Clean out a pump up herbicide sprayer

[schiker]

I usually spray glysophosate and 2-4-D from a 5 gal backpack sprayer and various 1 or 2-1/2 gallon sprayers depending on need. What do you clean yours with?

I usually just rinse the tank with fresh water a couple of times then fill with a bit of water and spray til fresh water comes out. But The handle/valve(s) still get a bit of sticktion to them with age (and residue?).

Is there any better thing to clean them out with. I have been thinking a quart of water and drop of dawn dish soap shake, spray, then rinse and spray out clean water. I also thought of using a bit of Murphy's oil soap instead of dish soap. Or would Simple Green be better or other?

I found googling one website listed use detergent for glysophosate and 2-4-D. But it did not recommend type or method.

I have taken the valves apart and not much too them and have lubed them with silicone and a Teflon oil but both wash/wear away quickly. Thinking of trying a bit of synthetic grease like Super-Lube if I can find some. What do ya'll do for valve lube maintenance?

 

[btfarm]

Simple green for cleaning after triple rinse and a drop or 2 of Super Lube (you can get it on line - or at least I did a few years ago) in the pump bore and white food grade grease on all O-rings.

 

[jrsavoie]

Where are good places to get food grade grease? I need a tube.

 

[btfarm]

Where are good places to get food grade grease? I need a tube.

Grainger has some

 

[schiker]

This is what I am going to try

http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3506761


Multi purpose lubricant w/Syncolon (PTFE)
Prevents rust & corrosion while reducing friction
Repels dirt, dust, grit and grime
Dielectric
Impervious to salt water
USDA authorized, rated H-1
Temperature range -45F to +450F
Clear, non-toxic


Hit and miss to find local though. My local ace has a few left and a Harbor Freight not too far has 1 tube so next time out near either I am going to try and pick some up.

 

[SnowDrift]

Never used anything but pure water to clean up the same sprayer that I bought in '00. Might be worth me trying a new method, though. Grease on the O-rings sounds like a good idea.

This year, I'm trying to ban glyphosate from our place and have switched to vinegar. I was surprised at how fast the burn down was. The grass I sprayed was black by the end of the day and the weeds were pale - as in the green had left the leaves. We'll see how it goes - only sprayed 2 gallons worth, but I wanted to get a test going before I spent more time with it.

 

[NVW]

Did you use pure vinegar or a dilution? Some add salt to the mix, I don't know how much though.

 

[schiker]

Just yesterday someone mentioned Vinegar (not sure of kind of vinegar) and Salt and something else I thought. I will have to google it maybe it was coca cola ? Not sure of recipe. Isn't Glysophospate a kind of salt?

We get a variety of Dandelion here (False Dandelion?)and I have dusted some with baking soda and killed some but didn't look at the economics of it. Just tried it to see if it would work don't remember it hurting the grass but could have. It turned the False ? Dandelions black within a couple of hours.

Just a hunch but I bet the glysophosate kills the root better not just the greenery??? Do keep us posted.

 

[schiker]

Nope it was Dawn dish soap I think not coca cola.

Haven't tried it yet but baking soda and confectionary sugar 50/50 mixed together is suppose to kill fireants. Supposedly their stomach acid reacts with the baking soda and they pop. Same reaction that makes the kids volcano mixing vinegar and baking soda.

 

[btfarm]

Soap is used as a surfactant to keep the solution from running off the target foliage but only in a small dosage. Soap will close the pores of the plant and suffocate it. 1 drop/quart is a common mixture.

 

[SnowDrift]

I used pure vinegar and added a few tablespoons of dish soap to try to help the vinegar stick to the leaves better. Probably should use more soap next time. Salt is a good idea as long as it's around a building or something. Most of mine gets sprayed around trees and such, so I don't have to trim around them, so no salt for me. I'd like to do it in the driveway, though, to eliminate those.

 

[schiker]

I googled it some and read one decent article that sounded good. Vinegar has been used for a while as it's acid is the killer, salt helps improves lethality in shade or cooler temps, and soap is a surfactant. Mixes and recipe vary a little and hardy plants need strong concentration. One article said most plants recovered so it's like I thought it kills the " greenery". It works best on broadleaf plants in the sun. If root is established it will probably come back.

 

[SnowDrift]

yup, it's not a full burn down like glyphosate, but I hear on an almost daily basis about how nasty the glyphosate is, so I'm trying to get away from the estrogen mimicers. I'll have to re-spray, but had to do the same with roundup on occasion. We are in a high agriculture area and seeds are always blowing around everywhere - bare ground just gives a place for weeds to re-populate.

 

[jmack91z28]

I've always ran clean water through my 16 gallon sprayer on my 4 wheeler. A tablespoon of vegetable oil a couple times a year helps to keep the seals and o rings lubricated as well as the pump itself - 12v electric.

I've never been one to be on the anti-monsanto train. I've looked a lot into glyphosate. Personally I don't see any harm with using it. From what I've read it has a clinging agent, so it can't even be absorbed into the soil. It also has a half life of like 2 weeks once it hits the soil. So in my opinion it can't possibly get into the aquifer below.

SnowDrift, is vinegar easier and cheaper to deal with for keeping fence lines sprayed back and what not? I'm all about cheaper and efficient. If vinegar works just as well and is cheaper, then I'm all for it you know?

 

[SnowDrift]

I like the vegetable oil idea. Good call. I've got a little 25g I tow behind the mower and I'll plan to try that next season. How much water is in with the tbsp. of oil when you do this?

Vinegar was not cheaper and it's not something I would say would be a good solution in high volumes like fence rows and such. I ended up using glyphosate in the driveway this summer, just because we had some really stubborn weeds that the vinegar wasn't burning down. I hated it in every way because I do, indeed, despise the chemical (and Monsanto). If I could buy vinegar really cheap, I would use it exclusively and just use it more often, but we had so much rain this year that I couldn't keep ahead of it.

The glyphosate is absorbed into the soil and binds with it, despite what the companies say about it. I have two maple trees that are showing classic signs of damage, including the big spot where they "bleed out". Check out "estrogen mimicer" and learn more about it. I used to be the most pro-Roundup guy there was, but after learning more about it over the past couple years, I've backed way off.

On my hand pump, I spray TODCO lube down the air intake hole for the pump and let it sit on the steel parts inside the chamber. The type I use on this is the food grade, but mainly just because I had a can of it sitting around. The standard type would be fine, too. It doesn't evaporate like other lubricants. I learned the hard way that corrosion occurs if not done.

 

[btfarm]

What glyphosate concentration are you using (41%?) and what is your mix ratio. I've seen virtually no residual effects of many years careful roundup use with a 6oz/gal mix of 41% with the possible exception of stubborn weeds becoming resistant.

 

[jmack91z28]

I buy the 2 1/2 gallon containers, not sure what the concentration rate is. I've never experienced any residual issues. Then again I don't spray around ornamental trees or shrubs. I have used it in the garden for years and years and years without any issues or damaging any plants.

Usually when I get done with a tank I'll put another 2 or 3 gallons of clean water in, then some vegetable oil. Then pump it dry.

 

[SnowDrift]

What glyphosate concentration are you using (41%?) and what is your mix ratio. I've seen virtually no residual effects of many years careful roundup use with a 6oz/gal mix of 41% with the possible exception of stubborn weeds becoming resistant.

3 oz./gallon

 

[SnowDrift]

I have used it in the garden for years and years and years without any issues or damaging any plants.

.

I used to use it every year to burn ours down, too, before we planted, but stopped when I realized we were eating it later when the plants absorbed it. It's like drinking fluoride and chlorine - no ill effects day to day, but the effects will be noticed decades down the road.

I'll use your oil trick. Thanks!

 

[cornemuse]

I have a backpack sprayer from Harbor Freight, When using it, I give a squirt of dish soap in the top of the pump, then procede as usual. When done, I rinse it out etc. & put it away.

What glyphosate does basically is, it stops the tips of the plant from growing anymore, if the plant is not growing, then it is dying, slowly. Thats why it takes some time to see the effects. Its really not all that hazardous or toxic to the environment. (<-imho)