I first bought a Hudson, and no matter how carefully I clean it, it doesn't seem to work well. I have a DB Smith Max and it works pretty well.

BTW, regardless of brand, they are awkward to carry. So I noticed I had an old tote bag with a wide strap and metal clips at the ends. I attached that to my sprayer. Hanging it off my shoulder was sure better than carrying it. Two gallons of water is heavy!

tag for interest. I haven't researched sprayers but there must be something better than the pump ones I've been using.

Do they make electric or battery powered ones?

A quick google search "electric garden sprayers" shows that there are both. I'm not sure there is much to be gained though. Some are on wheels and have to be dragged around, some are on electric cords, and batteries add weight on shoulder units (and seem to reduce the spray reservoir capacity).

I will suggest that the occasional hand-pumping is not that big a problem, although I do notice that batteries are getting lighter and more powerful.

A corded model would be a problem unless your spraying is quite near an outlet; cords can really get caught around stuff. For myself, my spraying requirements are 150' from the house and over rough ground, so shoulder straps and pumping works for me.

I had a 1 gal battery operated that was marvelous but the stupid, made in china thing, only lasted one season. Could never find another.

A larger, 2 gal, battery operated Black & Decker was equally worthless.

A sprayer with a copper nozzle seems to last a little longer but not by much. be ready to send $$$, buying a new one yearly.

I feel your pain bossyvossy. Power is nice, but when that is the main selling point, the rest of the sprayer may not be so good.

But regarding replacing sprayers yearly, I found that just soaking my sprayer parts in the basement laundry sink overnight reduced clogging problems a WHOLE lot, and that's the main problem with sprayers.

I actually keep 3 sprayers (no matter how carefully I rinse them, I just don't trust it). One for herbicides (poison ivy - I swear my neighbors actively grow the stuff), one for organic insecticides, and one for foliar nutrient spraying.

The herbicide one is the 2 gallon shoulder unit. The other 2 are 1 quart ortho handhelds that never seem to have any problems.

I suppose I'm somewhat ready then, I have picked up a 3 gallon Lesco unit that comes with a shoulder sling, and it works. I have 2 green thumb units , a 2 gallon, and a 2 quart unit. I hope to set up the 2 gallon with Captain Jacks Bug Killer , and the 3 gallon with Actinol for the tomatoes.
The .5 gallon may be needed for the cucumber beetles if they show. Thanks for the info .I think Ill do a Google search and see if I can get some spare parts on hand, just in case.

I failed to mention all three are hand pump models .I too am about 150 feet from a plug.

Hand pump is not a real problem.

By all means, get a backpack sprayer. I'm partial to the Stihl (same as the chainsaws) model, for reasons I won't get into just now, but I tell you honestly, once you've had a backpack, you will wonder how you lived without it. The occasional pumping you do doesn't interrupt your spraying and you don't have to dismount the thing. Try it-you'll like it.

+oM

Currently I have Solo sprayer and like it well enough. For this coming season I am moving to Rittenhouse because I mostly do compost teas so I need more of passing some solids in it.
Birchmeier is the leading one if you want sprayer that lasts forever. It is a bit pricey though

Here is a link that might be useful: Rittenhouse sprayer

I am using a cheapo one gallon. It is enough for my needs. I don't spray more than 1/2 gallon fungicide at a time.
But for someone with over 100 plants I would suggest a professional grade 2 gallon, hand pumped, back pack. STIHL is name that pops up in my mind. I would avoid Black and Decker. I have had bad experience with its nozzle system.

Seysonn

+1 on the Solo. I've got a bunch of different sprayers and the one linked below is far and away my favorite (2L size). I especially like the fact that the end rotates so that you can easily spray on the underside of the leaves.

Here is a link that might be useful: Solo 420 2-Liter One-Hand Pressure Sprayer