Last fall I bought a “Ground Work” backpack sprayer from Tractor Supply Co. (it’s their in-house brand) and it worked great right up until it didn’t! I was using it last week and between two sprayer batches, it just stopped being able to build pressure. I could pump the handle a hundred times, but the pressure never built beyond a certain point. The spray was weak and feeble and no matter how much I pumped, it never got better.
Anyone have any idea how to fix this (or even, what’s going on)?
I tired to return it/exchange it but the store only has a 30 day return policy. They told me I’d have to call the manufacturer and see if they could do anything. I told them, they were the manufacturer, and they still told me I’d have to call it in…to “Ground Work” I guess. In my brief attempt to find the phone number I came across the reviews on the Tractor Supply website and they were nearly 100% bad, with very similar stories and problems. No one had a happy resolution to their problem and were stuck with a sprayer that quit after a few days or hours in the field.
Is this thing dead, or did one of you smart people figure out how to fix it!?!!!?
"I know sooner or later I’m going to have a similar problem "
Mark, I hope not, that guys arm hair looks like a grizzly.
I’m joking of course. This is coming from someone who is pretty self conscious (as I get older I have the opposite problem, look more like a naked mole rat than a human being. )
Seriously, I think the video hits the main checkpoints. Generally if there is a problem with sprayers, it’s a clog at some point. Sometimes the orings/gaskets are deteriorated, but those are generally easy to find and replace. Most of the time, its a clog somewhere. My experience, once you dive into a piece of equipment one can figure out the problem if you stay with it.
You might check out the Harbor Freight backpack sprayer. I’ve had one for a couple of years and used it as my main sprayer, and it is still going strong. On sale every so often for $20 (like in May, eg now).
But the reason to check it out is they do sell all or most of the parts for theirs. And there is a decent chance that yours is one they made and someone relabeled. If the innards of yours looks like the HF one in their parts diagram, might be worth a try. (although for anything more than one or two small parts, it may be cheaper to just buy a new HF one).