Integrating Aquatic Plants into Water Features
Buying a spray rig for your company may be a harder decision than you imagined. Different options for tanks and hoses mean you need to take the time to consider which choices will be best for your specific company.
John Glover, general manager of Superior Lawn Services in Jonesboro, Ark., says it's always important to find one supplier for your spray rig equipment, and to find someone local.
“You can go to the internet and buy some cheaper stuff off sites but I just don't know if you'd get the service after sale, which is what you want to look for,” he says. “If we have a breakdown, all we've got to do is get on the phone. They have parts in stock, ready to go, and to me that's important.”
Think tanks first.
The first thing to consider is the tank. Tanks come in different materials and different sizes, and with different set ups. Gary Eichen, BioTurf/PHC manager at Mike's Tree Surgeons in Troy, Mich., says it's important to consider the products you'll be using in the tanks. “I always recommend, number one, read the label of the products you buy,” he says. “It gives you exactly what you need to know about the product.”
For this reason, Mike's Tree Surgeons uses tanks with mechanical agitation instead of tanks with sparger agitation.
“A lot of our products require or should have continual agitation going,” he says. “If you don't, you could end up in the mornings spraying at one rate when the tank is full, then by the afternoon you're spraying at another rate.” Jon Rick, owner of J Rick Lawn & Tree in Colorado Springs, Colo., says his company uses a space saver type tank almost exclusively.
“They take up less than half of the pickup bed and then your hose reel and pump are mounted on top,” he says.
Dayna Wagner, operations manager of Fit Turf in Michigan and Colorado, says she considers appearance when deciding on a tank. “We like the fiberglass tanks because they look really nice and we want to make sure our trucks look good,” she says.
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