What You Need to Know about a Hose End Sprayer
The first thing is that they all work on the venturi principle - the fact that a stream of moving air/water passing over a smaller opening will create suction in that opening.
So why is this important?
You need a steady flow of water at enough flow and pressure to create a vacuum. If you’re on a well-pump and you’re at the end of a 100-foot hose, the pressure might not be adequate to ensure a steady flow.
If that pump turns on and off, then the difference in pressure might be turning the flow of material in the hose end sprayer on and off as well.
Long runs of hose are equally problematic when small diameter hoses are being used. No matter the water pressure, if you’re running too far a length of hose, you’re going to run into application problems.
So Why Is This Important (part two)
Changes in flow rates change the amount of material you apply through the hose end sprayer. Some times it will be too heavy and sometimes too light.
This is important if you’re metering on any kind of fertilizer that might burn your plants if put on too heavily or if you’re applying any pesticide that might do environmental damage. (yeah, nobody tells you these small details when they sell you the unit).
So What Do You Use Them For?
I do NOT use them for any kind of control application - organic controls included. (I’m organic in my gardens so don’t have anything else) I want a controlled amount of material going out so I use backpack sprayers where the pressure is constant at the hose end and the amount of material being applied to the plant. I don’t use them for pesticide or herbicide sprays.
I do use them for feeding plants on a weekly basis. I find using the hose end sprayer to be much easier than lugging loads of water around my gardens. But I also use 3/4 inch sized hoses to ensure I have enough water pressure at the hose end to push the material out evenly. If there is a small pressure variation and resulting product concentration variation, it’s not critical with the low levels of Nitrogen I’m applying.
What Do You Look For When Buying One?
I look for rugged construction. I don’t know about you but I do tend to drop things, kick them, let them fall off shelves etc. So I want something that’s constructed of heavy plastic
I also want good plastic so I can easily take it apart and clean it. No fancy hidden gadgets or nozzly-things to collect and hide material.
I want an adjustable dosage dial that allows me to adjust the amount I’m delivering on the fly. When I get to the tomatoes, they are going to be fed heavier than the perennial garden and I don’t want to have to stop and adjust things - whip the dial around and we’re good to keep on watering.
Bottom Line
I’ve found the majority of units on the shelves do the same job no matter the color. I suspect they’re all made by the same factory anyway so I confess I buy the least expensive. I’ve had this one for 6-7 years now and it will probably be fine until I accidentally run a tractor over it (that’s how I killed the last one) :-)
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