Volume #BFS, Issue #23, Page #36
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Pressurized Yard Sprayer Has Break-Away Booms
Retired engineer and lifelong tinkerer Tony Bunniss built a pressurized lawn sprayer to make treating his large lawn easier.
“I believe that it’s fairly unique,” says Bunniss. “The sprayer is 10 ft. wide, but even at that width, if the tractor fits between two trees, the sprayer follows with no problem because the spray arms pivot back if they hit an obstacle such as a tree or post.”
Building this sprayer was fairly simple. Bunniss rebuilt a small 3-ft. sprayer he bought years ago by replacing the weathered hoses and adding new paint, gauges, valves, a hand sprayer, a coiled hose, and new spray tips. Other additions included a drainpipe and valve on the liquid tank to make it easier to flush out when the spraying was finished.
The sprayer is powered by air pressure, which is supplied by a portable tank onto which Bunniss attached a 125 lb. relief valve. This holds enough air to spray two tanks of liquid. Everything on the sprayer is designed for variable spraying rates. The pressure, tips that you use, and the speed you are spraying, are all factors when determining how much weed spray you want to use per acre.
The spray tips he uses are color-coded for quicker decision-making. Says Bunniss, “I usually use the yellow tips at 20 psi, which will put down about 5 gals. per acre at 8 mph, which is wide open with my Deere 420 garden tractor.”
The fill port on the top of the tank is also Bunniss’ invention. He designed it with safety in mind so the liquid tank can’t be pressurized unless the filler plug is locked in, and the iron lock is over the top of the plug. After spraying is done, the tank, hose, tips, and sprayer are flushed with clean water. Next, the drain ball valve under the tank is opened so the water drains out. Bunniss always tries to leave it in the sun to dry out at this point.
The liquid tank was salvaged from an old air compressor, and he uses the air tank for filling flat tires (the bungee cord attachments make it easy to take on and off).
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Tony Bunniss, Webster, Minn. (glennlee1964@gofast.am).


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Volume #BFS, Issue #23