Your Weed Sprayer - Even the Little Stuff Matters

Your weed sprayer makes you money. If it is running. If your weed control sprayer is down for repairs, it is costing you money. It is important that you are aware of where your downtime risks are on your weed spray rig.

This photo of a weed spray trailer is a good example:

The mechanic for a local government agency called us to look at a weed spray trailer he was having problems with. His purchasing department went low bid and bought the sprayer you see here.

There were many problems with this weed sprayer. The one that scared me most was the cheap plastic fittings under the trailer. In order to get the cost down, the manufacturer used cheap plastic fittings below the spray trailer.

If or when one of these fittings crack (think summer heat, bad roads, debris on roads, etc.), the entire contents of the tank will spill. There is no way to shut it off. You've just dumped 200 gallons of herbicide on a public street. Can you say evening news?

When purchasing a weed control sprayer, it it important to know everything you are getting. If you already have the sprayer, do a thorough inspection so you know what you have. If you see weak points or risk factors, fix them. The cost and time involved in a chemical spill cleanup are much greater than the cost of buying right the first time or fixing it before you have a problem.

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