SPRAYERS & SPRAYING
Preparing for winter
This is your annual maintenance check remember so it pays
to proceed carefully to ensure you pick up any faults. Our
sprayers are straightforward to dismantle but best choose
a flat surface like a benchtop to conduct the check to allow
you to lay out everything in an orderly manner, ready for
reassembly.
any signs of wear or fraying as these distribute sprayer weight
more evenly over the body.
Once you have rebuilt the unit, and conducted a visual dry check,
test for leaks by wet checking – part-filling and pressurising the
sprayer with water then triggering to ensure there are no leaks.
The Sustainable Use Directive requires that hand-held sprayers
are checked regularly and a record kept accordingly.
The National Sprayers Testing Scheme (NSTS) gives clear
guidance on keeping sprayers working safely and efficiently. I
provide service labels for I operators to stick to sprayer bodies
after maintenance checks are completed, which confirm
inspection date and who conducted the checks.
For the pre-winter maintenance, strip the sprayer down to
constituent parts, dismantling and checking the diaphragm,
O-rings and all seals for signs of perishing or cracking.
Replace any of these if required.
The type of rubber used depends on the chemicals you’re
applying and these can vary enormously. Viton resistant
seals must be checked for wear to prevent leakage that
could harm both operator and environment.
High-resistant glassfibre reinforced plastic (GRP) lances are
vulnerable in a different way. I’ve known ones be trodden on
or driven over and snapped or cracked so keep them clear of
mechanical mishaps.
Sprayer maintenance is all a matter of commonsense. That said,
guidance on how to best conduct regular inspections and the
annual winter strip down helps operators and trainers deliver
best practice.
My policy is to heighten customer service and support for an
aspect of groundscare that needs prioritising. Our presence at
trade events and a developing programme of training videos and
support material will help that process.
www.cooper-pegler.com
www.berthoud-store.co.uk
Rinsing sprayers thoroughly with clean water after every use
is paramount – triple rinsing if you last applied pesticides.
You can expect our sprayers to run trouble-free from the
get-go but if I do hear of any problems, it’s usually after
the first or second use and probably resulting from failure
to test the product first. Given the number of sprayers we
produce annually, the occasional loose screw is bound to
occur
Sprayer moving parts that come in for most wear and
tear include triggers, where constant friction can erode
elements. Strip them down gradually, checking each part
as you proceed. Our trigger includes a filter, so look for any
collected debris that will impede functionality and rinse
clean.
When reassembling the unit, seals will benefit from a small
layer of a water repellent grease, this aids the process and
adds a further protective barrier.
With typically 15-20l capacity, knapsack sprayers can place
a heavy burden on the back. Operator comfort and safety is
vital - inspect padded shoulder, waist and chest straps for
GroundskeepingJournal.co.uk | Sept/Oct 2019
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