this guy's pump.  

If we had removed the pump to rebuild it, the product would have drained out of the tank until it got down to the level at the bottom of the tank penetration.  

We had to tell him he would have to empty the tank before we could service the pump.  Since he was having a pump issue, emptying the tank was definitely going to be a problem.  

I am not sure how he did it or if he came back with the tank empty.

We have no issue with a guy (or girl) building their own pest spray rig.  We are happy to sell you the parts.  

It is critical to think about maintenance BEFORE the time comes when that maintenance is critical.

Some ideas:

- Think about which parts will require maintenance

- Ask where you can purchase these parts (so you are not down waiting for parts)

- Make sure the parts that require maintenance are easily accessible when the sprayer is installed in the vehicle

- Consider standardizing equipment to make maintenance easier, faster, cheaper.

- Preventative maintenance is cheaper and faster than repairs during busy season

- Keep commonly used parts on hand to reduce down time.

Hope this helps.