

An example table from a catalogue is shown in Figure 1. Common spray qualities for agricultural nozzles are Fine (orange), Medium (yellow), Coarse (blue), Very Coarse (green), and Extremely Coarse (white). Manufacturers now publish tables containing “Spray Quality”, a broad categorization of droplet size, for their various nozzles and spray pressures in their product line. The upper pressure limits are kept low enough to prevent the formation of excessively fine sprays. At low pressures, engineers look for a uniform pattern that meets the advertised fan angle. Nozzle manufacturer catalogues identify the pressure range over which the nozzle should be operated. Each nozzle model has a unique spray pressure range and unique spray qualities within that range, so one must obtain information that is specific to the nozzles on the spray boom from the nozzle manufacturer.ĪSABE spray quality for the TeeJet AIXR nozzle. The last two of these affect coverage, overlap, and spray drift, so it’s important to get them right. Pressure affects the flow rate of the nozzle, the spray pattern (fan angle) and the spray quality (droplet size range). Of these, the most critical is spray pressure. Nozzle performance depends on a number of factors. What does that mean for the available travel speed range that’s possible with any given nozzle? To answer that question, we first have to have a closer look at how pressure affects nozzle performance.

Some sprayer pumps may even have a problem generating some of the higher pressures a rate controller calls for. Some nozzles don’t work well at low pressures. Rate controllers aren’t smart enough to know how pressure affects nozzle performance. In practice, this means that higher travel speeds result in higher spray pressure, and vice versa.īut it’s not that simple. The rate controller allows the applicator to enter a desired application volume and the controller sets the spray pressure that gives the necessary flow for the application volume and sprayer travel speed being used. More pressure equals more flow to the boom. It controls the spray liquid pressure by opening or closing a bypass valve.
#1.25 PRESSURE REGULATOR FOR AG SPRAYERS HOW TO#
We explore how to make them work properly.Ī rate controller needs to know the boom width (entered by the user), the total spray liquid flow rate (from a flow meter), and the sprayer speed (gps, radar). They ensure consistent application volumes, but they don’t do all the thinking for you. Automatic rate controllers are standard equipment on almost all new sprayers.
