# Wetting agent pellets



## Reel Low Dad (Jun 1, 2017)

I am wondering if anyone has used these or thought about using them? After the initial investment of the special gun applicator the cost of the pellets seem reasonable and cover a fairly large area.

Also needed to get the post count off of the devil's number.


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## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

I think @Mightyquinn uses them, but I use liquid. The price seems less expensive per app with liquid and if I only want to treat a small area, I don't want to have to try to break off a piece of the right size.


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

Fistertondeluxe said:


> I am wondering if anyone has used these or thought about using them? After the initial investment of the special gun applicator the cost of the pellets seem reasonable and cover a fairly large area.
> 
> Also needed to get the post count off of the devil's number.





Spammage said:


> I think @Mightyquinn uses them, but I use liquid. The price seems less expensive per app with liquid and if I only want to treat a small area, I don't want to have to try to break off a piece of the right size.


I have used them but not like they were intended to be used. I DO NOT have the special gun/applicator but I have thought of getting one. You are correct that it is a much more cost effective way of applying it as you are not paying for water. I use a cheaper wetting agent pellet that I dilute down in a gallon of water and then add that to my EZ-FLO to help make my irrigation water more efficient. It's kind of a PIA to get the pellet out of the container as you have to soak it in hot water to get it to "melt" to help it come out. I'm really interested in how they work with the applicator as there isn't a whole lot of info out there on them. If I didn't already have 5 gallons of Tournament Ready, I probably would have pulled the trigger on it already


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## Reel Low Dad (Jun 1, 2017)

@Mightyquinn are the pellets reuseable? The tournament ready pellets state that one is good for 16,000 sq ft. That would get me about 3.5 applications for a cost of about $100 including the gun. That would be cheaper that the same number of treatments if I used a hose end lesco moisture manager.


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

By reusable I'm assuming you mean can you use what you need and then store the rest until next time? If so then yes, I think it would take a couple applications to get your "calibration" down but it's definitely something to look into.


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## viva_oldtrafford (Apr 4, 2018)

We use them from time to time on the course. Pretty handy when you want to just hook up a hose vs what it takes to mix up a sprayer and apply it that route.


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## Reel Low Dad (Jun 1, 2017)

Thanks for the info. I'm going to give it a shot. Amazon had the pelletpro applicator gun for $89 so I went ahead and put in an order for one. R&R has the Tournament Ready pellets for $11 and Tournament Ready w/ Actosol for $12. I put in an order for one of each for now since that should last me through this year.


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

Fistertondeluxe said:


> Thanks for the info. I'm going to give it a shot. Amazon had the pelletpro applicator gun for $89 so I went ahead and put in an order for one. R&R has the Tournament Ready pellets for $11 and Tournament Ready w/ Actosol for $12. I put in an order for one of each for now since that should last me through this year.


Can't wait to hear your thoughts on it once you get it :thumbup: From everything I've read about them, it may take longer for you to apply the recommended amount as your house pressure and GPM will probably be less than what most golf courses have. I'm also curious what you think of the Cloudburst nozzle it comes with


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## Reel Low Dad (Jun 1, 2017)

So I tested this with just water. I measured my home with math and a bucket and I am about 8 gpm. This thing is rated to go over 35 gpm. I ran it for a few seconds and it drenched the lawn and driveway.

The instructions for the pellets say that you can cover 1000 sq ft in about 2-3 minutes. I'm sure a that with the high pressure. When it come time to apply I'm going to go with that timeframe and get a weight measurement of the pellet before and after to calculate how much was used to determine future application rates. No long term thoughts but bonus time was good to me this year. 
The big test will be the backyard that's under renovation. I was finally able to get grass last year in one spot that survived due to Bermuda supremacy and some moisture manger.


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## adgattoni (Oct 3, 2017)

How would the tournament ready +actosol pellets compare to the GCF N-Ext products everyone is raving about?


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## DFW_Zoysia (May 31, 2019)

adgattoni said:


> How would the tournament ready +actosol pellets compare to the GCF N-Ext products everyone is raving about?


Anyone ever do a comparison on this?


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## adgattoni (Oct 3, 2017)

DFW_Zoysia said:


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I saw no visual difference in the humic treated plots (GCF, Kelp4Less, HumicDG) compared to the control (regular fertilizer, micros, tournament ready, TNEX, etc.). No difference between the regular and +actosol pellets either.


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## DFW_Zoysia (May 31, 2019)

adgattoni said:


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Great info. Thank you. So in your experience I could save money and effort by simply going with the Tournament ready tabs?


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## adgattoni (Oct 3, 2017)

DFW_Zoysia said:


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Yeah that's my plan. Fertilizer, micros, PGR, and wetting agents seem to be the most bang for the buck products IMO.


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## daniel3507 (Jul 31, 2018)

Is it best to use Tournament Ready immediately before watering or should you give it a day or so?


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

daniel3507 said:


> Is it best to use Tournament Ready immediately before watering or should you give it a day or so?


If you are using the pellets and the applicator gun you should be fine afterwards as the water from the hose is helping it get down into the soil where it can get to work but it probably wouldn't hurt to do it right before you plan to water the lawn either.

If you are using the liquid TR and spraying it on the lawn you will want to water it in immediately after applying it as it needs to be in the soil to work which is why I think the hose end sprayer is the way to go with TR and it's cheaper too.


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## Scagfreedom48z+ (Oct 6, 2018)

Mightyquinn said:


> daniel3507 said:
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Might be a dumb question but is there a way the pellets could be crushed and be dissolved and used in a spreadermate?


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

Scagfreedom48z+ said:


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Not really a dumb question as it is "possible", I just don't know what the dilution rate would be. I know the Tournament Ready pellets are suppose to cover 16,000 sq/ft and they are 8oz pellets so I guess you could extrapolate from there. I will say that I have been using the H2O Maximizer Pellets and have been melting them down in a gallon of water and adding them to my EZFLO just to help a little, not sure how much it helps but I'm sure it helps the irrigation water to be a little more efficient.

The pellets are basically a solid form of the liquid so it's basically a bar of soap and I have been able to dilute a pellet in 1 gallon of water, the hotter the better as it will melt easier and faster. I will also say that after you have handled some wetting agent, you can definitely tell a difference between it and baby shampoo, it has a lot more staying power and it creates a film on whatever it touches, especially when it's concentrated.


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## Scagfreedom48z+ (Oct 6, 2018)

Mightyquinn said:


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If it works, it seems that it could potentially be pretty efficient and cost worthy! I've got 26M and if 1 pellet covers 16k then that could cover my entire front lawn. I can weigh out the pellet and do some math to figure out how much I would need for the back. I use my spreadermate to spray. I fill it to 8 gallons at a time.

If it's 8oz pellet that would technically mean that 1 oz can cover up to 2000 square ft, if weighed properly

I like your idea. How have your experiences been with your Melting and liquefying experiment?


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

I will usually melt it down by placing the pellet in some boiling water so that it will melt the outer layer holding it to the container, then I will take it and pour it into a 1 gallon jug that has a wide mouth opening. I will usually agitate it and shake it up a little to help it dissolve. It may have to sit a day or two for it to fully dissolve but that all depends on how big the pellet is when you put it in the bottle.

I'm sure you can put it in a bowl or something like that but just know that it will create a syrup like product that will stick and create a film on whatever it touches. You may also be able to freeze the pellet which will maybe help it slide out of the container but I haven't tried that yet.


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## tam (Jun 27, 2020)

I haven't had any problem just removing the amount I want to use with a spoon and then dissolving with hot water.


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## Scagfreedom48z+ (Oct 6, 2018)

So I've melted an 8oz tourney ready pellet in a 2.5 gallon jug. Quite easy actually, thought it would have been harder to break it down. Has anyone experimented adding the melted liquid along with other apps? Or should I just spray it solo? I'm going to use the spreadermate and spray the entire cocktail on 16k


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

Scagfreedom48z+ said:


> So I've melted an 8oz tourney ready pellet in a 2.5 gallon jug. Quite easy actually, thought it would have been harder to break it down. Has anyone experimented adding the melted liquid along with other apps? Or should I just spray it solo? I'm going to use the spreadermate and spray the entire cocktail on 16k


I usually spray my wetting agent(Liquid Tournament Ready) with my Bifen apps as they both need watered in. I usually spray in the late evening and water it in the next morning. I've also thrown some Urea in the mix too when needed.


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## Scagfreedom48z+ (Oct 6, 2018)

Mightyquinn said:


> Scagfreedom48z+ said:
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Nice! I was thinking about doing the same thing with urea.


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## VALawnNoob (Jun 9, 2020)

Scagfreedom48z+ said:


> So I've melted an 8oz tourney ready pellet in a 2.5 gallon jug. Quite easy actually, thought it would have been harder to break it down. Has anyone experimented adding the melted liquid along with other apps? Or should I just spray it solo? I'm going to use the spreadermate and spray the entire cocktail on 16k


How did you melt it that was so easy? You melted first then poured into a jug?


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## Scagfreedom48z+ (Oct 6, 2018)

VALawnNoob said:


> Scagfreedom48z+ said:
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> > So I've melted an 8oz tourney ready pellet in a 2.5 gallon jug. Quite easy actually, thought it would have been harder to break it down. Has anyone experimented adding the melted liquid along with other apps? Or should I just spray it solo? I'm going to use the spreadermate and spray the entire cocktail on 16k
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Yes melted it in a bucket of hot water and transferred it over to a jug after it was fully melted


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## VALawnNoob (Jun 9, 2020)

Scagfreedom48z+ said:


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Did you drop the pellet w/ the plastic casing in the bucket? Just want to make sure hot water doesn't melt the plastic.


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## Scagfreedom48z+ (Oct 6, 2018)

VALawnNoob said:


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Yes dropped the whole thing into a bucket. I'm talk about hot water from a tap. I didn't boil water or anything like that. The hot tap water did fine.


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

VALawnNoob said:


> Did you drop the pellet w/ the plastic casing in the bucket? Just want to make sure hot water doesn't melt the plastic.


You can put the plastic container in boiling water and it won't melt it. I have found that putting the pellet in the freezer for an hour or two and then taking it out and a few forceful taps on the counter and the whole pellet comes out intact.


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## bradleymichael (Jun 3, 2020)

How often can you use the wetting agents? Once a month? Week?


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

bradleymichael said:


> How often can you use the wetting agents? Once a month? Week?


It all depends on how you plan to use it. Are you using the pellet? Are you using the liquid version? If you are using the liquid version or melting a pellet down to use as a liquid it can usually be applied monthly through a calibrated sprayer. If you are using a pellet through a Pellet Pro Gun that too can be applied monthly if applied at appropriate rates. Just know that most of the Underhill pellets (mainly H2O Maximizer and Tournament Ready) say 1 pellet covers 16,000 sq/ft. Also, if you are applying it with a sprayer you will need to water it in either immediately or the next morning at the latest.


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## bradleymichael (Jun 3, 2020)

Thanks @Mightyquinn! I'm using the liquid version and plan to water it in immediately afterwards.


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## VALawnNoob (Jun 9, 2020)

Mightyquinn said:


> VALawnNoob said:
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Wow this freezing method works as it popped out in one tap. Why can't we just drop it into ortho sprayer and apply that way without paying for the underhill pro?


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

VALawnNoob said:


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You would need to melt the pellet down first but beyond that I don't see why you can't do it. The Ortho doesn't have the water pressure/flow to melt the pellet as it wasn't designed for that. You would just have to get your dilution ratios down so as not to waste too much of it. I'm not a fan of the Ortho hose end sprayers as they have never lasted long or have been too accurate with applying things.


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## VALawnNoob (Jun 9, 2020)

Mightyquinn said:


> You would need to melt the pellet down first but beyond that I don't see why you can't do it. The Ortho doesn't have the water pressure/flow to melt the pellet as it wasn't designed for that. You would just have to get your dilution ratios down so as not to waste too much of it. I'm not a fan of the Ortho hose end sprayers as they have never lasted long or have been too accurate with applying things.


Just tried it and I would prefill the container with water but to your point, there's not additional water into melt down the pellet.... darn. Backpack + melting it is


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## natedogg (8 mo ago)

Scagfreedom48z+ said:


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How long do you think it is ok to leave a pellet dissolved in solution?

I would only go through about 1/2 - 2/3 of a pellet per year, is it ok to mix one into a gallon and then just slowly use that jug over the next year or two?


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

natedogg said:


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I think you will be fine doing it that way. You may need to shake/agitate the solution before using it as some of it will settle out over time.


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