SPRAYERS & SPRAYING
Knapsack knowhow –
How to prepare your
sprayers for winter
by Allan Wainwright, National Account Manager, Cooper Pegler and Berthoud sprayers
napsack and handheld sprayers
both have maintenance
demands to keep them
operating sweetly. to take most kinds of liquid and soluble
groundscare products, as are hand-held
units but maintaining crucial parts is
essential.
The knapsack sprayer is overlooked
as a tool despite its importance in
groundscare and it forms part of a
critical aspect of any maintenance
programme. Passing my PA1/PA6 has made me
further aware of the value of visual
checks but like other groundscare
equipment, it’s often what you cannot
see that is as important as what you can.
Spraying serves a vital purpose so why
wouldn’t you want to maintain kit in high
operational standard. That’s why a pre-winter strip down and
maintenance will keep precision parts
primed for next season. It’s always best
to avoid bad habits by getting things
right from day one – and you’ll rarely
spend a more productive half-hour.
K
The traditional March to October
operational window means sprayers
can lay dormant in the shed for several
months – plenty of time for innards to
seize up and make 2020’s first spray a
real bugbear.
It’s far easier to prepare for that first
outing by conducting best practice
before storing sprayers away for winter.
One customer recently informed that
he has just chalked up 20 years use of
his original Cooper Pegler CP15 Classic
diaphragm sprayer. When budgets
are tight, why risk needless outlay on
cheaper equipment, when quality kit will
pass the test of time, if cared for.
Today’s cheap sprayer market is
vast, often with few or no spare parts
available. The upshot is that too many
units end up adding to the waste plastics
mountain.
You’ve paid good money for professional
quality sprayers designed by
professionals – you’ll want maximise
their lifetime.
Working closely with the Amenity
Forum and Lawn Care Association,
I travel the UK and Ireland visiting
customers, owners and operators. For
them, and those planning to enter the
sector, sprayer maintenance forms
an increasingly important element of
training and development.
Sprayers often have to survive heavy
duty but we can overlook them when it
comes to servicing. I feel this is a major
failing and all too often sprayers just
carry on until they pack up then the
complaints start about.
Regular upkeep and care however will
reward you with lasting, trouble-free
operation for this key kit.
Sprayer choice can depend on what you
want to apply and the size of your target
area. Profesional sprayers are designed
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GroundskeepingJournal.co.uk | Sept/Oct 2019