What Nozzle is This? (Field Sprayers)

Us this handy visual guide to identify a mystery nozzle you may find on a field sprayer. We’ve included the most common low-drift nozzles found on North American, European, and Australian sprayers. The list does not contain any conventional flat fan nozzles. It’s in alphabetical order by manufacturer. First, a reminder of the ISO colour […]

Read More… from What Nozzle is This? (Field Sprayers)

Nozzle Selection for Boom Sprayers

Sprayer nozzle Turret

Picking the correct nozzle for a spray job can be a daunting task.  There is a lot of product selection, and a lot of different features.  We try to break the process down into four steps. 1. Identify Your Needs Before making any assumptions about the right nozzle for you, review your needs and objectives. […]

Read More… from Nozzle Selection for Boom Sprayers

Airblast Nozzles – Reading Nozzle Tables

The author looking up nozzle rates during a spring calibration. The operator was running at 190 psi, but the catalogue only listed 180 psi and 200 psi. When span is only 20 psi, it’s fairly safe to approximate the output. When the table only lists in 50 psi increments, it is more difficult to determine the rate without testing the output. This issue usually occurs at pressures above 200 psi, and that’s very high for most horticultural operations. Consider using a lower operating pressure, if possible.

Airblast operators should know how to read a nozzle table. They are found on dealer and manufacturer websites as well as in their catalogs. Table layout varies with brand, but they all relate a nozzle’s flow rate to operating pressure. The better tables also provide the spray angle and the median droplet size (i.e. spray […]

Read More… from Airblast Nozzles – Reading Nozzle Tables

The pressure/spray/coverage relationship

Pressure is integral to nozzle performance. Reducing hydraulic pressure reduces nozzle flow rate, increases median droplet size, and typically reduces spray fan angle. Increasing pressure increases nozzle flow rate, reduces median droplet size and typically increases spray fan angle. You can watch this Exploding Sprayer Myths video to learn how pressure, boom height and nozzle spacing […]

Read More… from The pressure/spray/coverage relationship

Validate airblast output – nozzle calibration

The SpotOn SC-4 calibration vessel is much easier, faster and more accurate than the classic pitcher-and-stopwatch approach to timed output tests.

Sprayer math is important. It ensures the operator applies the correct product rate and has enough to complete the job. But, it assumes the airblast sprayer is behaving as expected… and it often doesn’t. After confirming the airblast travel speed, use one of the following methods to assess sprayer output. There are pros and cons […]

Read More… from Validate airblast output – nozzle calibration