How to Maintain Your Tow-Behind Sprayer

Using a tow behind sprayer makes gardening and lawn care easier, especially if you have a large property. A good quality tow-behind sprayer will not only cut down time spent on caring for your lawn and garden. It also helps to cut down the chances of exposure to harmful and toxic chemicals.

How to Maintain Your Tow-Behind Sprayer

Nonetheless, to make the most of it, you have to know how to maintain your tow-behind sprayer. After all, you don’t want your chemicals to mix and contaminant each other or the spraying nozzles to be blocked and reduce their working efficiency.

Here’s how you can thoroughly care for and maintain your tow-behind sprayer from the comfort of your home.

What to Look For When Caring For a Sprayer

Caring for your tow behind sprayer goes beyond a simple wash. You have to ensure it functions properly and has no damages. Thus, in addition to washing, maintenance involves visual inspection and mechanical inspection.

Visual inspection

Visual inspection involves checking the critical parts of your tow behind sprayer, including the hoses, filters, and inside of the tank. When you check the hose, focus your examination around the hose connections and fittings. Make sure none of these parts have any cuts or slits. Next, move to the filters. Make certain the filters are always clean and free of dust.

In this case, you will have to unscrew the filter from time to time. If you notice any dust or dirt build-up, make sure to clean out the dust. When done, move to the inside of the tank, focusing your attention on the lid and interior.

Makes sure the sprayer is free of dirt, contaminants, insects, or any other debris.

When you are done, fill the sprayer with water and test it out to confirm it doesn’t have any leaks.

Mechanical Inspection

The mechanical step primarily focuses on the inspection of the engine. If you have a gas motor, check the oil to ensure it is still viscose and at the right level. This test is conducted the same way you would with your vehicle.

Sprayer Maintenance

In addition to the basic checks, a tow behind sprayer requires maintenance before and after every use. Here’s how to maintain your sprayer every time you use it.

Before Initial Use

Before your initial use, you have to ensure all the essential parts of your sprayer work perfectly.  These include the hose, fittings, and filters.  Open up the filters to ensure they are clean and with no dust.

Do the same for the interior of the tank. When done, fill out the sprayer with water and test it. You shouldn’t notice any leakage around the hose or fitting. If the hoses leak, they may be tears, cracks, or slits. If the leakage is around the fittings, they may be loose or broken.

Daily Before & After Use

How to Maintain Your Tow-Behind Sprayer

After initial use, from there on, simply check to ensure your sprayer is clean in the interior and filter before using it. When you are done using the sprayer,  make sure you thoroughly clean it.  Start by emptying the sprayer with the leftover solutions and chemicals.

Next, fill the tank with clean water and discard the water at least twice to clear out the chemicals. To ensure every part of the sprayer is thoroughly cleaned, flush out the water through the pump, hose, and nozzles. This will clear out any chemical remnants and prevent future contamination.

Monthly care

In addition to the daily checks when using a sprayer, it requires monthly maintenance. During your monthly maintenance, you are to check the sprayer parts. First, start by checking the filter. If it is dirty, you may have to clean it by spraying it with a pressure washer. If the filter is too soiled, you may have to change the filter. Next, check the spray nozzles and ensure they perform well.

Check your sprayer manual to determine how efficient your nozzle should function (how much it sprays per minute at a certain pressure).

To check your nozzle, set it to the spraying pressure you want. Place a small bucket underneath the nozzle and add water to run it through the spray nozzle. Run the water for a minute.  When done, compare the amount of water in the bucket with the sprayer nozzle’s manual chart. If your spray nozzle doesn’t spray more than 10% of the suggested output, it’s time to replace the nozzles.

Before Winter

Before winter, you have to prep your tow-behind sprayer.  Preparing your sprayer for winter helps to preserve its longevity and durability. Here’s how you should winterize your tow-behind sprayer:

After using the sprayer before winter, drain all the chemicals.

Next, blow out the plumbing lines and flush the sprayer with anti-freeze.

Store your tow-behind sprayer in your shed or garage before the subsequent use during winter.

Before Spring

As the end of winter approaches, it is time to prepare your sprayer for spring. Preparing your tow-behind sprayer for spring involves very simple and straightforward steps. Here’s how to do it:

Do a visual inspection on the parts – Clean them if they need cleaning or change them if they have significant damage or wear.

Use clean water to wash the interior of the tank, getting rid of any chemical or solution remnants.

Check the engine, focusing your examination on the parts and oil. If the oil level is low or loses its viscosity, it’s time to change it. Additionally, check the sprayer’s pump to ensure it works properly.

Next, check to ensure the nozzles work properly and clean them. Do a nozzle test to check if they maintain their recommended spraying capacity. If they spray less than 10% of the recommended output, replace them.

Lastly, fill out the water through the sprayer, run it through, and test the sprayer.

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