What do you clean your sprayer with?

Fritz Maurer · May 10, 2017

Specifically, I'm having trouble getting the 28% washed out of the control valve. I run a gallon of bleach in about 200 gallons of water, run that through, followed by a bottle of Dawn in another 200 gallons of water, then keep flushing until the suds are gone. I take the gauge out, remove the drain plugs and hoses from the valve, and I still have to overhaul the valve every season because it is filled with green fuzzy corrosion. Clean the sprayer out with something else or take the valve off every year and fill it with oil? 28% is the only thing I have trouble with, everything else washes out clean. Thanks , Fritz

Ken Macfarlane · May 10, 2017

Isn't there an ammonia based cleaner?

hd6gtom · May 10, 2017

There is a product you can buy at (I think) tractor supply to clean this stuff out of the sprayer.

jeffcat · May 10, 2017

How about mineral oil? All of the pneumatic control equipment I work with uses it in the air lines. Doesn't chew up the O rings like petro oil does. You need to stop the chemical reactions. Let us see what others post. Give it a shot. Just thinking. Did you go on the manufacturer site and see if there are how to sections. Ammonia is a real "B" to get rid of. Fire departments polish brass stuff with brasso and sooner or latter it makes the brass brittle. Someone at the gun club used to throw a couple of caps full into his tumbler for cartridges. He soon found out what brittle brass was.

newhollandnut · May 10, 2017

All clear from crop production and lots of water

2002sliverado · May 10, 2017

I use the products recommended for cleaning spray tanks and follow the directions. I spent several years in the agronomy business. We custom applied numerous products over the years. In that "transition" timeframe when we were finishing up corn and starting into soybeans, it was not uncommon to switch crops a few times each day. We would ensure the tanks was emptied when finishing up with one crop. Put more water into the product tank and pump that through the system and out the spray boom. Then water again with the tank cleaner and get that material to wash down the inside of the sprayer tank and into the lines last. At least that is what I recall our employees doing.

DoubleR · May 10, 2017

Ammonia from the Dollar Store mixed with water works for me.

D7fever · May 10, 2017

We used to wash out the sprayer with ammonia and water. Used to be that all pesticides were made to be neutralized with ammonia . Not sure if that is still the case.

steve706 · May 10, 2017

The ammonia in Brasso is between 5-10% and is basically a stabilizer. I cannot believe brasso would make decent brass even remotely brittle. It does wear it down over time for sure, firemen polishing brass until it is brittle is a far fetched old wives tale.

Lazy WP · May 10, 2017

I guess I don't know what you are talking about with the 28%? It won't hurt anything, and if you actually do have 28 in it, and add Clorox to it you are creating chlorine gas. I KNOW! That is how I always cleaned out my Rogator, numerous times a year. Had the breath knocked out of me more then once doing it, that being said, only reason I did was to clean out from Glyphosate going to non roundup ready plants, or going from Milo to Soybeans. We always wanted the 28 in the system to over winter a machine. Won't freeze up that way.

71ford100 · May 10, 2017

I run a sprayer for Crop Production Services and I use our Loveland brand tank cleaner powder. When I have to clean out I run 100 gallons of water through after letting the machine tank rinse run 5 minutes. I then run 150 gallons of water through using 2 canisters of soap. I run 1 can through the inductor of my truck and the other on my machine inductor. Let run 5-10 minutes on tank rinse. After that flush soap with another 50-100 gallons of water. I open up all the filters during the soap flush to help blow crap out of them. Never had a problem even going into stuff like sugar beets and edible beans.

Is your valve brass? If so nitrogen is going to eat away at it. If you are using 28 as a winterize I would suggest using rv antifreeze instead won't be near as corrosive.

JD Seller · May 10, 2017

You need to be using something other than bleach. Bleach does not break down chemicals very well. I have always just used ammonia. It will clean things out well. Regular tank cleaner cost about $4 a tank to use.

What do you clean your sprayer with?

Fritz Maurer

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Ken Macfarlane

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hd6gtom

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jeffcat

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newhollandnut

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2002sliverado

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DoubleR

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D7fever

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steve706

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Lazy WP

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71ford100

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JD Seller

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