DIY 3-Point Hitch Sprayer Project

I thought I would share a recent project I finished. When looking for a 3-point sprayer to kill a few acres of poison oak, it occured to me that there wasn’t much to them. Essentially a 3 point frame to support the tank, a tank, a pump and a nozzle. Since I already had a bunch of scrap rigid conduit laying around and a 55gal plastic drum that wasn’t being used for anything, I decided to buy a pump and nozzle and put them all together. Here is what the frame looked like before painting it. My welding is generally not pretty but I try always to clean/grind the parts prior to welding and make sure I get good penetration which isn’t hard when your only welding ¼” thick metal.

Amazing what a little rustoleum paint will do. After painting I added a little padding to the saddle where the tank/drum will ride. Just some left over pipe insulation. I mounted the pump next(2.2GMP Northstar from Northern Tool). The hose barb on the pump barely cleared the tubing I welded on to support the tank. I didn't account for that when  I was building the frame and I just got lucky that it cleared. 

I used a brass 3/8NPT hose barb to tap the Drum and connected that to the input side of the pump. Then I T'ed off the output side of the pump. One side of the T goes to a hand sprayer with about 15' of hose and the other side goes to a broadcast nozzle through a shut-off valve. That way i can broadcast or spot spray with the sprayer. Bought some ratchet straps to attach the tank to the frame. Also as an afterthought thought I might need to vent the tank. So that is what you see on the top. I just tapped a hose barb into the drum then added a bit of hose and another hose barb. Hope I don't get too much sloshing out. Also, I fashioned a long cord for the pump that would plug into an existing plug on my ROPS that I use to power my canopy lights. That way I can use an existing switch on the tractor to turn the pump on.

When building the frame I had to make sure the broadcast nozzle I bought from Northern Tool would be the right height above the ground(36-48″). I decide to have the nozzle 48″ off the ground with the 3 point in the full up position. That way since my 3 point goes from 6″ off the ground in the down position to 28″ off the ground in the up position I can lower the lift to get into the recommended range. 

When all is said I put about $100 into the pump and nozzle, $12 for the straps, $10 for the paint, $15 for the wiring,$20 for the hose,$20 for the sprayer wand and about $25 for various hose barb fittings, hose clamps and a shutoff valve and almost forgot the category 1 implement pins I welded into the 3 point frame $10. So, looks like about $210 total. I did have the metal and tank in the form of scrap so didn't pay anything for that. The sprayer I was trying to match from Norhtern Tool was $450 plus tax. So, I saved a few hundred $ and got to spend a couple evenings de-stressing in my workshop. Havn't put it on the tractor yet but I did test it in the shop and it seems to work great.