Bought Harbor Freight's Backpack Sprayer This Past Weekend

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The house we live in was bought from a woman that was basically a hippie so she let weeds run rampant. My wife won't let me use Roundup because of the lawyer commercials so I largely spent my weekends pulling weeds.
Last week, I saw my neighbor making "something" and then spraying it on weeds in her yard. I asked about it. She made weed killer from vinegar, epsom salts and Dawn. Swore by it. I went and bought the ingredients and a backpack sprayer at HF. Mixed it up, sprayed every weed on my property in no time at all. A few hours later, I noticed many of them started to wilt and fade. The next day, many were completely dead. I mixed up another batch and hit em all again. can't wait to get home today and see how it looks.
Got me thinking... Anyone else have other uses for this type of sprayer?
It came with a few different nozzles and some spare parts. I felt like it was a deal at 25 bucks.
 
Applying deck cleaner or siding cleaner.
By the way, Roundup is perfectly safe, when used according to label. It’s been tested extensively.
 
I have two backpack sprayers (one at each house) and one is a Chapman and I cannot remember the other. They are certainly better than the pump sprayers you carry around if you have to spray many gallons of liquid. I am not sure how long the seals on the pump, one way valve will last with a HF sprayer.

The slick backpack sprayers are cordless with adjustable pressure pump.
 
I bought the backpack sprayer from Harbor Freight when they were on sale for $19. It is a quality sprayer and well worth the money. It’s one of their better products. On advantage is the liquid in the tank is not under pressure. You can refill it without spilling pressure The lever operated design is a lot better. Even though it is a four gallon capacity I only fill with two. It gets real heavy to operate with four gallons.

Here’s a tip. The two shoulder straps have D rings. Attach a short bungee cord across the two D rings as a chest strap, and the sprayer stays on you a lot more securely and it's more comfortable that way.
 
Great ideas, deck cleaner, siding cleaner...

I've been using roundup for years and I'm fine. My wife hears lymphoma on tv and that's that. She needs a hobby.
 
We tried the salt thing and it didn’t work. I went back to round up. I don’t get it on me and wash my hands afterwords. Be smart. It’s no different than changing your oil without gloves.

A friend of mine swears by Cattplex. Directions say 1 oz per gallon, which doesn’t do a dang thing, but he ups it to 3 oz. I have yet to try the stronger blend.
 
I'm sure that RoundUp has changed their formula(removed the carcinogen) since the law suit.

I think it has one ingredient. Glyphosate.

440px-Glyphosate.svg.png
 
Do you think you can spray light rustproofing oil with that ? I dont mean the whole car, but through the hole drilled in the door rocker panel trunk lid and hood etc etc
 
I have heard people using a garden sprayer as a transfer pump to add ATF to cars that do not have a transmission dipstick nor drain plug. That is done by removing the tip though. The tip has very small hole, I am not sure if you could spray oil through it. That would take some pressure. Also being under the vehicle unless you have a lift, there would not be much room to operate the pump handle of the backpack kind. It really needs to be strapped on your back to operate. They do make a 1-1/4 gallon handheld sprayer the kind you need to pump up first, for $14.99. I would try that one, if any.
 
maybe use one of the many other herbicides available.

if the Roundup lawsuits were legitimate they would be going after every company that makes glyphosate. Instead they only went after the giant with big pockets.
 
Glycophosphate is banned or is under review in nearly 40 countries, Tom. Not sure if any of the members of this forum are judges, but your what-if logic doesn’t seem to hold water. I can name at least two giants who have lost huge legal decisions, and there are 125,000 open lawsuits in the US alone.
 
There are also containers "Horticultural" vinegar specifically for garden use. I've seen 20% acidity, normal white vinegar is 4 to 7% per bottle, and heard of 30%. Even though it's Just vinegar it's still an acid and at 20-30% should be at least respected as such. So much depends on the variety of weeds you are trying to kill and how mature the plant actually is when applied. Still, seems to work for most folks and I think might be worth a try.
 
I believe a gallon of vinegar, a cup of epsom salts and a quarter cup of Dawn .
I've made that stuff with success but used like a tablespoon of Dawn. Works really well in hot weather. You still have dead weeds after so I usually just pull the weeds myself. Need the exorcise anyway--squats!
 
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Glycophosphate is banned or is under review in nearly 40 countries, Tom. Not sure if any of the members of this forum are judges, but your what-if logic doesn’t seem to hold water. I can name at least two giants who have lost huge legal decisions, and there are 125,000 open lawsuits in the US alone.
I would like to educate myself, can you cite some sources for me to read about glyphosate lawsuits that are not “Roundup”?
 
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