I have read a number of previous post about this sprayer and you either love it or hate it, because of its ability to spray your neighbors field. I feel like im missing something though. I am looking at two (3400 & 3200) at different dealers and you have the ability to not use the air and use conventional nozzles (only have called about the 3400)...why would this still be a bad sprayer? Seems they are going cheap compared to similar sized summers....what am i missing? you can use the air for fungicides/pest and switch to conventional for herbicide. there is a 3200 and 3400 does anyone know what the difference is between the two?
Spray air
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I have a 3400 and loved it the years I used it.. Does a excellent job for wildcats and fungasides.. It was loaded up and never blew a crop out with common sense used.. I have it sitting for sale and the ill sell for resonance price.. Wish they still made them
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I ran a spray air for several years. The worst that ever happened was I damaged the adjacent field ( my own ) about 8-10 feet in with roundup but I was spraying in 25 km/ hr wind. They work fine and actually do a better job than a conventional sprayer for the same cost. The fan takes a few horsepower especially if you have hills. The 2.5 gallons per acres they spray at meant I could do 250 acres on a tank. If you turn the fan down you can dial down the droplet size if you are in windy conditions. They may not be for every location but don't be afraid of it. The only reason I sold mine was I wanted a self propelled high clearance .
I bought a 3400 1000gal 90' boom spray air. Travels nicely down the fields at 8 mph, will start spraying 10 mph when I spray next. I was using the conventional boom for round up. I will be doing fungicides in wheat next, there I will try out the air boom and see how it works, excited to try it. Any suggestions on where to start for the settings? Happy with the purchase, as most...wish I bought it sooner.
Does the fan use more horsepower going up a hill?
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You bet it does , if the rpm drops the fan speed drops which changes the droplet size. If you have to drop a gear you would have to manually adjust pressure on the older machines like I had. I assume your new one has an auto rate controller ? It's been a few years since I ran it but I recall if conditions were good I was running the air gauge at 19-21 psi, if it was windy or on a headland I would drop it to 17. The advantage the machine has is the wind would blow the spray on the bottom side of the leaf where it was absorbed more easily. Also the fine droplets made by the fan made it so you could spray at 2.5 gpa.Does the fan use more horsepower going up a hill?
That machine worked so well sometimes the broadleaf weeds were starting to bend over by the time I was leaving the field. On my later machine , it had tip strainers with check valves in them. This would make them shut off quickly ( no dripping ) but take them out for the winter of the freezing will bugger those little check valves.
I had one for years. If the sun was right and you ran the gauge at 20 inches H2O you could see the drift hit the ground and bounce up ten or fifteen feet. Its a crazy drift machine! They needed to figure out how to get a much smaller drop size at 10 inches. Then it would be a cool machine.
Tests with efficacy and herbicides were never statistically significant over hydraulic nozzle.
Tests with efficacy and herbicides were never statistically significant over hydraulic nozzle.
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So did you ever have a Neighbor bang on your door and say you damaged their crop ? I didn't have any issues in the 10 years I used a spray air , other than the one case i mentioned which was my own fault.
I'm happy. got much larger sprayer then i had for literally half the price for a comparable summers. run the conventional boom for herbicides and the air for fungicide/pesticide. the short time its been since the purchase it should have been a no brainer decision.
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What gallons are you spraying at ? Most fungicide is supposed to go on at 10 Gallons so just wonder what you were planning?
Keep an eye on the air nozzles in dusty conditions . Behind the wheels a lot of dust would build up , I would spray them with the hose once and awhile to keep them clean. Also when spraying chemical at that low rate it would build up and it's good to flush it out with water when you are done so it doesn't get gummed up.
Once you get used to it I'm sure you will like the air boom, but it's nice to have the wet boom option.
This is actually the first time I'll be spraying my own fungicide. Will read the labels and see what they say, if not 10 is the generic answer.
Will do with keeping an eye on the nozzles behind the tires. Would be easy to wash off. I return to the yard to fill, have the fill tank next to a water hose. Thanks for the heads up! if one happens to get plugged what has been the easiest way to clean them you have found?
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The air part didn't plug but the dirt would gum up where the spray comes out which is at the Center of the air nozzle. Usually I would run the product on the headland without the fan turned on and make sure they were all dribbling before starting spraying.
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