Agricultural sprayers Ireland: choosing and checking new or used equipment

Use Teagasc’s machinery guidance to prepare a specification and a demonstration request. A sales demonstration and a statutory inspection serve different purposes, so check the inspection route in the Irish testing guide separately.

List the jobs the sprayer must do

Describe your crops, field access, tramlines and headland shape. Add the distance from the filling point, the tractor you already have and who will run the machine. Ask each supplier to explain how their proposed configuration meets that description.

List the jobs that compete for time at peak workload, including other work that needs the tractor or the sprayer. Allow for travel, preparation and cleaning when you compare spraying capacity. Ask a contractor to quote for the same workload before you decide whether ownership solves the seasonal bottleneck.

Tell the dealer which crops and jobs the machine must handle. A sprayer advertised for pasture may leave open questions about broad-leaved break crops, application volumes and cleaning between products.

Compare a tractor-mounted sprayer for sale against the carrier

Compare rear-mounted, platform-mounted, trailed and self-propelled machines against your carrier and workload. Trailed equipment adds a chassis; self-propelled designs also need a cab, engine and propulsion system.

Bring the tractor’s identification and equipment documentation to the compatibility discussion. Ask for a written assessment of the proposed combination, including tyres, ballast and linkage where relevant.

For an ATV boom or another quad installation, name the vehicle and the mounting kit explicitly and ask the supplier to address the complete loaded installation. An empty tank sitting on a rack does not show that the set-up works in the field.

Inspect the fitted equipment rather than the model name

The HARDI NAVIGATOR offers fluid-management functions and electronic-control options. Confirm its installed specification from the serial identification and supplied documentation.

A brochure can describe options that a used machine does not have. Make an inventory of the actual pump, boom, nozzle bodies, controller, receiver, valves, filters and cleaning equipment, and ask which features are standard, optional, retrofitted or disconnected. Check the filling, agitation and cleaning controls on the machine you are offered. A control terminal in the cab does not by itself show which functions work or whether the cables and receivers are included.

With the seller’s agreement, photograph the component plates and any visible modifications. Write down conflicting descriptions and settle them before you buy.

Ask for an itemised quotation that separates the machine, commissioning, transport, replacement parts and training. Keep promised repairs explicit: who will do them and how completion will be demonstrated.

Tank shape, residual liquid and cleaning access

Compare tank shape, residual liquid and internal cleaning access. Do not substitute nominal capacity for evidence about drainage and cleaning.

Describe where you will fill the machine and how the operator reaches the induction area. Ask to see the tank-level indication from the normal working position. Identify the hand wash tank separately from the spray-liquid and rinsing tanks, and look at its filling point, outlet and access. Ask how much liquid remains after normal emptying and where it collects.

For a replacement vessel, use the spray-tank guide. For routine quantity planning once the set-up is settled, use the tank calculator. A larger vessel or an arithmetic result does not confirm that the whole installation suits the tractor.

Arrange a controlled demonstration

Ask a competent seller or technician to demonstrate the machine following its own operating instructions. Agree beforehand what you want to see: filling indication, agitation, section response, instrument readings, leak checks and the cleaning cycle.

Record the fitted outlets, controller settings, test liquid and measurement method. Describe what you observed, such as an unstable reading or a delayed section, before you accept the seller’s explanation.

Do not improvise a pressure test or enter a tank. Take pressure fluctuations and slow section response to the manufacturer’s service procedure. If a repair is promised, ask for a repeat demonstration of that function afterwards.

Examine delivery and measurement together

Automatic rate control depends on accurate flow and forward-speed information. Pressure changes made by the controller can affect spray quality. Automation therefore belongs in the commissioning discussion alongside the fitted hardware.

Ask how speed is obtained, where flow is measured and which settings describe the boom. Ask for a demonstration of the actual configuration, not a general tour of the screens, and ask what happens when sections close, when the operator slows down and when a sensor gives an odd reading.

On a used machine, ask whether changes to the boom or nozzle spacing were reflected in the settings. Keep the final commissioning values with the machine’s papers, and make sure the operator knows which entries describe physical dimensions and which belong to a particular application.

Consider boom behaviour in your fields

Give the dealer your gate widths, obstacles and headland layout. Ask how the boom folds, clears obstacles and follows the ground, how staff reach the outer sections, and how the operator sees which sections are active. When looking at a 60 ft boom for sale, ask which hinges, supports, controls and fittings are included and whether the assembly suits the machine you plan to use it on.

For an electronically controlled boom, ask what the fitted sensors do and where they stop working, and what to do when you change crops or conditions. A demonstration on flat ground is one observation; then go through the situations your own fields present.

In the quotation, list guidance, section control and boom-height control separately. Ask which functions share one terminal and which need extra equipment, and keep the software or configuration references the service agent will need.

Budget for liquid-system repairs

Ask specific service questions: access to the pump, how to identify diaphragms and seals, filter availability, valves, and delivery times for parts for that model. Check that the pump position leaves room for repairs.

For a used machine, ask for the maintenance history and evidence of winter preparation. Describe any staining, damaged guards, cracked fittings or unexplained modifications to the technician, and ask which of them need repair, replacement or a closer look before the machine is commissioned.

Price the repairs you find, including workshop labour and downtime. On a cheaper machine, ask what parts are still unresolved; on a newer one, ask about electronics support.

Types of sprayers used in agriculture

An agro sprayer is a sprayer built for farm work, and the main types of sprayers used in agriculture are tractor-mounted, trailed and self-propelled boom sprayers, quad bike and UTV sprayers, knapsack and backpack sprayers, and sprayer drones. Smaller or specialist machines include hooded sprayers for weed control between rows, fence row sprayers, electrostatic and micron sprayers, and portable units. The same sprayer applies insecticides, foliar fertiliser, fungicides and herbicides, only with different liquids, so the rinsing and record steps matter. The section above compares the carriers. Name the job first (cereal boom spraying, hedge-bottom weed control, spot treatment or a small paddock) and the type follows from it.

Backpack, battery and petrol sprayers for farm work

A chemical backpack sprayer, a battery powered pesticide sprayer, a petrol sprayer or an electric chemical sprayer carries the liquid on the operator or on a small frame. Ask how long a battery lasts on a full tank, how heavy the full machine is, and which nozzles and spare parts the maker sells. An automatic chemical sprayer, a home-built unit and a spray unit for a quad bike need the same check: who supports the pump, the controller and the nozzles. For a high pressure chemical sprayer, ask for the pump's maximum pressure and check that the hoses, fittings and nozzles are rated for it. The best battery powered chemical sprayer for your farm is the one that covers the area of one working day on a single charge or with a spare battery, so ask the supplier for the run time with the pump at your working pressure and the nozzles you will fit.

How to choose a sprayer by tank size and boom width

Sprayers are sold by tank size, so start from the area one fill must cover: divide the tank litres by your application rate in litres per hectare. A 20 l knapsack sprayer is for spot work and small patches. A 60 l or 100 l weed sprayer sits on a quad, a trailer or a small tractor, and so does a 100l spray unit (sold as 100 lt as well) or a 200 l spray unit. A 100l boom sprayer or 100l ATV sprayer adds a boom, so the width is measured instead of walked. A 12v chemical sprayer runs its pump from a 12 volt battery, so ask for the pump's current draw and the flow it gives at your working pressure. If you are looking at 12m sprayers for sale, check that the 12 metre boom folds to the width of your gateways and that the tractor lifts or tows the full load. Whatever the size, the checks are the same: nozzles, filters, a pressure gauge you can read, and a recent sprayer test certificate. The tank guide shows how tank size converts to weight on the carrier.

Quad bike, ATV and UTV sprayers: boom, boomless and tank

For a quad bike weed sprayer with a boom, an ATV folding boom, a boomless UTV sprayer or a 25 gallon ATV tank sprayer, give the supplier the vehicle model and ask for the loaded weight on the rack. A boomless sprayer covers a wide strip from one nozzle head; a folding boom gives a measured working width. The tank guide converts gallons to litres. The best quad bike sprayer is the one the quad can carry loaded on your slopes and tracks, so compare models on loaded weight and working width for your fields, not on tank size alone.

Agri sprayers for sale: new and used boom sprayers, tractor sprayers and booms

Whether you are looking at farm sprayers for sale near you, small tractor sprayers or used sprayer booms, the checks are those of the fitted-equipment inspection above: the serial number, the pump and the boom, the nozzle bodies, the filters and the controller. Ask for the last sprayer test certificate and read the sprayer testing guide before you pay. Keep the seller's listing and your inspection notes with the purchase.

Next step

List the fitted equipment and unresolved repairs, then check the Irish sprayer-testing requirements.