Homemade Hi-Boy Berry Sprayer
A.J. MacArthur can spray the sides of raspberry canes or over the top of strawberries and other crops with his homemade hi-boy. The sprayer handles strawberries on 8-ft. centers and raspberries on 10-ft. centers equally well. With 25 acres of berries getting sprayed 8 or 9 times each season and parcels up to 7 miles apart, MacArthur’s sprayer is perfect.
“I can do 12 rows of strawberries at a time with the two, 20-ft. wings and 10-ft. centers, or switch to the vertical booms and spray both sides of one row of raspberry canes and one side of the two neighboring rows,” says MacArthur. “With electric-over-hydraulic valves, I can shut off individual booms. In the case of the vertical booms, I can shut off either the left or right sides of either boom so I am only spraying one row or one side of a row.”
When he decided to build his own sprayer with the help of his dad Jerry, he wanted one he could move between fields easily. He also wanted a cab.
“A very light wind can put the spray over the operator without a cab,” says MacArthur. “I wanted to be inside.”
MacArthur started with an older Owatonna self-propelled mower/conditioner unit with hydrostatic drive for infinite speed control. The Owatonna was equipped with a cab and air conditioning. He stripped away the mower unit, including the pto drive. This allowed him to lower the cab by about a foot. He also added legs so he could straddle the raspberry rows.
“We hung the machine in the shop at the height we wanted and cut out 12 to 14-in. circles of steel to which the wheel motors attached,” says MacArthur. “We used 5-in. wide, 1/2-in. thick steel strap to make legs for the 2 wheel motors.”
MacArthur started heating each length of steel strap and bending it while in a vise. Once he had them partially bent, he welded one end in place to the frame and continued heating and bending to get the shape he wanted. He then welded the other end to the frame and welded a piece of 3/8-in. steel plate at the back of the bottom of the curve.
“I welded the wheel motor plates to the steel plates on the legs,” explains MacArthur. “We also cut away the rear swivel wheels and remounted them to 5-ft. long steel tubes made out of 4-in. wide, 1/2-in. thick steel strap.”
With the cab lowered, MacArthur revised the driveshaft on the engine, adding a pulley for the sprayer pump and one for the air conditioner, which had been relocated. He also trimmed the hood on the engine, leaving room between it and the cab for a 200-gal. spray tank.
MacArthur made a boom frame with 1-in. black pipe and mounted it to the header lift arms. A hydraulic cylinder at the ends of the center section deploys the side booms. Shock absorbers were added to each section.
Two 5-ft. boomlets attached to the center section can be released to pivot and hang from the corners. Separate spray lines feed spray tips mounted to either side of the vertical booms. Valves control each side of each vertical boom, as they do each section of the horizontal boom.
“The electric-over-hydraulic switches are mounted above the steering wheel for easy access,” says MacArthur. “Before I added them, it was difficult to control the valves and the steering at the same time.”
He also added a clean water tank to the rear of the sprayer, making it easy to clean out booms and spray tips. A hitch made from 2-in., heavy wall, steel pipe is mounted to the rear wheel legs. To move the sprayer quickly between fields, MacArthur drops the hitch into place on his truck and locks the drive wheels in freewheeling position.
“I spent about $10,000 on the Owatonna and several thousand more on parts,” says MacArthur. “It was worth it. It is challenging finding something that will fit different bed sizes.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, A.J. MacArthur, 1150 Salina Rd., Lachine, Mich. 49753 (ph 989 379-3061; ajsberryfarm@gmail.com; www.ajsberryfarm.com).
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Homemade Hi-Boy Berry Sprayer SPRAYING Miscellaneous A J MacArthur can spray the sides of raspberry canes or over the top of strawberries and other crops with his homemade hi-boy The sprayer handles strawberries on 8-ft centers and raspberries on 10-ft centers equally well With 25 acres of berries getting sprayed 8 or 9 times each season and parcels up to 7 miles apart MacArthur’s sprayer is perfect “I can do 12 rows of strawberries at a time with the two 20-ft wings and 10-ft centers or switch to the vertical booms and spray both sides of one row of raspberry canes and one side of the two neighboring rows ” says MacArthur “With electric-over-hydraulic valves I can shut off individual booms In the case of the vertical booms I can shut off either the left or right sides of either boom so I am only spraying one row or one side of a row ” When he decided to build his own sprayer with the help of his dad Jerry he wanted one he could move between fields easily He also wanted a cab “A very light wind can put the spray over the operator without a cab ” says MacArthur “I wanted to be inside ” MacArthur started with an older Owatonna self-propelled mower/conditioner unit with hydrostatic drive for infinite speed control The Owatonna was equipped with a cab and air conditioning He stripped away the mower unit including the pto drive This allowed him to lower the cab by about a foot He also added legs so he could straddle the raspberry rows “We hung the machine in the shop at the height we wanted and cut out 12 to 14-in circles of steel to which the wheel motors attached ” says MacArthur “We used 5-in wide 1/2-in thick steel strap to make legs for the 2 wheel motors ” MacArthur started heating each length of steel strap and bending it while in a vise Once he had them partially bent he welded one end in place to the frame and continued heating and bending to get the shape he wanted He then welded the other end to the frame and welded a piece of 3/8-in steel plate at the back of the bottom of the curve “I welded the wheel motor plates to the steel plates on the legs ” explains MacArthur “We also cut away the rear swivel wheels and remounted them to 5-ft long steel tubes made out of 4-in wide 1/2-in thick steel strap ” With the cab lowered MacArthur revised the driveshaft on the engine adding a pulley for the sprayer pump and one for the air conditioner which had been relocated He also trimmed the hood on the engine leaving room between it and the cab for a 200-gal spray tank MacArthur made a boom frame with 1-in black pipe and mounted it to the header lift arms A hydraulic cylinder at the ends of the center section deploys the side booms Shock absorbers were added to each section Two 5-ft boomlets attached to the center section can be released to pivot and hang from the corners Separate spray lines feed spray tips mounted to either side of the vertical booms Valves control each side of each vertical boom as they do each section of the horizontal boom “The electric-over-hydraulic switches are mounted above the steering wheel for easy access ” says MacArthur “Before I added them it was difficult to control the valves and the steering at the same time ” He also added a clean water tank to the rear of the sprayer making it easy to clean out booms and spray tips A hitch made from 2-in heavy wall steel pipe is mounted to the rear wheel legs To move the sprayer quickly between fields MacArthur drops the hitch into place on his truck and locks the drive wheels in freewheeling position “I spent about $10 000 on the Owatonna and several thousand more on parts ” says MacArthur “It was worth it It is challenging finding something that will fit different bed sizes ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup A J MacArthur 1150 Salina Rd Lachine Mich 49753 ph 989 379-3061; ajsberryfarm@gmail com; www ajsberryfarm com
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