Best maintenance practices on sprayers and spreaders

Sprayers and spreaders are helpful, but if owners fail to maintain them properly, they can bring about a lot of headaches.

“They’re like any other piece of equipment in your shop,” says Marcus Belote, owner of Turf Experts in Raleigh, North Carolina. “Take care of them, and they’ll take care of you. I do a lot of preventive maintenance because I can’t afford to have them not working or to be waiting on a part.”

Contractors offered considerations for maintaining sprayers and spreaders properly.

Look for the little things. Slight quirks can become big annoyances down the road. “Look at how the hose winds,” says Beau Hartman, owner of Hartman Landscaping, in Zanesville, Ohio. “After a year or two, I found that the coil hoses start to droop. If the muffler is on that side, it melts the hose. I prefer a hose reel rather than a coil type.” An electric windup is a timesaver, too.

Clean everything regularly. Equipment will last longer if corrosive products, such as fertilizers, aren’t left to sit in the hoppers. Some products can build up on the impeller so that you’ll get uneven distribution of material, Belote says. Rinse out spreaders on a daily or weekly basis, depending on how frequently you use them.

Also, sprayers should be cleaned daily. Ideally, don’t leave product in the tank overnight, as it can degrade. Fred Kapp, educational director for the Green Industry Web Portal, a training website affiliated with Auburn University, says it also may cause issues with fittings and gaskets over time. Check the manufacturer’s recommendations for how much water to use to flush the system and follow local codes for proper capture and disposal of waste water.

Do a regular inspection. Examine the spray nozzles, which can get damaged if dropped or dragged. You may need to take them apart and clean them every few days to prevent clogs, Hartman says. “We don’t use granular product, but even with liquid a film remains behind,” he says. “You can’t wait a week in between cleanings.”

Look for leaks at connections. Examine the diaphragm. Some companies replace them proactively, rather than waiting for them to fail. Lube grease fittings as needed, typically every few days. Examine impellers, as well. The fins should not be worn, which can cause a distorted distribution pattern, Kapp says.

It’s also important to maintain proper tire pressure. “If you run on under-inflated tires, that can change the operating speed of the machine,” Kapp says. Even on push units, 80 pounds of fertilizer on flat tires will not yield a smooth application.

Stock extra parts. Keep parts such as belts, cables, pins and extra hoses on the truck so you won’t be stuck going back to the shop in the middle of a job, says Belote. At the shop, have agitators, regulators and diaphragms on hand for unexpected repairs. “You’re going to need to replace these eventually, so keep them on the shelf,” he says.

Keep engines humming. For ride-on units, follow the manufacturer’s recommendations for tasks such as changing the oil and air filters, inspecting spark plugs and checking the battery. At the very least, do all these maintenance tasks at the end of the season. Have a system in place to keep track of hours and what was done for each unit. Spreadsheets are fine, but an old-school binder is OK, too.

The author is a freelance writer based in the Northeast.