# Boom or boomless for small farm



## Edd in KY (Jul 16, 2009)

I would like your experienced opinion. I have been hiring my spraying done by a local spay company and they do a good job, but I get wedged in between the big jobs so I don't always get optimum weather or timing. I also have lots of animals to move out of small paddocks to allow for the rig which does not work well. So I have been spraying small pastures/paddocks with a 12' boom sprayer 25 gal. tank. I works fine but it is slow going. The farm is just 40 acres, all pastures or hay.

I'm considering going to a bigger setup, and bigger tank and 30 ft boom....but boomless would be much easier to move through gates and store. But the concerns about spray control, windy days and overlap makes me wonder which way to go.

I welcome your experienced input.


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## ozarkian (Dec 11, 2010)

Edd in KY said:


> I would like your experienced opinion. I have been hiring my spraying done by a local spay company and they do a good job, but I get wedged in between the big jobs so I don't always get optimum weather or timing. I also have lots of animals to move out of small paddocks to allow for the rig which does not work well. So I have been spraying small pastures/paddocks with a 12' boom sprayer 25 gal. tank. I works fine but it is slow going. The farm is just 40 acres, all pastures or hay.
> 
> I'm considering going to a bigger setup, and bigger tank and 30 ft boom....but boomless would be much easier to move through gates and store. But the concerns about spray control, windy days and overlap makes me wonder which way to go.
> 
> I welcome your experienced input.


I really like using boomless sprayers for spraying pastures (grazing land). Ease of use and spray effectiveness for weeds are hard to beat with boomless. I use boomed sprayers for crop land or burn down applications.


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## NewBerlinBaler (May 30, 2011)

I considered getting my own sprayer a few years ago - never did - but the wind issue led me to quickly rule out a boomless unit. My land is atop a ridge and when it's breezy, which is often, I can't even safely use a backpack sprayer. I couldn't imagine using a boomless sprayer under those conditions.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Only thing I use a boomless for is spraying the railroad right away and only if I can drive into the wind while doing it.


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## SCtrailrider (May 1, 2016)

I'm a small acreage place myself, I use a 20' 3 piece boom & 100 gallon 3pt tank.. it's the best for me.. easy to mix enough and spray 3-4ac at a time.. the 2 outside booms fold up and with the switcher I can use the left, center right or all 3 ... It's a older Myers sprayer, I don't think they make it anymore but I haven't needed parts yet knock on wood... it also has a plug I keep a garden hose screwed t, crank the psi up to 100 + and it will spray a stream 40', great for places I can't get close enough to...


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## glasswrongsize (Sep 15, 2015)

I am going to assume ATV? The 12' booms wouldn't be as constricting as the 25 gal tank in my opinion. For me, I would spend way too much time going back to water to mix another tank. I have a 50 gal sprayer (home brew) for my ATV with 16' boom. Considering adding to each side to make it 23' worth of boom. I want the extra width, not so much for the speed of spraying, but for making less tracks/passes. 50 gallon is about my comfort level for my ATV.
Right now, I'm spraying at 12 acres per hour (based on width and speed), but I can only spray 5 acres between fill-ups. It would only take you <5 hours to spray your whole 40 acres (at 6 mph with your 12' booms), but at a rate of 10 GPA, you would have to fill up/mix the 25 gal tank 16 times!
**IF** it takes you 20 minutes to stop spraying, drive back to water, mix another tank, return to the spot in the field, and resume spraying...you would spend MORE time fetching spray than spraying.

I know it's not either of the choices you presented, but I thought it worth mentioning; since your main goal appears to be to speed the process, a larger tank would help considerably.


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## chaded (May 13, 2018)

glasswrongsize said:


> I am going to assume ATV? The 12' booms wouldn't be as constricting as the 25 gal tank in my opinion. For me, I would spend way too much time going back to water to mix another tank. I have a 50 gal sprayer (home brew) for my ATV with 16' boom. Considering adding to each side to make it 23' worth of boom. I want the extra width, not so much for the speed of spraying, but for making less tracks/passes. 50 gallon is about my comfort level for my ATV.
> Right now, I'm spraying at 12 acres per hour (based on width and speed), but I can only spray 5 acres between fill-ups. It would only take you <5 hours to spray your whole 40 acres (at 6 mph with your 12' booms), but at a rate of 10 GPA, you would have to fill up/mix the 25 gal tank 16 times!
> **IF** it takes you 20 minutes to stop spraying, drive back to water, mix another tank, return to the spot in the field, and resume spraying...you would spend MORE time fetching spray than spraying.
> I know it's not either of the choices you presented, but I thought it worth mentioning; since your main goal appears to be to speed the process, a larger tank would help considerably.


I have started looking into this for myself and after doing the math that is the conclusion I have come to....tank is too small. My problem is I have about 12-16 acres of pasture where the terrain is not good for a tractor but I can easily do it on an atv so I don't have much of a choice it looks like.


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## Edd in KY (Jul 16, 2009)

Glasswrongsize....you nailed it. I spend all my time refilling. I actually have the sprayer on a 3 pt set up but it is a 25gal tank, electric pump. I bought it to spray fence rows, but have started spraying small 1 or 2 acre paddocks. The tank is the restriction, but if I add a bigger tank then the rest of the rig will be the restriction. So I am trying to decide how to upgrade to a larger tank and (boom or boomless) spray rig.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

I bought one once, a femco? Purty good little sprayer with boom arms and about 80 gal maybe 100 gal idk....it was about $700 and had a roller pump that was powered by the pto. Nice little rig for the money....


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

I use a boomless to spray fence lines. But I worry about drift.

Ralph


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## swall01 (Jun 10, 2018)

Ive got the same femco, 3pt, 30ft,100gal that dawg mentioned. bought it about 3 years ago from TSC. works like a champ for my hay and grazing needs which total about 70acres. fill the roller pump with oil after the season to prevent siezing. use amonia to clean tank/lines/pump/nozles after each use. i would steer away from boomless. yes they are a LOT easier but if you kill someone elses stuff from drift just once, you will have spent more than the cost difference.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

A couple of years ago I started using the TeeJet Drift Guard Flat Fan nozzle tips(DG8002). This allowed me to reduce water application greatly from about 20 gallons per acre to 10 gallons per acre without suffering any detectable efficiency in herbicide application results. I get the same kill in spraying.

I now run at 5mph and 30psi. This is a heavier(medium) droplet without the fine misting that is so prone to drift.

The best part is I can cover close to 20 acres without filling with my 200 gallon 3 point sprayer. TeeJet has a handy application chart that you can carry with you in case you get into a area that you cannot run at 5mph. Then you can determine what speed you can operate on and then use the chart for adjustments. This is great for me whether I am spraying flatter fields or upland hills. Best choice I have made for general grass/alfalfa field type spraying.

These nozzles are on page 15 of the following link.

http://www.teejet.com/literature_pdfs/catalogs/C51A/broadcast_nozzles.pdf#page=6

Regards, Mike


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

One of my neighbors uses a boomless sprayer and he sprays his river bottom with it that I can see from my house in the distance. I have noticed that when the wind is blowing at 5mph+ that he gets a very poor kill on buttercup etc. Just a few weeks after he sprays in the spring, I can see buttercup blooming from about 3/4 mile away. But, he may not have something adjusted right....he is a bit peculiar.

Regards, Mike


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## SCtrailrider (May 1, 2016)

Nice Mike !

I may purchase a set of these for next year, the ones in my Myers are brass flat fan now, I may be able to reduce the amount per ac I apply and get better coverage ..


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## pede58 (Oct 27, 2015)

Drift is not a problem with most boomless nozzles, they tend to have very course droplets, wind however does wreak havoc with coverage as the outer reach gets distorted fairly easily, you have to increase overlap. I have 100gal tank, 12v pump on my UTV with 2 nozzles that can throw product 34ft, good coverage to 25ft, I spray 10gal per acre at 10mph. Over the years I've played with several different nozzles, plastic wear out way to fast, brass as well but not as fast, I've gone to stainless steel Boominator brand, expensive but will be the last you ever buy.


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## swall01 (Jun 10, 2018)

Like Vol said the Teejet nozzles are real good and the chart is handy. I run AIXR nozzles a couple pages higher in the same PDF. I switch betwen blue and yellow depending on rate needed. Definately stay in the "green" (very coarse) or better and you wont have to worry about drift. Rider is spot on with plastic wear. when i start over (purchase) on nozzles, i'm gonna go with the AI which is the same style with the stainless inserts.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

It is hard to beat the stainless inserts that come in the the Drift Guard nozzles like I use. They seem to be easier to unplug also by blowing out with water pressure if you have one get a obstruction.

Regards, Mike


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## Troy Farmer (Jul 31, 2011)

Vol said:


> A couple of years ago I started using the TeeJet Drift Guard Flat Fan nozzle tips(DG8002). This allowed me to reduce water application greatly from about 20 gallons per acre to 10 gallons per acre without suffering any detectable efficiency in herbicide application results. I get the same kill in spraying.
> 
> I now run at 5mph and 30psi. This is a heavier(medium) droplet without the fine misting that is so prone to drift.
> 
> ...


Excellent info Vol! I will be obtaining a set!


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## StxPecans (Mar 3, 2018)

I made up a 300 gallon sprayer with boomless nozzles. And its ok but drift for me is an issue. Anything over 40psi makes alot of drift. Then over 5mph wind it sprays more to one side than the other.. without gps its a crapshoot on overlap. 
Withthe price of chemicals it doesnt take long to waste money without accurate rate control. 
Ijust drove cross country to get the best cheapest pull type boom sprayer i could find. I couldnt use gps as i have too many trees so i found one with foam marker.
Buying a boom 3k, foam marker is 1500 new. It adds up.
I have no clue how yall use roller pumps, on a boomless sprayer they hardly make enough pressure. Little to no agitation.
I will still use my boomless sprayer for driving through really rough stuff or tall brush. Also it has a big 35gpm diaphragm pump and i have a good handgun to spray trees on fencelines and such. But for pure pasture spraying i tryed the boomless as i really didnt want to spend any money(had all the parts to make the boomless layong around). After 50 acres and poor coverage i needed somthing better. 
Plus a good boom sprayer you can put out nitrogen.


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