Kniles & Don- I agree. It's an unusual question. But one I've thought of posting myself. I want to have enough spray (of any given spray) to do all the trees I intend to do. I don't want to have to come back and mix up a quarter batch, or something like that. So, I often wind up with a bit extra in the tank. In the past, it was the cruddy all-in-one spray or the dormant oil or the stinky deer spray or.. IÂd prefer not to send it down the drain into my septic and, IÂd have to bring it inside to find a drain, which I donÂt want to do. I'd prefer not to toss it in the stone driveway, as I have a well thatÂs not too far from there. This year, IÂll be spraying Kocide 3000 copper, and IÂd prefer not to overspray the rest onto the trees due to copper buildup in the soil. IÂve tried diluting it as best I can, and then tossing it on the grass, but the grass didnÂt seem happy with it. One time, after diluting it to the fullest extent I could, I took it for a long walk in the woods. Another example is that I may spray dormant oil, and then a little while later, the fruit tree spray which contains Captan (need to get rid of the fruit tree spray, and it handles my Plum Curculio issues). Normally, on a tree, Captan too soon after oil can cause phototoxicity. If you didnÂt clean out the sprayer between those two sprays, could you have a problem? I wonder about these things, but I realize, I really need to get a life. Yep, my herbicide sprayer is a 3 gallon black one. My 4 fungicide/insecticide ones are yellow. For me, what IÂve done is have 4 one-gallon hand sprayers lying around. (It helps that the in-laws own a hardware store!) . Whatever I donÂt use, just sits around until next time. And, then I add to it. But, IÂm not sure how well the spray does when itÂs been already mixed up and sitting in a warm garage or shed. As of 2 hours ago, I ordered by Solo 3-gallon diaphragm backpack sprayers per DonÂs recommendation. At the price of it, though, I certainly wonÂt be getting for of Âem! -Glenn

waxwing: I have over 65 trees, with a little over half apples, the rest peaches, apricots, cherries, pears, etc., and so far have gotten by with 4-gallon backpack sprayers. One is a high-quality Swissmex brand, which specifies 150 psi max, and comes close to that. It uses a diaphragm pump. This is the one I use on the fruit trees. I have added a 66 in. wand extension to this unit, which give me an effective wand length of about 8 feet, enabling me to stand clear of trees while spraying, and still get to the very top. I have stiffened the extension with a piece of bamboo, attached with filament tape at a half-dozen points along the brass extension. The very long wand is sometimes awkward, and always a little heavy, but it does enable me to get the spray right on target with very little waste or overspray. The problem with any sprayer, no matter how high the psi it can generate, is that the well-atomized spray which is best for efficient coverage does not travel very far, while a coarser spray travels well but does not cover as well and much of the mixture runs off. I figure that with even the best motorized unit I would not be able to improve on the coverage I get with my long-wand backpack, which also keeps me out from under falling spray pretty well unless I have the misfortune to spray into the wind. I keep the nozzle screwed pretty tight, which gives me a very well dispersed spray pattern. The backpack, however, clearly involves more physical effort, and if I do three sprayerloads in a row I am pooped. Just getting the thing from the outdoor table to my back is a chore, and lugging it around is tiresome, although the weight decreases as you empty it. I also have a 4-gallon Solo backpack, which was quite a bit cheaper, but works about as well. I use the Solo for herbicides, so the wand is standard, and I don't know if long wand extensions are available for this brand. Bagging apples and peaches is one of my solutions for reducing the need to go out there and spray, and that's what I am doing right now. Bagging is very effective at protecting the fruit, but also labor intensive. On balance, however, I think bagging does save some time and labor over the course of the season, and produces perfect fruit. I do spray with Imidan and fungicides like Ferbam and Topsin several times to get the fruit up to the bagging stage. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

I got my NorthStar sprayer today. It looks good. It's marked as "used", but I question that. It smelled a bit like Round-Up ?, however the wand and all the goodies were in the tank, packed just like new. Tomorrow, I'll try it out for operation. Now, I have to figure out what to do. I was thinking of mounting it on the Z, but the muffler is in the far back. I might be able to mount it over the engine, but would have to leave some airspace over the engine. I might be able to put it in front, over the deck. OR, I could put it in the trailer and be on my way. It sounds like a "no brainer", doesn't it? What is the advantage of having it mounted? ... aside from, "it would look cool".

henryinct, The last thing I want to do is replace a plug that has a bad habit of corroding with another just like it. I was hoping you had a source for a weather proof connector. I looked at auto supply places for weather proof connectors , but did not see one that could be mounted without more modification of the sprayer or the plug than I cared to contemplate at the time. Odyssey, Most hoses are connected to the wand and the pump with standard hose clamps that would take only a screwdriver to loosen and tighten after replacing the hose. However, I have seen a wand that was permanently fixed to the hose. You would have to find out from the seller to be certain that you could replace the hose without buying a new wand. You might have a unique need for a 30 foot hose, but with small sprayers generally it is desirable to work with a shorter hose. You waste the amount of spray that is contained in the hose because you need to shut off the pump when the tank is empty and that leaves the hose full of spray. Regards, Charles