Backpack Calibration

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06/01/2018 Added

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Learn how to calibrate a backpack sprayer using the Ounce Calibration Method.

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[00:00:12.176]Hi! I’m Jay Jenkins, Nebraska Extension
[00:00:14.286]Educator in Cherry County.
[00:00:15.886]Today I want to show you how to calibrate
[00:00:18.206]a backpack and handgun sprayer.
[00:00:20.156]The method I’m going to show you works
[00:00:22.506]for any single nozzle wand sprayer,
[00:00:24.536]whether it’s on a backpack, or on a 4-wheeler,
[00:00:27.096]or an ATV. It evens works for handguns
[00:00:29.356]that are on tractor-mounted sprayers.
[00:00:32.586]First thing you need to do when you
[00:00:34.686]calibrate or actually operate the sprayer
[00:00:36.986]anytime is you need to do an equipment
[00:00:39.146]check. You need to check and make sure
[00:00:41.426]everything is functioning properly, and
[00:00:43.626]make sure that there aren’t any leaks.
[00:00:45.796]The other thing that you need to do is you
[00:00:48.186]need to have the proper personal
[00:00:50.176]protective equipment or PPE on
[00:00:52.236]when you spray. Today I have a brand new
[00:00:54.726]sprayer. We’re only going to be spraying
[00:00:57.009]with water. I have long-sleeved shirt,
[00:00:59.579]shoes, socks, long pants, so I meet the
[00:01:03.579]PPE requirement for many pesticides.
[00:01:06.719]The only thing that we would add, had this
[00:01:09.099]sprayer been used before, for many
[00:01:11.259]pesticides would be I would be wearing
[00:01:13.705]rubber gloves.
[00:01:15.025]Once you’re ready to calibrate, measure
[00:01:17.325]off a 18½-foot square in the same terrain
[00:01:21.325]and groundcover as what you’re going to
[00:01:23.675]be spraying pesticide. It’s important that
[00:01:25.975]every person calibrate backpack or
[00:01:28.115]nozzle handgun sprayer for themselves.
[00:01:32.115]Personal preference regarding walking
[00:01:36.115]speed and how much water you apply to the
[00:01:38.675]plants has a big effect on how many
[00:01:40.835]gallons per acre you apply, so it’s really
[00:01:43.055]important that you do it yourself.
[00:01:45.195]Once you have your 18 ½-foot square
[00:01:48.265]measured out, go ahead and time yourself
[00:01:51.024]how long it takes you to spray it.
[00:01:54.277]Spray only using water and it’s best if
[00:01:57.777]you time yourself spraying that area
[00:02:00.757]2 times and average those times together.
[00:02:05.297]That way you’re more confident that that
[00:02:07.697]is indeed how long it takes to spray it.
[00:02:09.507]Once you’ve decided that you’re
[00:02:11.207]comfortable with the time it took to spray
[00:02:13.667]that 18 ft ½-foot square, then you put
[00:02:15.747]your nozzle in a bucket and you spray for
[00:02:18.137]the same length of time that it took you
[00:02:20.407]to spray the square. Once you’ve finished
[00:02:24.827]spraying, you collect the water that you
[00:02:27.957]collected and measure it in ounces, and
[00:02:31.957]the number of ounces that you collected
[00:02:34.977]is the number of gallons per acre
[00:02:36.917]that you applied.
[00:02:43.791]Rob Schultz, Hall Co.
[00:02:44.791]Weed Board Supervisor
[00:02:45.906]So it took me 55 seconds to spray this
[00:02:49.116]18 ½ by 18 ½-ft square. So now we’ll
[00:02:53.388]catch this water for 55 seconds and see
[00:02:57.858]what we come up with for gallons per acre
[00:03:01.598]out of this hand sprayer. This methodology
[00:03:04.519]works because the test area, 18.5 squared
[00:03:08.199]feet, is 1/128th of an acre. A US gallon
[00:03:14.015]is 128 fluid ounces. So the fluid ounces
[00:03:17.715]of spray required to test the treat area,
[00:03:19.955]therefore, is equivalent to the gallons of
[00:03:22.325]spray output that would be applied to a
[00:03:25.775]full acre, provided the operator maintains
[00:03:29.650]a consistent pattern of spray output and
[00:03:32.890]spray coverage.
[00:03:33.910]So figure it up, we did 24 ounces out of
[00:03:36.230]that 55 seconds. That means I’m putting on
[00:03:40.230]24 gallons per acre.
[00:03:42.759]Once you know how many gallons per acre
[00:03:45.219]of water you’re putting on, you can
[00:03:47.189]figure out what portion of an acre your
[00:03:49.519]spray tank will hold. Once you know
[00:03:51.549]how many acres or what portion of an acre
[00:03:53.999]your spray tank holds, you can then put in
[00:03:57.719]the proper amount of pesticide.
[00:04:00.333]Sprayer calibration isn’t difficult,
[00:04:03.683]but there are a couple of steps that you
[00:04:06.173]need to remember. First of all, it’s
[00:04:08.153]18½ ft by 18½ feet. That’s important
[00:04:11.323]because it eliminates the math when you
[00:04:13.633]collect the water from the bucket.
[00:04:17.263]Another thing is that every person has to
[00:04:19.583]do the calibration for themselves.
[00:04:22.433]The third thing is that the calibration
[00:04:24.593]must be done in the same terrain
[00:04:26.393]or groundcover as what you’ll be spraying.
[00:04:29.173]Today we’re spraying in a lawn, in grass,
[00:04:32.423]so that’s where we’re calibrating. If we
[00:04:35.469]were spraying leafy spurge on a hillside
[00:04:37.729]or thistles on a ditch bank, we would be
[00:04:40.679]calibrating in those areas. So it’s
[00:04:42.719]important that you calibrate in the same
[00:04:45.069]place that you’ll be spraying.
[00:04:47.651]Finally, calibration isn’t hard,
[00:04:49.331]but you do have to do it.

Backpack Calibration

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Backpack Calibration

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