I'm all about playing with big fun toys in the yard though!

Me too! I have two garden tractors (a Cub Cadet 1450 and a 2072) and I need neither :-)

I agree with your concerns related to the tow behind. I also do have one concern with backpack sprayers. The spray pattern is so narrow you have to make many passes to cover the entire area. It's almost impossible to not miss a strip of grass, and in the case of PGR it becomes very visible very quickly. I wish dyes would work a little better.

I can see how that would be an issue. The tow behind spray rig would certainly be more consistent--I'm sure you have your eye on one already, how wide is the boom on that one?

This sucker here is 7 foot wide.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HO3IZLM?ref_=ams_ad_dp_asin_2

That's pretty sweet, but I have 2 questions right off the bat:

1) How much will an appropriate 12V battery cost & does the trailer have somewhere to mount it? I assume a motorcycle battery is the right size & you'll need a charger for it if the mower battery isn't compatible or too far away.

2) Since the wings don't fold & there's only 2 nozzles, do you have 7 feet of clearance everywhere on your property? It is nice that the nozzles are able to rotate for a narrower pattern, but if you can't get through the trees you may be pulling out the backpack anyway.

I bought a Chapin 4gal battery sprayer a few months ago. I use it every 2 wks for PGR, etc. It is so fun and easy. The included tip and wand assembly works just as well as the custom wand/tip assembly suggested on that other site. Since the pump is battery operated you have constant pressure and won't need all that other stuff recommended. The pump actually performed worse when I had the additional pressure regulators and stuff attached to it.

I have bleached my fence, shampooed my carpets with this thing. It has made spraying the lawn a very easy task. I have 5k and it take less than 10 to mix, spray, and clean. Also if you have any 20v black and decker battery packs, they are all interchangeable so you will never have to worry about that.

1) How much will an appropriate 12V battery cost & does the trailer have somewhere to mount it? I assume a motorcycle battery is the right size & you'll need a charger for it if the mower battery isn't compatible or too far away.

My understanding is that it runs straight off the mower power/battery. If it doesn't, it will :-). The engine puts out 15A, should be plenty to run it.

2) Since the wings don't fold & there's only 2 nozzles, do you have 7 feet of clearance everywhere on your property? It is nice that the nozzles are able to rotate for a narrower pattern, but if you can't get through the trees you may be pulling out the backpack anyway.

It's a concern, I can think of two spots where this might be an issue. Also, the whole thing has to be stored somewhere, so it will take up space.

I bought a Chapin 4gal battery sprayer a few months ago[...]

Thanks, that helps a lot hearing from someone who has already used it.

Thank you all for your input. The winner is:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Q03MMDO

Man, I'm adding one of those to my Xmas list right now

I do recommend one upgrade if possible. If you have an old solo wand lying around, remove the red trigger locking clip and install it on this hanle. Having a trigger lock does wonders for this when cleaning, volume testing, etc.

I received the package from Amazon and of course, immediately took it for a spin to spray some iron. I turned it on, pressed the trigger and -- nothing. I was sweating bullets. Eventually it started spraying, I guess the pump was priming. This thing is great, nice even pressure, much easier than the hand pumped one. The only thing I really missed was the locking trigger, so I'm going to buy the solo one and swap it. Overall very happy with it, this is going to be great.

Glad it worked for ya! Spray some fish fertilizer or kelp extract with that iron & you will be shocked at the results. I know it would offend your anti organic sensibilities, but those liquids are extremely cheap compared to your usual chems & go a long way.

Well, I actually do include ammonium sulfate in the mix with the ferrous sulfate so the fish fertilizer would be redundant. But what does the kelp extract do?

It's a bio stimulant, you have one of morpheus' kelp recipes on the lawniac site. I use it on bare spots, underperforming or leggy areas in the shade, or to boost the uptake of whatever I apply. It works especially well as a "kicker" when spraying weeds with herbicide--Cuts the burndown time in half.

What is ammonium sulfate & how does it do the same thing as the fish fertilizer? I bet it smells better than the fish...

Well really fish fertilizer is just a source of N, so the plant takes that in foliarly (is that a word? my spell check doesn't think so). Ammonium sulfate ((NH₄)₂SO₄, 21-0-0) is a synthetic source of N, it is used as a fast release fertilizer. As opposed to say urea which has to be processed by bacteria, the ammonium is directly available to the plant. Along with the iron, it deepens and darkens the green color of the plant. It does not smell at all.

Urea can also be used as a foliar spray with similar results. I've never tried urea but I may next round.

I think the fish fertilizer is a lot more than just a source of N, but I see what you're saying.

Good choice on the chapin, I think they make really good products. Are you using a boom with your new backpack?

+1 on kelp, good stuff there in my opinion. Check out these articles, they're pretty interesting:

http://blog.planthealthsolutions.com.au/kelp-helps-demonstrate-benefits-natural-chelation/

http://grounds-mag.com/mag/grounds_maintenance_biostimulating_turfgrasses/

Dang, that grounds mag article says seaweed extract increased bentgrass root mass by 66% in their tests at Virginia Tech. I would call that significant!

A boom with the backpack sprayer? What a wonderful idea. The Chapin is 35-40 psi, is that enough to run 4 nozzles?

Reeljake, Quite amazing the many benefits seaweed extract has to offer!

J4c11, I'm sure a boom would serve you well, but 4 nozzle might be a bit much. I think it would depend on nozzle setup though. I currently utilize a chapin 2 nozzle boom on my chapin 62000 manual pump sprayer with 21psi Cf valves and teejet 110 02 extended range nozzles. Pressure only has to be maintained just above 21 psi for this boom to work properly. I'm really intrigued by the electric pump model though and was curious if you were going to use a boom with it. Here's a pic of the boom I use

I'm definitely going to get some sort of boom setup, probably the Chapin 3 nozzle. I'll let you know how it goes.

That is awesome! You hold it out in front of you, or out to the side, or it attaches to the backpack somehow so you can just walk?

At this point, my plan is to build a small "cage" out of angle iron with a sleeve hitch yoke welded to it and a few clips for the boom. Then I can just drop the sprayer into the "cage", hook it up to the boom and start riding around.

I modified a standard pull behind Brinly core aerator last year for sleeve hitch attach and it's been great, no more getting off every time you have to cross the driveway.

Personally, I would refrain from making any changes to the Chapin sprayer. You are going to be at serious risk of a pump failure with any alterations (ask me how I know).

Nope, no changes to the sprayer, just adding a Chapin approved boom.

Is the hitch hydrolic?

Yes it is. It will lift 250lbs, possibly more, but I tested 250 on that aerator. Front wheels went up in the air a little but hey, it worked out :-)

If you could spray & aerate at the same time, that would be amazing!

The pull behind is nuclear grade overkill. I have been killing 6 acres of kudzu using a 4 gallon pumper and have had great results. Just make sure you have the correct nozzle on the backpack sprayer and are not walking too slow. I can sray about an 8th of an acge with one 4 gallon fill.

Chapin a good brand . Smith seems really good also.