Favorite Inline Sprayers

As I look towards what I hope will be an early Spring in about 6 weeks, I realize that I need to replace my inline sprayers. Out of the the 5 that I bought 3 years ago, I am down to 1 that works well and a back-up that is just passable. I have a few HF units, a Mytee, and a couple of no-name units that have been rebuilt a couple of times now. The only ones left standing are a rebuilt no-name and the HF.

I really liked the ones with a 7-quart low-profile jug that filled from the back, but the spray assemblies were not good, especially the wand. On commercial, that jug design was by far the best option for capacity and it would never tip over when you set it down...also very easy to fill AND wash out.

I am going to try one of Joe's sprayers and probably graft a second assembly onto a 7 qt jug as well to see if that gets me what I want. I would like to set up 4 sprayers by Spring so this will be a test run.

Anyone try one yet or want to suggest their favorite model(s)? I also wonder if it would be valuable to make one using a much smaller jug for urine pre-treatments and for small jobs where you only need about a quart size. I hate to throw out chemicals not used, but I hate pump-up sprayers even more. Sure you can make a smaller batch in the 5-7 qt jugs, but they don't always siphon well with a low volume of mix.

I'd get one of Joes. You know he'll back it up.
I'd been getting new meter blocks on eBay. They were OK, last about 8to 10 mo. But the last 2 went bad real quick. Went back to 3 gl pump up.

I have one on the way Matt.

I bought those repair kits a few times as well and had the same experience. The problem has often been that they leak where the straw attaches. If a leak shows up there they just push water into the jug instead drawing from it.

If you didn't toss those things, you might want to open them up. I recall getting 2 that were DOA because the check ball was located on the wrong side of the spring. Corrected that and they both worked for about a year after that, not that it would be a huge endorsement since they should last longer than that, but you might be able to use them again.

I actually rebuilt one last night so now I have a couple of good drawing units, but would like to improve on it some more.

Every time I consider going to inline sprayer and think about the time I might save using them I hear these stories. Electric sprayer are slower but same there reliable

I think the inline really just saves you on commercial or on a very large house. I go through 2 - 5qt inline sprayer jugs on several of my buildings which would be a ton of refills on an electric sprayer or pump-up. On a home...I think any sprayer would work and an electric might even be better due to the lower psi and not worrying about the heat being too much for the siphon action.

They both have there purpose

Just received my new sprayer from Joe, very heavy duty design. I will give it try on Monday's job and report back on how it performs. For now I can say that it was clearly made to last. I would make a couple of small tweeks to the design, but over-all it looks to be a very good sprayer.

Nothing like a new toy to boost morale.

So is Joe's a custom made block?
I may just get one and have it on hand.

Matt; My carpet cleaner wrote:So is Joe's a custom made block?
I may just get one and have it on hand.

It pretty much all is by the looks:

SS siphon block
Psi Washer gun handle
Very rigid jug with side fill
QC connected hose instead of swivels that leak
Over-sized screen filter

I really like the QC hose connection for fast replacement, side fill is nice, and the cap has a lanyard. Seems like a very solid sprayer with just a couple of things that I didn't like. One is the velcro that straps it to the bottle is a bit long and needed to be trimmed back for comfort (very minor issue) and the gun assembly is heavier than what you find on other models. That is a good thing in that it will likely out-last them by a mile, but is a little heavier. I guess that would be a positive or negative depending on your preference.

I bought the full sprayer and a second assembly to attach to a 7 qt spray jug for commercial jobs. I will test it out soon and see how it goes, but it looks bullet-proof from the large filter screen to the tip.

Well, I ran the sprayer last night for a 6 hour job and thought that I would share my thoughts.

Good

+ SS spray tip had a very good spray pattern
+ SS siphon block
+ Large straw filter worked really well with powders
+ QC connections for the hose was great. Swiveled nice and allows you to replace the hose easily when needed
+ Siphoned well even at very high temperature

Weak Points

- Trigger assembly is very robust with larger grip and handle tension, so small hands might not approve
- I would prefer a 7 qt jug with wider base to prevent tipping, but that might just be me.
- There was no metering tip, but it is threaded for them so you just have to add one once the clamp is removed

That is about all there is to report. I am a bigger guy with large hands so I didn't find the gun assembly uncomfortable, but my sub didn't like the trigger tension nor size, so opinions will vary on that. Really, only the metering tip aspect was anything that I felt was a flaw since the straw was clamped up with Oetiker clamps, so changing or even adding a metering tip will require the cutting off of that clamp and replacing with an inferior hose clamp design.

Still, for the money, it felt like a really good sprayer with a very robust design. I know that a lot of cleaners remove the metering tips anyway, but if you prefer that flexibility, then the clamp usage would be a disappointment. I have some sprayers with them and some without so I am no oracle on the subject, but it would probably be better with a different clamp usage at the metering block or else specify the tip prior to installation of the straw. Even better would be to design a straw connection that screwed on securly with o-ring to ensure a tight seal...that would really be a home run as air leakage right there is often the cause for poor siphoning to begin with.