Back in the day, farmers filled a sprayer with 200 gallons of spray mix, used a simple chart that told them what speed to drive and what spray pressure to maintain when using a specific spray nozzle, and they sprayed their crops. For all the computerized complexity of modern self-propelled or pull-type sprayers, that’s the same principle used today. Diagnosing problems with sprayers is theoretically simple even though modern sprayers can be mechanically complex.
Everything is related to how fast the sprayer is going, pressure or flow rate through the pump and nozzles, and the width of the spray boom. Any time something malfunctions, think of those three basic inputs and back-track the symptoms to diagnose the guilty component.
If gallons per acre (rate) are inaccurate: what could be impeding or reducing flow? Low rate could be due to plugged strainers or filters restricting flow to the pump, or flow between the pump and nozzles. High flow rate hints of worn spray tips or inaccurate inputs from the pressure sensor or flowmeter. If you can switch the system from automatic rate control to manual rate control (where you designate a specific pressure or rate) and the rate is steady and accurate on manual control, that implies the pump, strainers, filters, etc. are okay, and that the problem is in a component in the automatic rate control system. That means either the ground speed sensor, the pressure/flowmeter sensor, or the actual computerized controller is the source of the problem.
Read the full article on Agweb.com
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