in praise of pump-up sprayers

Until recently, my only pump-up sprayer was a Chapin from the 1990s. I had to recharge it every couple of minutes because it didn't seal well. I had to keep cleaning debris out of the spray tip. The tank was designed so that debris tended to stay in when I rinsed it. The pump didn't work very well and couldn't be disassembled for cleaning. The diaphragm in the valve was often sticky.

A few months ago I bought a second one so I could wash and rinse out of reach of a hose. What a difference! Everything including the pump comes apart without tools! The pickup tube has a strainer! The pump assembly screws into the tank with an O-ring instead of a flat washer. The space around it is an open bowl, so I can use an ounce of water to verify the seal by checking for bubbles. I can come back weeks later and still have pressure!

Why didn't my 1990s sprayer have these features?

An unexpected benefit has been ease and efficiency washing walls, woodwork, and floors indoors. It used to require a wash pan and a rinse pan, to carry around and maybe spill. It meant soaking my hand in cleaning solution, which would get dirty as I worked. If I mix a quart, which could be borax in water, the sprayer can be charged and ready any time I have a minute for a wash job, and I dip my hand only in rinse water.

A standard sprayer nozzle shoots 1/4 gallon a minute in a stream or a cone. Outdoors, it was adequate to rinse a mower but not a car or a wall. I got a kit of flat spray heads: 1/4, 1/3, and 1/2 gallon per minute. It came with a strainer!

The 1/2 gallon flat nozzle works great for flushing a car or truck. If the job takes 3 quarts of rinse water, that's 90 seconds of rinsing -- a few seconds for each section. No getting wet, making puddles, getting the hose out, or putting it away.

I have to use the flat nozzle kit with my old sprayer. It's a Chapin kit, but it doesn't have an adapter to use with my new Chapin sprayer unless I remove the wand.

Reply to
J Burns
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Do you have a brand, model, URL?

I use pump up garden sprayers from Harbor Freight to rinse dust off machinery, now and again.

- . Christopher A. Young learn more about Jesus .

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Reply to
Stormin Mormon

A few years ago, I bought a Chinese pump-up sprayer at Dollar General. The connection at the spray valve soon leaked. Then I began noticing puddles. The tank had cracked.

I was able to clean the pump in my old Chapin by prying out the valve, soaking the pump in a bucket of soapy water, and pumping. Later, I squirted some silicon lube into it. The filter that came with the nozzle kit makes a big difference. Plumber's grease helps me get a good seal when I screw the top down.

My new one is a Chapin 20000. Neighbors have one with a store brand or insecticide brand, but it's the same. The nozzle kit is Chapin 6-4824.

Chapin makes models for bleach and concrete stains. I wish they'd tell the buyer which chemicals were okay for a certain model and which to watch out for. Some can be sprayed if the sprayer is cleaned soon.

If I had it to do over, I'd get one where I could use an assortment of nozzles with the wand, like my old one. It's hard to know what I'm buying. I'd love a bigger adjustable-cone nozzle in case I'm doing something where I want an extinguisher handy.

I put plumber's grease on the o-ring, to help it seal and make it easier to tighten and loosen.

A neighbor gave me several unmarked gallon-bottles of pink stuff. I knew one was degreaser. I mixed up some pink stuff to clean my riding mower. I rinsed with the fan spray. In rinsing, I got out a bunch of oily leaf particles, jammed under the muffler. It's hard to get used to a mower that doesn't smell like burnt oil!

Afterward, I discovered that I'd used windshield washer fluid, not degreaser. It worked remarkably well!

I believe Smith is Chapin's American competitor. I wonder what they offer.

Reply to
J Burns

Twenty bucks, not bad if it works for a couple years.

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Thank you.

Knew a guy who worked for Burger King. Blue stuff for windows, green stuff for bathrooms, pink stuff for tables. Or some such logic.

Air conditioner coil cleaner comes in pink, green, and purple choices.

- . Christopher A. Young learn more about Jesus .

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Reply to
Stormin Mormon

I see D.B. Smith's competition 1-gallon chemical-proof sprayer for $15 at the bottom of the page. I don't know if they have flaws.

Years ago I bought a Smith's 1-quart pump-up sprayer from American Science and Surplus. It was new, and the pickup tube didn't work right. I replaced it with a piece of sheathing from indoor telephone cable. I also had to make a gasket. Before long, I had to replace the o-ring in the pump. The new o-ring soon swelled and jammed because I'd lubed it with Vaseline. I switched to plumber's grease, and it has worked fine for years. I keep insecticide in it. I don't keep it pressurized because the fluid would seep into the pump and end up in my face when I pulled the plunger. I guess Smith engineers didn't work out the bugs in that model, but it has become reliable. If I find a fireant nest, I'll squirt an ounce on the mound. In a week there will be no sign of life.

I've used Chapins a lot since the 80s and found them durable. They seem to have a very big line of pump-up sprayers and offer a lot of info on the web. If I were going to buy another, I'd study the product information on their site.

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I saved my house from termites by using my old sprayer to apply TimBor, with the consistency of latex paint. Maybe I could use a pump-up sprayer to slap paint on an exterior wall. I'd probably have to go over it with a brush, but think of the labor it would save!

Then I could invite kids over to paint the ceilings with pump-up sprayers!

Reply to
J Burns

Yesterday I looked at pump up sprayers. I keyed the model number you gave me into my search engine, and look at it on Amazon. Today, I have a "suggested post" by Facebook, which is the sprayer on Amazon showing up on my facebook page. Don't know how they do that, but I don't like it.

- . Christopher A. Young learn more about Jesus .

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Reply to
Stormin Mormon

1) It was new, and the pickup tube didn't work right.
3) Before long, I had to replace the o-ring in
4) The new o-ring soon swelled and jammed because I'd lubed it
5) I don't keep it pressurized because

That's a lot of engineering for a pump sprayer. You're not the only one. I've got a sprayer, or used to. I used my tubing bender to change the angle of the brass wand, then when it started to leak, I used generous doses of electrical tape around the discharge hose. Later rebuilt the compression fittings that atach the discharge hose.

Nice sprayer, put out good stream of water, and very useful.

- . Christopher A. Young learn more about Jesus .

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Reply to
Stormin Mormon

It sounds like you're easily excited about things? Have you tried reading, walking, or maybe an exercise class? (is this micky or jerry?)

Reply to
bob_villa

Aw, it could have been anybody at AHC. Besides, if it had been me, and I'm not saying it was, you couldn't prove it because I had Zuckerman sign a nondisclosure agreement.

Reply to
J Burns

Facebook knows EVERYTHING you do. Even when your computer is turned off, they are tracking you. They even record everytime you take a shit, and have videos to prove it.

But there is a solution. DO NOT USE FACEBOOK! NEVER link to any Facebook page. Use "facebookblocker" (an addon for Firefox). Put about

40 entries in your HOSTS file to block them. (Google for "Facebook HOSTS file blocking").

I do ALL of this!

If this still dont work.... Find Zuckerman, and punch him in his ugly Bookface!

Then start a Facebook haters club in your community!

I admit to HATING Facebook! Facebook has ruined the entire internet!

Reply to
Jerry.Tan

It starts with making kids attend school, where the teacher's motto is, "We don't want to hear it." Kids can't talk privately, but occasionally a kid gets the privilege of saying something in front of the class.

Facebook first became popular as a scheme for obscure Harvard students to jump up and speak in front of the class. Facebook works on that desire. You try to cultivate thousands of "friends" so you can feel you are saying cool things in front of an enormous class.

I'm old fashioned. When I want to babble in front of a class, I go to AHC.

Reply to
J Burns

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