Adding dish soap to your sprayer?

Does anyone think mixing copper with oil is contributing the to clogging problem some of us are having? Or does straight copper give people clogs too? I’ve never tired a separate oil spray and a separate copper spray to see if that helps.

Thanks Olpea, thats good guidance. I have about 20 full-size-equivalent trees (i.e. 400 small ones :slight_smile: ) and I sure wish I had a powered wand. I have a steep hill for most of my orchard though so its backpack only for me. I have looked at the low volume powered backpacks but I don’t think they can spray Surround.

Bart,

I have not mix oil with copper, I have sprayed straight Kocide and it’s never clogged. One thing I have learned is it’s matter what you put in the tank first. I I am talking about small, handheld sprayer. It does not have built-in agitator.

I used to not thinking about what went into the tank first. I’ve found that if I put copper first in a dry tank, it’s harder to dissolve copper thoroughly when adding water. When I put in some water first, then add copper and shake it well. Then, add the rest of water, I have no undissolved copper issue. I put Nuflim with copper, it has not clogged.

I do have problem with Surround clogging my 4 gal spray. I need to look for a new sprayer with Surround spraying in mind.

Olpea, Scott and anyone else - any recommendations of 4 gal backpack or powered want sprayers that won’t be clogged by Surround?

I wondered the same thing, but I think it’s probably just the copper. I also have not tried them separately. I’m thinking the type / form of copper I spray is worse. I’ve seen the kocide before mixing and my instincts tell me it probably mixes better. You can look at the product I spray and just from it’s appearance you can sorta tell it’s going to clog.

Anyone have any thoughts on what to spray first if I were to do two separate sprays? Copper or oil?

Is there a minimum time period that I should wait between the two sprays?

And a related question…does the copper work instantly? In other words, does it kill the bad stuff on contact or does it need time to penetrate or just time react?

I have a 5 gallon Rocket Sprayer that’s battery powered and is on wheels.
I’ve had it for 9 years and it’s never clogged on me, but I don’t use copper
nor surround.

Mamuang,

I not sprayed Surround, so I can’t comment on that. I do have a couple backpacks. One is an SP systems which agitates w/ each pump. It’s a nice setup, but takes more pumping than other systems because part of the energy goes into agitation. The other is a Solo, which seems to work pretty good, but the SP systems is built better.

Neither one has ever clogged w/ the suspended particle type sprays I’ve used.

That was an incredibly helpful post and I very much appreciate it and I learned a lot from it and those that followed it (than k you all, too). One minor point of clarification… I didn’t realize that I was calling it seven DUST when I really just meant “sevin” liquid. There is no doubt that I’m one of the least informed fruit tree growers on this site, but even I know “dust” isn’t meant to be sprayed! haha. Don’t get me wrong, Jeff, I don’t blame you for thinking that since it is EXACTLY WHAT I SAID! :slight_smile: But the rest of what I said is still true…even though I use the liquid concentrate Sevin spray, that stuff is still a thick liquid that has a lot of little specs of ingredients that do not completely dissolve no matter how well you shake and stir it. Those little specs are what clog my sprayer most of the time. But I am reluctant to give up the sevin spray because it is one of the few things I use that really really works. I only use it for Japanese Beetles, so not all that much. But dang does it work. Speaking of which, I’m soon going to ask for advice and help with Plum curculio and OFM. I sprayed (fresh) Triazicide every 10 days like clock work on my last peach crop (2014) and my fruit was devistated by both of those little buggers (in the larvea). But one thread at a time…this is on sprayers.

I actually bought a small electric sprayer 2 years ago, so I do plan to get it going this year. But I fear I got one with too small a motor. I just base that on some things I’ve read. I don’t remember the size or GPM right now, but soon after buying it 2 yrs ago, I read some things that made me think mine was too small so I never even hooked it up. Last year I had no need for it (neighbor killed every bloom in my orchard with 2, 4-D drift). After reading all the comments here, (especially @Olpea 's) I’m inspired to fire that thing up. I need to find a way to mount or pull it behind my little tractor, but its small so that shouldn’t be a problem.

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I’d be interested in how well it works and what the model is. I want to get one too, but I’m really on the fence about needing it, I’m just getting tired of lugging sprayers around. Northern Tool has 2 models under $140 with shipping. Both are 13 gal. I think and one has a video of it. One of the two models is made (or labeled) by a reputable spray company.
I don’t care at all about volume, I’m more interested in pressure, control, and spray pattern(s). Seems to me the type pumps used on those smaller sprayers are problematic, but they certainly seem to get good reviews everywhere. I have only limited room in my shed, so I was thinking of getting a non-trailered model so I could then get a dump cart for lawn use and just fab up something to secure the tank in it when spraying.
I watched a YT vid of a guy who did a review on his 9 year old model and he gushed about how awesome it was. He did however have to replace the pump once, but he was doing a ton of spraying and loaning it out to family etc.
They have a 13 gal. model on a trailer with pneumatic tires for $139 to your door. Hell, I paid nearly that I think for my backpack.

I want to waken this old thread, recently I was having some problems with slow output on my sprayer. In feeling the inside its clear the copper plus masses of nufilm I have been using has produced this very sticky sludge remnant. So, I added some Mr. Clean to hot water and circulated it through the sprayer and things were all better again :grinning:

One thing this made me realize is I need to carefully check the pressure as I rinse out the sprayer. After my last spray when I was rinsing it out I noticed the pressure was down, so I kept pumping and eventually it got better. The particular combination of nufilm/oil/copper seems to be really bad for this sludge effect, especially since I use a ton of nufilm in my dormant sprays.

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I’m having that issue too this year in my $15, 1 gallon sprayer. I even try to pre-dissolve the Nu-Film in hot water. I have been using higher than normal amounts of NuFilm this spring, and have the sticky sludge bad. I think my sludge is Surround + Nu Film. Not a happy combo.

I just spent money on a proper sprayer and don’t really want to end up coating it with such a bad sludge. So no NuFilm + Surround in it.

If I recollect right, Nu film is noted for little gummy balls like that. Are you guys checking compatibility in jar tests before you spray? Jar test is mixing ingredients in a jar and shaking the jar to see if the chemicals will mix and agitate in the spray without the mess ya’ll are describing.

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I think somewhere on Surround bag, it says not to use with sticker.

I have just been mixing surround with water and it seems to be cleaning out fairly easy with a quick rinse of soapy water. The last time I sprayed I added about 1 teaspoon of dish washing soap to the surround to see if it would deter some tiny insects. The soap seemed to help with cleaning up my huge one gallon hand pump sprayer when I finished.

Bill,

Rinsing a sprayer off with dish soap is also what @scottfsmith has advised to me. That includes after using oil in spray mix, too.

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