Flexicoil double tank/boom sprayer…….

[blackpowder]

My dad was running this pull type and did a good job. He doesn’t want to do the SP as it’s too complex. Not sure how good the booms on a suspended model would follow in our hills and how much more complicated that would make it to run? I know our spray coupe can’t keep up with the booms for following in the hills and we have manually help it.

Good points. Not for an older operator maybe.....
I've run them manually in hills, just not fast. I've also put auto height on them but adds to cost.
I just liked not having boom wheels trying to upend in sloughs or ruts and you can pick them up over the odd fence or tree or in right corners. Jacknifing not an issue.
If you're doing your own, who says you have to race?

[WiltonRanch]

Good points. Not for an older operator maybe.....
I've run them manually in hills, just not fast. I've also put auto height on them but adds to cost.
I just liked not having boom wheels trying to upend in sloughs or ruts and you can pick them up over the odd fence or tree or in right corners. Jacknifing not an issue.
If you're doing your own, who says you have to race?

I have a 67xl with suspended booms. No auto height. Might spray a bit high in hills but run air induction nozzles and don’t break land speed records. Not gloating but it does a good job.

I look at sp guys and they’re running high as I am in these hills as well. As well, ownership costs on these pt sprayers are so low I can afford to hire neighbours with similar number of acres to do fungicide and preharvest with their sp machines.

[fjlip]

We have a Deere controller, Auto rate, sectional just like $500,000 gets you. 3" fill, JD guidance...missing NOTHING for $35000, 6 years ago. Custom guy has SFA to do, everyone has the SP.

[blackpowder]

Im in a 3 way co-op on a sp.
Not necessarily cheaper but gets access to labor I don't have. An acre cost regardless of profit margin on crop tho too. If had labor would sometimes wish I had a pull type yet.

[WiltonRanch]

I can’t bear the costs of owning a sp or better yet I think it would be foolish to own a machine capable of spraying most of my land base. Like I said before guys with similar acres own sp machines and what their per acre cost is crazy compared to mine. Sure I have to hire fungicide and preharvest if needed but that’s less than the cost of owning a sp machine. If I farmed level ground I’d probably have a more cost effective sp machine for acres farmed but in these hills and swamps I need lots of power and rubber a piddly SpraCoupe would crap the bed in.

[AlbertaFarmer5]

I'm with you on this one, Wilton.
I think I'm well past the acres that would justify a newer larger sp.
But I rarely do fungicide and I don't do free harvest on principle.
I seem to get all of my in crop spraying done on time. Pre seed burned down is definitely a bottleneck though. Doing that two or three times as fast would definitely help.
At the spring the outside round of every field, I wish I had an SB that could go over obstacles with proper breakaways. I do spend a lot of time tangling with trees and fences and brush piles and fixing as a result.
I paid $3,000 for this machine probably 10 seasons ago. And spend a few hundred dollars a year on parts. To get into an SP with a comparable-sized tank Good easily cost 100 times what this machine cost, and it will do the exact same job at the end of the day.

I have enough tractors that a tractor can stay married to the sprayer for the entire season, and there is no breakdown that would cost more than a few hundred dollars or a few hours of welding.

Not much fun on first year breaking though. With brush piles everywhere, snags and Roots sticking up, rough, wet. Trample a lot of crop trying to get everything covered.

But for some reason, the custom operators with expensive machines aren't excited about coming to do small patches of fresh breaking under these conditions either.

[woodland]

Im in a 3 way co-op on a sp.
Not necessarily cheaper but gets access to labor I don't have. An acre cost regardless of profit margin on crop tho too. If had labor would sometimes wish I had a pull type yet.

This co-op you mention how does that work? Did you all split the purchase and operating costs or??? Not to be nosy but just curious how and if something like this works………….

[woodland]

I'm with you on this one, Wilton.
I think I'm well past the acres that would justify a newer larger sp.
But I rarely do fungicide and I don't do free harvest on principle.
I seem to get all of my in crop spraying done on time. Pre seed burned down is definitely a bottleneck though. Doing that two or three times as fast would definitely help.
At the spring the outside round of every field, I wish I had an SB that could go over obstacles with proper breakaways. I do spend a lot of time tangling with trees and fences and brush piles and fixing as a result.
I paid $3,000 for this machine probably 10 seasons ago. And spend a few hundred dollars a year on parts. To get into an SP with a comparable-sized tank Good easily cost 100 times what this machine cost, and it will do the exact same job at the end of the day.

I have enough tractors that a tractor can stay married to the sprayer for the entire season, and there is no breakdown that would cost more than a few hundred dollars or a few hours of welding.

Not much fun on first year breaking though. With brush piles everywhere, snags and Roots sticking up, rough, wet. Trample a lot of crop trying to get everything covered.

But for some reason, the custom operators with expensive machines aren't excited about coming to do small patches of fresh breaking under these conditions either.

Ya no custom guy would touch our “special” fields out here. Last field I sprayed is probably 40 year old pasture that had 10 foot willows and poplars coming up in spots. We shaved and piled them in the winter but some are still there to smack the nozzle bodies and break them. The SP is nice to carry high over the ugly stuff

[LEP]

Not all SP sprayer costs are what you think. We bought a 3330 case with low hours with floater tires and crop dividers at Auction. Used it for about 275,000 acres and sold the sprayer for 60,000 less. Spent very little in maintenance. Just the odd valve and tips. Great sprayer. Pretty reasonable to run.

[AlbertaFarmer5]

Not all SP sprayer costs are what you think. We bought a 3330 case with low hours with floater tires and crop dividers at Auction. Used it for about 275,000 acres and sold the sprayer for 60,000 less. Spent very little in maintenance. Just the odd valve and tips. Great sprayer. Pretty reasonable to run.

So how many passes per acre per year take to put that many acres on a machine?

[Hamloc]

Not all SP sprayer costs are what you think. We bought a 3330 case with low hours with floater tires and crop dividers at Auction. Used it for about 275,000 acres and sold the sprayer for 60,000 less. Spent very little in maintenance. Just the odd valve and tips. Great sprayer. Pretty reasonable to run.

LEP I bought a 7660 Spra Coupe at auction with 600 hours on it. Ran it for 5 years, put 1100 hrs. on it. I did some welding on the booms, replaced a few relays and other minor repairs. When I traded it off I got $20000 less than I payed for it, I was very lucky. Now I run a Case ih 3320, repair cost has certainly been higher, all repairs electrically related.

I did have a Flexicoil 67 xl about 10 years ago. It was a good sprayer. The wind screens required a fair bit of maintenance. Certainly the rate controller was a bit finicky. Lack of sectional control was a big issue on my many odd shaped fields. Saved me money on fungicides because it seemed to expensive to hire it done. I will say I really enjoy spraying with an sp sprayer, not as much with the pull type!

[sawfly1]

Had both a 100 ft.twin tank and a 120 ft.
Twin at different times, used it before the fall spraying days for Curtail in the small tank, Canada thistle.
While always good sprayers. From a 62 on up to 67 xlt ,in 100 and 120. I found the 120 had too much whip.
Circumstances one time caused me to go back from an 854 Rogator to a pull type for 2 years , you just can't do it once you have gone SP. You just can't go back.

[blackpowder]

Prices the way they are now we likely won't be able to flip for $30/hr like last time. Used glut gone, new way up.

Each partner pays his proportional share of bank payment/ac. Operating expense, repairs. We also pay an operator. No custom done. No extra insurance. Residual equity owned individually by that %. My CCA, debt, and liability ins alone.
My shortage is labor as well as equity.
Some partners treat it as custom at half price. Some try to chip in, one does all the work. Typical lol.
I fung, rest do not. Often a factor of 3 - 3.5 trips/ac for me. 3 or less for the others.
Gone for most are the days when a combine is ever truly paid for or ran one year for "free". Sprayers there too.
I'd still be happy to run a suspended boom pull type. But I'd still have half my acres custom then.

[furrowtickler]

Had both a 100 ft.twin tank and a 120 ft.
Twin at different times, used it before the fall spraying days for Curtail in the small tank, Canada thistle.
While always good sprayers. From a 62 on up to 67 xlt ,in 100 and 120. I found the 120 had too much whip.
Circumstances one time caused me to go back from an 854 Rogator to a pull type for 2 years , you just can't do it once you have gone SP. You just can't go back.

Depends on perspective I guess
We have a 4430 Case 100ft . Been good , getting up in hours . Was looking to trade up to a used 4440 with 135 ft booms but wow not after the last few years am I going to dish out over $300,000 to $400,000 plus our sprayer .
Been looking for a pull type for several reasons:

Help keep hours down on the 4430 till if we ever get a good crop
Wanted big tank , we’re looking for a 2400 gal but this 1850 will work for high volume spraying like Liberty
Will use it for streaming 28 on if conditions allow , less filling and stress on the HC
Will also use it in fall for burn off , liquid streaming and or products like liquid rival / bonanza
Don’t need to run a HC for that
Depreciation is huge on HC sprayers now .
Nephew can run the HC now and I can putt around with the FAST when needed
We bought this FAST for $24,000 and pull it with the ole 9270 case . Very cheap insurance as well if HC ever lets us down in a critical time

[helmsdale]

Anybody know if you can single out a 4wd and get a FAST to track the same?