# Sprayer build thread for liquid de-icer and brine spreader



## GSS LLC (Jul 7, 2012)

I am taking the plunge. Messing with the one inch storm that came yesterday was enough. I can spray this and go home, instead of spending all morning and afternoon scraping. I will post pics along the way. Thanks Kubota and others for the help and guidence.


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## GSS LLC (Jul 7, 2012)

reserved for pics


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## GSS LLC (Jul 7, 2012)

reserved for pics again


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## GSS LLC (Jul 7, 2012)

reserved for more pics


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## GSS LLC (Jul 7, 2012)

Well, apparently you cannot edit posts on this forum. so we will start anew.

FIRST THINGS FIRST, MISTAKES!!!

1. DO NOT BUY FITTINGS FROM TRACTOR SUPPLY COMPANY, THEY ARE JUNK!

2. BUY YOUR FITTINGS FROM BOOMGAARS. THE BANJO BRAND ARE THE ONLY WAY TO GO! HARDER, MORE DURABLE AND SEAL BETTER. I HAD LEAKS ON THE OTHER "WHITE" FITTINGS EVEN WITH PIPE TAPE AND LIQUID FORM A GASKET. SUCKED!

3. add valves EVERYWHERE! you never know when you need to close something off. the LCC sales place fills with a quick connect, not through the top lid of the tank. i would like to close off my plumbing from the filling process but dont have a valve on that side.

Ok, first things first, buy every fitting you think you will need, then double that, and pick some random fittings out so you can change your mind as you build. I returned 300 dollars in fittings and hoses after my build was done. It was worth it to not have to make more trips back and forth for parts than necessary.

If you cannot find a long pallet, get two oak pallets (they are painted blue usually) as they are much stronger than pine pallets. make them one big pallet by using 2x4's on the sides and tops.


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## GSS LLC (Jul 7, 2012)

I used a 200 gallon tank. i cut some "RETAINERS" out of wood and used them to locate the tank. this helped a LOT. I used 3/8" air hose on a reel from TSC for my spray wand to do sidewalks and spot spraying, it has worked great so far.

the valve that comes off the tank closes it off so i can self fill from a tote using the engine and opening up the valve that T's off the suction line.

I then T'd off the top (pressure) port and ran one line of 2" through a on/off valve for a pressure regulator (about halfway open gives me 25 psi at wide open throttle). the other way goes to a T which the spray wand line comes off of. then to the 12 valve solenoid to open and close the boom line for spraying. then to a filter, then to a 1" quick connect fitting that the boom hose connects to.


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## GSS LLC (Jul 7, 2012)

You will also notice using a T i installed a psi gauge, a necessity for monitoring pressure in setting up the system to make sure you dont blow lines and nozzles across the parking lot.

so here it is installed on my truck. used a on/off/momentary on switch to power the valve, for the wiring of the valve, you need a 12 volt posotive, a ground and a switched 12 volt line. easy to do, i used a 4 way flat trailer wiring plug for easy connect/disconnect.


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## GSS LLC (Jul 7, 2012)

AND SPRAYING! I used 3 jet black nozzles and wet body check valves that mr. Kubota referenses to all the time in the anything sprayer related thread, and the valve he uses. Honestly, i completely robbed this design from him and bigboyplowin. but they take crappy pics and notes. so i wanted to dumb it down for those of us tards that want to try this.


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## GSS LLC (Jul 7, 2012)

And lastly, after an 80 mile trip with 200 gallons of LCC sloshing, I bought a 50ft roll of 3" perforated tile line. Shoved it in whole. That worked like a charm as a baffle. Huge difference!


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## GSS LLC (Jul 7, 2012)

the nozzles are 20" apart and i had to install the bulkhead at the top of the tank for the return line.


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## GSS LLC (Jul 7, 2012)

Alright all of the white plastic fittings from TSC are leaking, just slightly. I'm afraid to tighten them any more. So I will be replacing them with banjo brand fittings. Use LOTS of thread tape also.


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## Kubota 8540 (Sep 25, 2009)

Polypropylene Fittings ( Black) seem to be the only ones that work in a high vibration plumbing system. Even in normal plumbing situations I have never had much luck with the white (nylon I think) fittings.

Tru-Blu Pipe Thread Sealant is a fast-dry, flexible set thread sealant designed for high vibration environments such as refrigeration and industrial applications. Teflon has been added to enhance thread lubrication during assembly and break out. http://www.dultmeier.com/products/0.630.2128/2173

I have wanted to try this but I forget every time I'm at Dultmeier's.


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## GSS LLC (Jul 7, 2012)

IT WORKS!!!


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## GSS LLC (Jul 7, 2012)

i drove between 5-10 at the gas station, the top pic is of the apartments i do, i drove 15 mph there and it worked great. 5-10 is too slow i think.


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## Kubota 8540 (Sep 25, 2009)

Both places are nice and open to spray, wish mine were like that.

Once your sprayer is set up, it sprays a constant volume, by speeding up or slowing down you can vary the gpa. Just like you can when spreading rock salt or sand.


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## newage (Nov 8, 2013)

*help*

do you have a parts list as in what size valves and what fittings are needed my wife will let me build one but yet i cant buy a new one lol. any help would be nice thx kyle


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## CowboysLC_DE (Aug 17, 2013)

Glad to see that you have successfully built your own. And that you still have the gas station as one of your clients (I remember them from previous photos). Who knows when I'll get into the liquids but definitely get yourself ready for the crazy list of questions that will follow.

Michael


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## newage (Nov 8, 2013)

what psi should it be ran at and what is you gallon per acres as in 100 gallons cover 2 acres. i have 3 condo units we plow and each lot is about 1-1.4 acres. i was trying to figure how far a 350 gallon sprayer will last so i can figure out what i need to charge and how often i will need to refill. we also have 75 driveways some witch are long and steep. i would like to ditch all sanders and go strictly liquid b4 and after. i also could use help building a spray bar as what nosels to use and how to do it. i don't mind paying for the info i know nothing is for free in this world. thank you for any help 
kyle
newage landscaping and tree


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## 86 CJ (Jan 11, 2010)

GSS LLC;1576855 said:


> AND SPRAYING! I used 3 jet black nozzles and wet body check valves that mr. Kubota referenses to all the time in the anything sprayer related thread, and the valve he uses. Honestly, i completely robbed this design from him and bigboyplowin. but they take crappy pics and notes. so i wanted to dumb it down for those of us tards that want to try this.


Great job man, glad to see it worked for you. Here is our build in action last weekend.


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## Kubota 8540 (Sep 25, 2009)

GSS LLC;1576855 said:


> AND SPRAYING! I used 3 jet black nozzles and wet body check valves that mr. Kubota referenses to all the time in the anything sprayer related thread, and the valve he uses. Honestly, i completely robbed this design from him and bigboyplowin. but they take crappy pics and notes. so i wanted to dumb it down for those of us tards that want to try this.


Guilty of that for sure. I always say I will take pics and write stuff down, but like usual I tend to get busy getting things done and dont take the time .


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## yardsmith (Jan 3, 2000)

Would you want any more than 25 psi, or would it run the risk of the fittings being stressed & joints coming apart?
Also, do they have valves which would atomize the liquid into more of a spray? My thinking is that more of a mist spray would cover better & use less LCC, making it go farther. What do you think?


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## FredG (Oct 15, 2012)

I would like to have one of these spray units, The build would be no problem for me as I have built systems like this for dust control.

My question is where do you by material? Bag liquid form? I would assume x amount of water to material I'm not familiar with liquid deicer as no one uses it around here. Nice build and info by the way.


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## Kubota 8540 (Sep 25, 2009)

yardsmith;2110977 said:


> Would you want any more than 25 psi, or would it run the risk of the fittings being stressed & joints coming apart?
> Also, do they have valves which would atomize the liquid into more of a spray? My thinking is that more of a mist spray would cover better & use less LCC, making it go farther. What do you think?


I personally never had much luck with fan spray nozzles. They work ok for an anti-icing application for the most part unless you have some wind involved.

I started out with streamer type nozzles so they would spray a line about 12" apart. It works but takes a while to melt toward the next line. Also I didnt get as much drift wind the wind would be blowing. So then decreased the distance between the streams a couple of inches. Worked quicker melting. Decreased those spaces down to 5-6". Thats where I tend to build everything now. It just seems to take less time to melt. When decreasing the distance between the streams you also need to decrease the size of the nozzles/tips.

25-45 psi is good. Nothing bad will happen. Its seems a little more pressure is better than a little less.


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## bsrservices1 (Oct 15, 2013)

What size tips are you using?


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## VS Innovation (Feb 9, 2016)

Hey guys,

I complement you guys for getting into liquid! Our company has been using liquid as our only means of de-icing for over 4 years now and we have never looked back. We have built all of our sprayers and have learned a lot by doing so.

Let me follow up on a few of the other posts.

Plumbing quality and valve placement is very important. We use all banjo and norwesco brand plumbing parts and valves. These parts, and most parts in fact, will never be harmed by any pressure that a trash or transfer pump will put out. Most trash pumps will run a maximum of 40-50 psi. Our last build was a 2700 gallon hooklift truck sprayer on which we are running a hypro centrifugal pump with pressures reaching 150+ psi when we have all of our booms spraying. So for people concerned about pressure, there are no concerns here when quality parts are used.

Valves are very important. Our trucks all are set up with a GPS controllers. For us this isolates the discharge side of our pump and only allows flow when we want, and at the rate we want it to. Simpler setups can use a manual or electronic valve on the discharge side of the pump. All of our tanks fill from the bottom using a camlock that attaches to our brine maker. It makes filling very easy and clean for us. We use three way valves to switch between suction from the pump and the filling line.

The most important part of your sprayer is your boom. We have tried fan tips on our booms and now only use jet tips. The jet tips do a much better job of cutting through snow pack and allow for a higher application rate. They are also not as sensitive to pressure. Choosing the right diameter tip size is what will determine your driving speed when applying. Too small of a tip will drastically reduce the speed you can travel, whereas too large will cause over application due to the fact you will not be able to drive at a high enough speed to match your desired application rate.

With the GPS controllers in our trucks we are able to set our application rate and let the controller take over. The controller will adjust the amount of liquid allowed to flow through the boom depending on the speed we are travelling. Higher speed means higher flow rate and vice versa. Our controllers also stop flow when the vehicle stops and resumes when the vehicle begins to move again. This has been the biggest advantage for us over a single valve setup. We now can spray at any speed and maintain our consistent application rate (80-100 gallons per acre depending on conditions).

If anyone has any question about figuring out the tip size and correct travel speeds for achieving your desired application rate just let me know!

Posted is a picture of our 2700 gallon hooklift truck sprayer. Electronically controlled flow rate (GPS), 3 zone boom capable of spraying a 30 ft swath, and able to be removed from the truck in minutes.


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