Freshened up my lawn sprayer

[CasualObserver 3,406]

I've been wanting a sprayer and finally found one at back in April at the LeSueur spring swap meet. This is not a Wheel Horse sprayer, nor is it your regular stamped frame from the hardware store kind either. Wetherell is a company in Iowa that makes field cultivators (explaining the cultivator wheels) and field sprayers. The frame on this thing is made completely of welded steel tube and angle iron. Same grade and thickness as you'd find in a field cultivator. I called the company to see if I could get a copy of any sort of owners manual for it, or any information as to how many were made or when. Well, it took a few phone calls, and I ended up speaking with the founder of the company, Mr. Wetherell himself. Said they made a few of these back in the late 70s/early 80s and there were no manuals. They weren't even official production (so he didn't know how many they made either, but it wasn't many.) They were all custom jobs built when a customer asked for one! Said he made one for himself, still has and uses it at home.

So... not a Wheel Horse sprayer.... but I think this is definitely their quality, and wouldn't be too hard to believe if I throw some WH stickers on it!

As I brought it home. (booms already removed)

I took the boom arms off, and pitched the hoses and nozzles. I also tested the pump to see if it worked. It did. Went to Fleet Farm and bought new hardware, hose, nozzles and tips, then in true form, it sat for 4 months. I had it stowed away in the garden shed I built over the summer, and then this fall it occurred to me that I should probably winterize the pump so it doesn't get ruined in winter storage. Since I had it out, I figured what the heck... wire brushed for a while, primed and painted it while I was at it.

Well, this weekend I finally started putting it all back together. It was nice out, and I wanted to make sure and get this out of the garage again before it gets cold. I got most of it plumbed with hoses, nozzles and tips. But it's not finished. Still need to get a new valve and sediment filter for underneath the tank. I didn't realize the originals were as bad as they are until I took it apart to paint it. Should have known, based on the rest of the sprayer... but didn't look. I'm also still trying to decide how I want to wire it. Might be cool to wire it to a cigar plug and use the on-board lighter to power it, but then I wouldn't be able to pull it with a round hood if I wanted to. Will probably be spring clamps for the battery terminals to keep it universal. I also need to find a waterproof on/off switch to operate the pump.

I blackened the gallon marks on the tank to be able to see them better. This is a 30 gallon tank.

booms up

booms down. span is about 8 feet wide. (still need to finish the underside plumbing before I can test it to see how wide the spray pattern is.)

A close up of how the spring loaded boom part works. You grab the far end of the boom, and pull back. That moves the boom arm outside that welded square, and you can rotate it down until it hits the other tab which holds it horizontal. I had to buy longer springs and cut them down to find the right size. The hose naturally lays on top, but I moved it under just to show this detail.

Normal up position, the hoses just roll out of the way.

[kpinnc 10,980]

Very nice sprayer Jason. They come in very handy come springtime!

I really like those wheels. No such thing as a flat on that!

[dclarke 4,011]

Looks very well built Jason, that will give you years of service.

[neil 2,398]

just what i need.

nice job

[312Hydro 473]

Nice rebuild! Looks great on red. :handgestures-thumbupright:

[CasualObserver 3,406]

Thanks guys. I'm looking forward to finishing it up in the spring and testing. I'm thinking I might want to add two more spray tips halfway out on each boom to get proper overlap of the sprays, but won't know for sure until I test it. Nice part about it being built by an ag implement company is that all the parts I need to do that are readily available at my local farm supply stores.

In fact... I've looked around at prices online... and you could build pretty much an identical sprayer for around $250-300... or cheaper if you had any of the parts or steel already laying around. Most expensive pieces are the tank and pump. Yes, that's about what you'd pay for a Fimco or Northstar sprayer ready to go.... but the quality would be significantly different!

[AMC RULES 36,961]

It's looking pretty much all now...very nicely done Jason.