# Blue Mule Hose End Build



## Grass Clippins

I think I may have actually found a hose end sprayer that makes it worth learning. I'm not going to go to far into the product details because you can see that for yourself on their website. What I'd like to do is review how I arrived on picking the sprayer I picked, how I plan to use it, and my overall opinion.









https://bluemulecleaning.com

This is a really cool company based in North Little Rock Arkansas who appears to make quality products. I've called a few times with questions and they are very helpful and friendly. By way of "Hose End Systems" they have sprayers and foamers. We're obviously looking at sprayers…for now. Drill down a little further and they offer:

Compact Spray-All 20B (BLU09)
Compact Spray-All 50B (BLU10)
Hose-End Spray-All 50 (BLU11)

The 50 & 50B are both referred to as Medium Volume Sprayers, while the 20B is a Low Volume Sprayer. I'll be using this for the Greene County Products so I opted for the Medium Volume Sprayer due to the higher dilution ratio. I believe Greene County Recommends at least 20:1. Under "Requirements and Technical Details" they list the dilution ratios for each metering tip provided. When I need to do a low volume application I will use my backpack sprayer.

Now to compare the 50 to the 50B, which to choose is based on the size of your lawn. My lawn is around 25,000 sq. ft. and growing so I chose the Hose-End Spray-All 50. If you have a smaller lawn the Compact Spray-All 50B would be a nice little setup but I don't want to have to keep stopping to fill up the 32 oz. container.

The Hose-End Spray-All 50 arrived last weekend and this thing is Bad-A. It just feels good to walk around with, very high quality. "Machined in the USA, not molded" they say. The 50 does not come with a bottle so I found a 2.5 gallon Carboy from U-line with standard 38 mm threads. Check out my backpack setup!


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## Grass Clippins

Over the next few weeks I'll be using this sprayer to apply Greene County Products in accordance to their DIY Seeding/Over-Sedding Instructions.

Greene County DIY Seeding/ Over-Seeding Instructions

All of my data is below, for those who care, but in short I should be able to cover around 26,000 square foot, per application, while only having to refill one time. I picked the metering tips that would allow me 2 minutes to cover 1,000 square feet.


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## Colonel K0rn

Looks like a solid setup! Interested to see your results, any chance of seeing it in action?


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## Grass Clippins

Colonel K0rn said:


> Looks like a solid setup! Interested to see your results, any chance of seeing it in action?


You got it, but it may be a couple weeks before it sees any action. So far I've only tested it with water. I forgot to mention that it has a fan tip nozzle.


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## M311att

That does look like something I could use. I have the Chapin and I feel like the bottle is too small and the spray pattern is a little off for me. I don't see any in line check valves in the pictures so it can possibly siphon if you drop the trigger below the backpack level if it is primed up. Can't wait for you to post on the gcf review. Thanks


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## Grass Clippins

M311att said:


> That does look like something I could use. I have the Chapin and I feel like the bottle is too small and the spray pattern is a little off for me. I don't see any in line check valves in the pictures so it can possibly siphon if you drop the trigger below the backpack level if it is primed up. Can't wait for you to post on the gcf review. Thanks


I looked at the "pro" hose end sprayer from Chapin and Hudson but I didn't like the horizontal spray pattern and the uptake hose does not go to the bottom of the bottle. While I like a horizontal spray pattern on my backpack sprayer I feel a vertical spray pattern might work better for soil applications that are being watered in. The ortho dial and spray has a nice chemlawn pattern, but that thing is a piece of crap.

I've never thought about a check valve on these...interesting idea. I wonder if the siphoning power would be enough to open the valve and not affect the output. If my little backpack breaks on me I was thinking about hooking the jug handle up to a string trimmer harness. That would help keep it below the sprayer.


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## Grass Clippins

The dedicated hose end sprayer hose arrived today. I was looking for something light weight and ran across this deal on amazon. Underhill H75-075C 3/4" Ultramax Economy Lightweight Commercial Hose, 75' Length for $52.12. It's a nice hose and only weight around 14.5 pounds.

Clear


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## Grass Clippins

Here it is in action, pretty comfortable set up. I mixed up 6 oz of RGS and 6 oz of Air8 and sprayed that before taking the picture. I used the Medium Green Metering Tip which is around 8.06 oz/min and it sprayed very dark brown water for about a minute and a half. After that I put some water in the tank with what little was left for the pictures, this is why the spray looks clear in the pictures. It was highly diluted so that I would play around with it. I'm still getting used to it, but I'm planning on wagging my forearm back and forth while walking at a very slow pace to cover 1,000 sq. ft. in 2 minutes, a good full wag will get you around 10 foot of width.

@m311att I tried several times to get it to siphon and nothing happened. Once it's primed the mix it's going anywhere.


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## adgattoni

Grass Clippins said:


> The dedicated hose end sprayer hose arrived today. I was looking for something light weight and ran across this deal on amazon. Underhill H75-075C 3/4" Ultramax Economy Lightweight Commercial Hose, 75' Length for $52.12. It's a nice hose and only weight around 14.5 pounds.


Was this a warehouse deal? I would buy one on the spot, but I can't find it.


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## adgattoni

Thinking about this more and more, this is probably the easiest method for someone with a larger yard to apply products like Penterra that need very high dilution rates.

Penterra's instructions recommend 1 ounce of product (high rate) to 5 gallons of carrier per 1ksqft, a 0.156250% concentration. With a Chapin backpack sprayer you'd need to refill every 1ksqft, and you'd still have to reduce the rate to 0.8 ounces (4 gallon capacity). With this unit someone with an 18k sqft yard could fill up that 2.5 gallon carboy with 18 ounces of Penterra for a 5.625% concentrated mix. Using the orange 1/36 dilution tip (though varies a bit with hose pressure/volume), we'd be at a perfect concentration of 0.156250%. Assuming my math is right.


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## Grass Clippins

adgattoni said:


> Grass Clippins said:
> 
> 
> 
> The dedicated hose end sprayer hose arrived today. I was looking for something light weight and ran across this deal on amazon. Underhill H75-075C 3/4" Ultramax Economy Lightweight Commercial Hose, 75' Length for $52.12. It's a nice hose and only weight around 14.5 pounds.
> 
> 
> 
> Was this a warehouse deal? I would buy one on the spot, but I can't find it.
Click to expand...

It may have been, it came directly from Underhill's Amazon page. I must have bought the last one. I'll sure more will post up soon.


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## Grass Clippins

adgattoni said:


> Thinking about this more and more, this is probably the easiest method for someone with a larger yard to apply products like Penterra that need very high dilution rates.
> 
> Penterra's instructions recommend 1 ounce of product (high rate) to 5 gallons of carrier per 1ksqft, a 0.156250% concentration. With a Chapin backpack sprayer you'd need to refill every 1ksqft, and you'd still have to reduce the rate to 0.8 ounces (4 gallon capacity). With this unit someone with an 18k sqft yard could fill up that 2.5 gallon carboy with 18 ounces of Penterra for a 5.625% concentrated mix. Using the orange 1/36 dilution tip (though varies a bit with hose pressure/volume), we'd be at a perfect concentration of 0.156250%. Assuming my math is right.


I'll look up Penterra this evening and plug it ti to my excel sheet. This will also be very useful for greeene co. 18-0-1. It's around 12oz per 1k sq feet mixed at 20:1. I did the math and I believe it will be less expensive to apply than Milorganite.


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## adgattoni

Grass Clippins said:


> adgattoni said:
> 
> 
> 
> Thinking about this more and more, this is probably the easiest method for someone with a larger yard to apply products like Penterra that need very high dilution rates.
> 
> Penterra's instructions recommend 1 ounce of product (high rate) to 5 gallons of carrier per 1ksqft, a 0.156250% concentration. With a Chapin backpack sprayer you'd need to refill every 1ksqft, and you'd still have to reduce the rate to 0.8 ounces (4 gallon capacity). With this unit someone with an 18k sqft yard could fill up that 2.5 gallon carboy with 18 ounces of Penterra for a 5.625% concentrated mix. Using the orange 1/36 dilution tip (though varies a bit with hose pressure/volume), we'd be at a perfect concentration of 0.156250%. Assuming my math is right.
> 
> 
> 
> I'll look up Penterra this evening and plug it ti to my excel sheet. This will also be very useful for greeene co. 18-0-1. It's around 12oz per 1k sq feet mixed at 20:1. I did the math and I believe it will be less expensive to apply than Milorganite.
Click to expand...

Would be easy to use with soluble ammonium sulfate/urea as well. Might do that and use the spreader for humic DG.

Thanks for the heads up on this product!


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## Grass Clippins

@adgattoni have you ever considered using an inline pellet pro? This option would allow you to apply a wetting agent every time you use the hose end sprayer.... I think I may have just sold myself on this idea. Amazon has it for $89.90 while the Underhill site is $113.77

https://www.amazon.com/Underhill-PPWA50K-PelletPro-Wetting-Applicator/dp/B00G20OKY4/ref=sr_1_19?ie=UTF8&qid=1538006521&sr=8-19&keywords=underhill+hose


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## adgattoni

Grass Clippins said:


> @adgattoni have you ever considered using an inline pellet pro? This option would allow you to apply a wetting agent every time you use the hose end sprayer.... I think I may have just sold myself on this idea. Amazon has it for $89.90 while the Underhill site is $113.77
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/Underhill-PPWA50K-PelletPro-Wetting-Applicator/dp/B00G20OKY4/ref=sr_1_19?ie=UTF8&qid=1538006521&sr=8-19&keywords=underhill+hose


I actually do have the pellet pro. My use case for the blue mule would be to put down a heavy dose of penterra, then top it off periodically with the pellet pro. I get the pellets from rrproducts.com.

I never really got the same effect from the pellets as @Redtenchu got with Penterra in the Soil Surfactant/Wetting Agents thread, so I've been aching to try this approach out. However, my wife and I are building a house and I'll soon have an 18k sq ft lawn, so I don't really want to refill my Chapin backpack sprayer 18 times to try it out, haha. They don't make Penterra pellets either, so this is probably the best option.


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## Grass Clippins

@adgattoni 
Haha...nice! You guys have thought of everything.

You may be able to stick the siphon directly into the 32 oz Penterra bottle, if it has the standard 38 mm threads, and use the Brown .56 oz/min meter. My GPM is 2.44, so if I spray 1,000 sq. ft. in two minutes I would be laying down 4.88 gallons of water and 1.12 ounce of Penterra. Those numbers fall short and I'm guessing it may be to thick for this to work?

The other way would be to use all 320 oz of the 2.5 gallon carboy to water it down and thin it out. You can manipulate the ratios to "meter up" or "meter down" to get super accurate...probably not necessary. Increasing the water to penterra moves you up to the next meter but decreases you dilution rate and coverage. GPM stays the same, at 2.44 GPM, regardless of the which metering tip I use.


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## Jacob_S

This is an expensive little gadget but seems well worth the investment.


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## Grass Clippins

@Jacob_S It's definitely not something you'd find a Home Depot or Lowe's but you get what you pay for and the injector is made in the US, which I like.


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## Grass Clippins

Laying it down.....

Application 1 was almost perfect. Only issue was that I ran out of product with about 3K sq ft remaining. On the Blue Mule site they have a calculator that will allow you to adjust your psi, in the chart, to dial in your metering tips. When I called Blue Mule their rep told me that I would not need to do this. I think he may have misunderstood me because higher psi definitely caused me to go through product quicker.

Application 2 was a nightmare. I will never, for as long as I live, mix Humic-12 and Microgreene without a lot water to dilute the mix. I had to stop about 10 times to rinse the clogged screen. It took forever and was incredibly messy.

Things to change: I'm going to replace the hose that goes from the jug to the sprayer with something thicker/stiffer. It tends to bend and collapse the flow. I may also look at getting a 5/8 inch hose vs a 3/4 inch hose. 150 feet of 3/4 inch hose will wear you out.


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## Grass Clippins




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## g-man

I would think that regulating your water pressure would be ideal to get even coverage.


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## Grass Clippins

I stand corrected. The psi doesn't effect oz/min, it only affects the dilution ratio. I must have been walking to slow. I also adjusted the square footage last week but forgot to update the metering tip. I should have used the light green metering tip @ 7.01 oz/min for Application 1.


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## Grass Clippins

g-man said:


> I would think that regulating your water pressure would be ideal to get even coverage.


I thought so to but maybe one of our engineers can explain why psi doesn't effect output on hose end sprayers. I'm going to mess around with the amount of water I'm adding to see how close I can get things to match up with the metering tip. Or I could just be happy with "close enough" and move on with my life. :lol:


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## Still learnin

I wonder if this would be easier and less time consuming than a book sprayer on a mower. I'm talking on 1 or 2 aces.


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## Grass Clippins

Still learnin said:


> I wonder if this would be easier and less time consuming than a book sprayer on a mower. I'm talking on 1 or 2 aces.


You probably could rig something up if you have someone to manage the hose while you ride. Getting the pressure from the water line vs a pump would save money on equipment, that's for sure.

Anything over 1/2 acre would probably call for a new strategy. I'm covering 1,000 square feet every 2 minutes now, and to me it's not a big deal for it to take 40 minutes to water in 20,000 square feet per application. Once you start pushing 45 minutes though that starts to change things, for me at least.

I could have just sprayed this with a backpack sprayer, in half the time, and watered it in. Unfortunately, you can't do that with Nitrogen (GreenePunch), so I'm using the BioStimulant as practice.


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## Grass Clippins

Still learnin said:


> I wonder if this would be easier and less time consuming than a book sprayer on a mower. I'm talking on 1 or 2 aces.


Sorry I didn't really answer your question in the previous post...

1. It depends on what you are sprayer. If it's bio-stimulants, then no I don't think it would be better than a backpack sprayer/followed by 5-10 minutes of irrigation. The spray pattern is fanned but only around 2ft wide so you have to give it the old wrist flick for coverage.
2. If is something like nitrogen, that's requires a high dilution ratio at application, then it might be quicker because you are not having to constantly refill the backpack sprayer. But on the downside, that would be a lot of hose.

Once I get irrigation, I'll mainly be using this for Nitrogen (GreenePunch).


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## Grass Clippins

Last Thursday I did Step 2 of the Greene County Fert DIY Seeding/Over-Seeding and it was glorious...



One minor set back almost ruined the whole experience. As usual, I overtightened the blue metering tip and broke it off. Thankfully I was able to get it out and metered down to the Pink Tip. This was the second time that I've used this setup. The first time I was walking to slow and didn't have enough to finish. This time I walked much faster and did a double pass for more even coverage. I nailed it this time, ran out of GCF at the perfect moment.


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## Grass Clippins

Alright boys. Here she is, almost complete. I'm a stickler for fit and finish so the old JanSport had to go. Now I have 4 gallons of capacity, a quick connect, and a thicker hose that won't fold over and kink at the tank. I still need to order a better set of backpack straps. The straps supplied with the Sprayers Plus 403 are built for smaller people.


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## cglarsen

Looking good. So the application rate is controlled by tip size primarily? How would you set it up for liquid pre-emergent or blanket weed treatments with a rate below 1 oz/1000sf?


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## Grass Clippins

@cglarsen Exactly. The tip determines how many ounces are syphoned per minute. It's difficult to cover more than 1,000 square feet with the 20 degree fan tip so I have it set to cover 1,000 square feet every two minutes.

So to apply 1 oz. per 1,000 square feet it would take two minutes or .5 ounces per minute, therefore you would use the Brown Metering Tip to get .56 ounces per minute for a total of 1.12 ounces per 1,000 square feet in two minutes. If that's not accurate enough you can dilute the mix to meter up for more accuracy.

For example, if you dilute every 1 ounce of pre emergent with 11 ounces of water the goal would become to lay down 12 ounces per 1,000 square foot. For that you would pick the Gray Metering Tip to get 6.01 ounces per minute for a total of 12.02 ounces per 1,000 square feet. You don't have to use water to dilute it either, you can use other lawn care products.

So far I've only sprayed things that don't need to be super accurate but this spring I plan to mix pre emergents with all of my other soil applied products. You need a strong excel spreadsheet with dealing with this bad boy.


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## Grass Clippins

@cglarsen If you look at the most recent post in my journal you'll see a few things added together.


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## enormous13

@Grass Clippins Hey GC, any updates on the blue mule sprayer after about 8 months with it?

I'm on the N-EXT bandwagon, and was looking for a better option than my 4gal. backpack sprayer with my 6,000 sq. ft. St. A lawn. I've got the 50B ordered from Blue Mule now. Just wondering if you've picked up any more tips/tricks with it? Or if you're now spraying for more "exact" tasks, like putting down pre-ems/pesticides/fungicides?

I did speak with Paul at Blue Mule about the 50-B, and he did mention they're working on a wider fan tip that won't change the application rates stated with the sprayer now or a loss in suction.


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## Grass Clippins

@enormous13 Like any hose end sprayer it takes a little getting use to but I've really enjoyed it. You should be good to go right out of the box with the 50B. If you need help figuring out the metering let me know. So far I've stuck with less exact inputs until I get a better hose management strategy. I'm having to fight 150ft of 3/4 hose and it's not fun. Did they mention the 45 degree tip vs the stock 20 degree tip?


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## enormous13

@Grass Clippins Looks like I'll give it the first run this weekend, I'll see how it goes with a bunch less hose than you're dealing with. I'm pretty sure I've got the math down for now.

They did not mention the 45* tip when I asked about something other than the 20*, only that they were developing something.


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## DannyBoy2k

@Grass Clippins, I stumbled across something this evening. I received my Compact Spay-All 50B a few days ago and have been thinking about the spray nozzle "issue" (meaning we just want more options). I noticed mine says "BEX F2550" on it. I googled that and discovered there is a company, Bex (https://bex.com) that makes these nozzles. They offer a whole variety of angles and pressures and their designations are similar to TeeJet's. The 2550 means 25 degrees with 5 gallons per minute at 40 PSI.

See this page for the wide array of angles they offer (0 degrees (stream) - 110 degrees): https://bex.com/products/_000008.php

My nozzle is plastic, so it probably comes from this line: https://bex.com/products/_006730.php

Excited to see if I can order a few angles to try out. Haven't gotten that far yet.

~Dan


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## Greendoc

Here is the entire Teejet industrial products catalog. http://www.ispray.com/


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## DannyBoy2k

@Greendoc, are you suggesting one of their nozzles as an alternative. I played around with the search for a while, but wouldn't really find something equivalent in that catalogue to the Bex nozzle. There were some "FlatJet" ones that were close spec wise but had quite a different orifice design. Wasn't sure about them.

~Dan


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## Grass Clippins

@DannyBoy2k Heck Yeah. Thanks for finding this info. I remember searching but eventually got distracted with something else. Getting a wider swath would definitely make these sprayers a lot better for turf. Do you know where to buy these?

@Greendoc It seems like sticking with the Bex Nozzles would keep you calibrated with the Blue Mule Tip Chart. Assuming one uses the F5050, F6550, F8050, F9550 or F11050 to maintain 5 gpm @40 PSI.


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## DannyBoy2k

@Grass Clippins, searching around has only found sellers selling some of the Bex products, such as usplastic.com selling their eductors and a clip-on nozzle. I'm going to try their sales rep for VA (where I'm at) listed here: https://bex.com/findsalesrep/

I know they're probably more interested in commercial customers, but maybe they can direct me to a reseller. Interesting that most the other states list an email address directly at bex.com, but VA goes to american-filter.com. Will let you know if I hear anything.

~Dan


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## DannyBoy2k

@Grass Clippins, oh, I meant to ask: Did you/have you experimented with rotating the nozzle to spray horizontal instead of vertical as it comes installed? With a wider nozzle, I was thinking I would treat it more like a normal fan tip and not wave it back and forth.

~Dan


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## Grass Clippins

@DannyBoy2k you may want to check with Blue Mule. They got me the wider tip before, maybe they've got a contact. My ideal set up would be a horizontal output. Unfortunately the 40 degree nozzle still wasn't wide enough. I'm excited about these other wider nozzles, I need at least 80 degrees to cut down on the walking.


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## DannyBoy2k

Well, it was a bust with the reseller:


> We don't sell directly to consumers. I would contact Blue Mule for alternative nozzles.
> 
> Mc Master Carr (which is a Industrial Supply Company) also carries BEX nozzles.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> John


I did a quick search on McMaster, but I couldn't find a way to locate BEX nozzles specifically and didn't see anything matching what we looking for generically under the "Spray Nozzles" category.

I called and left a message at Blue Mule. Going to drop them an email too.

~Dan


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## DannyBoy2k

@Grass Clippins, I noticed in the close-up of your nozzle that yours says "HYPRO 50E25". After a lot of searching, it appears these may now be named/made by Lurmark. I found a site selling all the varieties here as "Hypro FanJet" (I'm assuming a 1/4" NPT as I haven't measured mine):
https://flsprayers.com/shop/tips-nozzles/hypro-fanjet-14-npt-series-15-to-50/

It appears they have either a 65 degree at 5 gpm or a 80 degree at 4 gpm. No 80 degree at 5 gpm, unfortunately. I also discovered that the "E" in there means even, so this isn't a tapered fan like the Bex one in mine. Not sure how 4 gpm would affect the calibration of the Blue Mule tips.

The research continues. I hope Blue Mule gets back to me with an affirmative about buying the Bex tips.

~Dan


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## Dkrem

lovely build A+ I also like fan nozzle for the hose end, either straight vertical or at a diagonal


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## DannyBoy2k

Paul @ Blue Mule responded to my email very promptly and indicated they do offer stainless steel versions of the 0550, 2550, and 4050 nozzles for sale. They just aren't on the website. I'm arranging with him to purchase the 4050 nozzle to try out and also asked if he was aware of anywhere else I might be able to get the higher angle versions.

~Dan


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## Grass Clippins

@DannyBoy2k I went to look at my 40 degree nozzle Blue Mule sent me and, big surprise, it's from a totally different company.

On tip: 1/4 MEG 4050
On side: S.S. CO. WASHJET HSS

Thankfully Sprayer Systems is a much easier tip to purchase online. I'm going to use their chart to find a wider fan, looks like they go to 65 degrees. 4050 is 40 degree with 5 gpm when the capacity size is 50. Not sure sure how to measure capacity size but I'm assuming Blue Mule already did the math before offering it on their site.

If you want a 40 degree tip then Tool Barn has one left for $2.95
https://www.toolbarn.com/spraying-systems-8-707-833-0.html/?utm_source=google_shopping&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=TB+SC+Products&utm_term=shopping&utm_content=yUSRFqRy_pcrid_352925767606_pkw__pmt__pdv_c_product_spraying-systems-8.707-833.0_&gclid=Cj0KCQjw1Iv0BRDaARIsAGTWD1urHTV9c2ZQC2yqWltDBX5yN61Pnz-GT1v2w3FrTrMavWydY5uhVHUaAnkqEALw_wcB


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## DannyBoy2k

@Grass Clippins, thanks so much for that. I already told Paul to setup the sale for the 40 degree tip, so I'll purchase that from them, but it's nice to know there are other options. Based on all the reading I've been doing, I was starting to suspect that, so long as we purchased a nozzle that has a "capacity" of 50, we could use any brand we wanted. One of the sites I stumbled across explained how capacity is calculated, but I just got that 50 = 5 gpm @ 40 psi.

Along those lines, I found this brass 8050 nozzle that TeeJet makes:
https://www.sprayerdepot.com/products/h1-4u-8050-1-4-mnpt-threaded-brass-spray-nozzle

So long as it being brass isn't an issue, seems like this would give us the high angles we're after. Found a 95 degree in SS too, but it's $22 at SprayerDepot. :shock:

~Dan


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## Grass Clippins

@DannyBoy2k I think you're right. I figured out that 50 is the orifice (capacity) size. And...here we are full circle back to @Greendoc's TeeJet recommendation. Turns out that guy does know everything.


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## DannyBoy2k

Seeing as these nozzles are going to be not an inexpensive purchase (guessing $15-20) range (wish iSpray would give price estimates), I'm wondering the following:

What angle(s) would be best to purchase: 65, 80, 95?
Brass, mild steel, stainless steel, kynar, polyvinyl chloride?
If stainless, which one: 303 or 316? I'm guessing 316 is more expensive based on the increased corrosion resistance.

I'm just planning to spray N-Ext products with mine, so I was thinking 303 SS for longevity. Initially thinking a 65 or 80 degree angle would be best. Trying to visualize what that looks like. We're spraying a bit more out than a fan tip on a backpack sprayer, so wondering if 65 might be a good compromise?

~Dan


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## DannyBoy2k

Man, iSpray is asking a bit more for the SS tips than I was expecting. $34 each. The brass ones are looking more attractive at the lower price point; wondering how quickly I'd really wear them down anyway. iSpray wants $18.55 each for them. The 80 degree one (H1/4U-8050) is available from SprayerDepot for $13.05, but not the 65 degree one. Found that at an auto wash site, but, by the time you pay shipping for both places, you're probably at iSpray's price point anyway.

So, just need to pick an angle and get on with it, I think. We've had a lot of rain recently, so no on the grass spraying experience yet.

EDIT: Just read an article at nozzleninja.com that brass nozzles are susceptible to corrosion _especially with fertilizers_. Well, will probably go with SS then.

~Dan


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## Grass Clippins

@DannyBoy2k I found this chart, exactly what I was looking for to figure out width. I'm looking for about a 7 foot swath and I'm eyeballing that 95 degree nozzle. Which is perfect because this is one of the few that you can get at sprayer depot 
(here). My spray height would be around 36" so that puts my swath at 6'6".


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## DannyBoy2k

@Grass Clippins, thanks for sharing that! I used that to get out and measure and, for my size/shaped yard, I think the 5' swath of the 80 degree tip would be just about perfect. I was able to finally find one for $12 on eBay listed as new, unused, no packaging. For the steep discount over iSpray ($34 + $18 shipping!), I figured it was worth a shot.

~Dan


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## DannyBoy2k

I just wanted to come back here to give an update. I love my Blue Mule Compact Spay-All 50B! With the 8050 nozzle I found, this thing has been fantastic for applying all the various N-Ext products I've been using: RGS, Air8, 18-0-1, 7-0-0, etc. This thing works sooooo much better than the Ortho hose-end I was previously using.

Highly, highly recommended to anyone looking for a better hose-end system.

~Dan


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## Are-Jay

I came very close to going with this vs the fertigation cart I'm building now. https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=19519

Very cool, and love the attention to detail on your spreadsheets. Great work!


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## Grass Clippins

@Are-Jay Nice....I'll comment on your thread.


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## bandit390

Grass Clippins said:


> Laying it down.....
> 
> Application 1 was almost perfect. Only issue was that I ran out of product with about 3K sq ft remaining. On the Blue Mule site they have a calculator that will allow you to adjust your psi, in the chart, to dial in your metering tips. When I called Blue Mule their rep told me that I would not need to do this. I think he may have misunderstood me because higher psi definitely caused me to go through product quicker.
> 
> Application 2 was a nightmare. I will never, for as long as I live, mix Humic-12 and Microgreene without a lot water to dilute the mix. I had to stop about 10 times to rinse the clogged screen. It took forever and was incredibly messy.
> 
> Things to change: I'm going to replace the hose that goes from the jug to the sprayer with something thicker/stiffer. It tends to bend and collapse the flow. I may also look at getting a 5/8 inch hose vs a 3/4 inch hose. 150 feet of 3/4 inch hose will wear you out.


Have you found any other mixture to cause clogging? 2-3 mixtures? Microgreen with any thing will always clog my ortho, but I could do RGS, Humic, and Air8 without clogging. You also mention maybe hanging the bottle below the sprayer, how would that help? Is there a problem with suction with the tank on your back?


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## Grass Clippins

@bandit390 Just the Microgreen so far. I thought that having the bottle hang below the sprayer would be better but it turns out that it makes no difference. I've moved to a backpack design since and it's working really well.

Sneak Preview...this winter I may add a pressure relief valve to the tank so that I can spray compressed air into the hose where it meets the metering tip. This will help me agitate the mix and bust clogs.


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## bandit390

Grass Clippins said:


> @bandit390 Just the Microgreen so far. I thought that having the bottle hang below the sprayer would be better but it turns out that it makes no difference. I've moved to a backpack design since and it's working really well.
> 
> Sneak Preview...this winter I may add a pressure relief valve to the tank so that I can spray compressed air into the hose where it meets the metering tip. This will help me agitate the mix and bust clogs.


Thanks for the reply. Are you adding any water to dilute the N-Ext products in the bottle or straight concentrate? If you are, what dilution ratio are you doing in the bottle?


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## Grass Clippins

@bandit390 I add water to thin it out a little and prevent clogging, the metering tips dictate the dilution ratio. I usually get everything I need to put down for 20K sq ft in one tank fill with around 33:1 dilution at the metering tip. That does not include any water that I add to the concentrate. At first I put too much thought into my game plan, now I just pour stuff in, add water to top it off and spray. If you don't have alot of capacity I wouldn't worry about adding water to your ortho, it'll take you forever to do the job.


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## bandit390

Edit -0 nevermind


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## bandit390

Grass Clippins said:


> @bandit390 I add water to thin it out a little and prevent clogging, the metering tips dictate the dilution ratio. I usually get everything I need to put down for 20K sq ft in one tank fill with around 33:1 dilution at the metering tip. That does not include any water that I add to the concentrate. At first I put too much thought into my game plan, now I just pour stuff in, add water to top it off and spray. If you don't have alot of capacity I wouldn't worry about adding water to your ortho, it'll take you forever to do the job.


Already threw the ortho away and about to copy you. Just trying to see if it fits for what I want in my 9k sqft lawn. For the price of everything, I don't want to deal with any issues.

FYI - I found a place that can get different degree tips for about $7 each and shipping to me was about $15. The bad part is I couldn't find anyone who stocks them, and the place told me it would be around three weeks for delivery. Here is the company https://pckhoodfiltersparts.com/ Let me know if anyone knows of a different place that is about as cheap.


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## Grass Clippins

@bandit390 Nice. This would be perfect for 9K square feet. I would start with my initial setup (pictured below)plus a couple mods before going as far as I did. Blue Mule sends everything but the container. If you go with it I'll coach you on the metering if needed. Must have mods include:

1. Quick Connect Swivel fitting to attached water hose.
2. Wide nozzle, the wider the better. The one is comes with is pretty narrow.


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## bandit390

Grass Clippins said:


> @bandit390 Nice. This would be perfect for 9K square feet. I would start with my initial setup (pictured below)plus a couple mods before going as far as I did. Blue Mule sends everything but the container. If you go with it I'll coach you on the metering if needed. Must have mods include:
> 
> 1. Quick Connect Swivel fitting to attached water hose.
> 2. Wide nozzle, the wider the better. The one is comes with is pretty narrow.


I already have some eley hose quick connects and got the 40 degrees from blue mule until the other wider ones come in.

I have a smaller lawn than yours so I was thinking about clipping a one gallon to a shoulder strap. Or the 2.5 gallon jug you have and the cheapest backpack on amazon. Might even try both. Example of one gallon and strap.

https://imgur.com/f16eCqx









https://imgur.com/BVIN4st


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## Gilley11

Is the purpose of all of this to spray gcf products in larger quantities?


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## Grass Clippins

@Gilley11 Anything that's soil based and doesn't require precision. Pre-M and Nitrogen would be good examples of what not to spray through a hose end. It would also be good for a wetting agent because they call for a high dilution ratio.


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## Grass Clippins

@bandit390 When you're looking for jugs make sure it has the 38 mm threads. This is a good deal if you only need 1 gallon.


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## bandit390

Gilley11 said:


> Is the purpose of all of this to spray gcf products in larger quantities?


Yes. I don't have in ground sprinklers, so I might as well put down some n-ext products while I do a little watering in granular fertilizer or pre-emergent.


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## Grass Clippins

@Gilley11 Sorry I thought you were asking me.

@bandit390 It that's all you're doing I would look at the 5 Liter jug. That would allow you to put down a sum of 18oz/# of product for a 9K sq. ft. lawn in one app. no refills.


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## Gilley11

I was asking in general no one specific


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## bandit390

I bought this mesh backpack. Figured it would be easy to clean when it gets dirty. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YY5RS79/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This jug https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N0Y149B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm not sure how good their gun is, but it looks like the quick connect should screw onto any gun. If so I already have these from eley

https://imgur.com/VAc2xRU









https://imgur.com/TeJi7Pm


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## bandit390

Grass Clippins said:


> Alright boys. Here she is, almost complete. I'm a stickler for fit and finish so the old JanSport had to go. Now I have 4 gallons of capacity, a quick connect, and a thicker hose that won't fold over and kink at the tank. I still need to order a better set of backpack straps. The straps supplied with the Sprayers Plus 403 are built for smaller people.


I found the tank online, but how did you convert the lid/piston to the lid/quick connect that you have now? If you remove the black plastic/piston then are you left with the green cap with a hole in the center?

https://www.sprayers-plus.com/products/to-be-confirmed-403-backpack-with-internal-piston-pump/


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## Grass Clippins

@bandit390 thats the one. As soon as I got it I took the piston out so that tank was completely empty. After pulling out the piston you'll need to order two water proof nuts from Sprayers Plus to replace the waterproofing that you lost by removing the piston. I'll take pictures later to help explain. I then ordered the green plexi in. 1 x 1 sheet and used a hole saw to cut the outer circle followed by a smaller bit to cut the inner circle. All of that plus the fittings started to add up quickly, but it's nice.


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## Grass Clippins

Proceed with caution...make sure you like the stripped down Hose-End Spray-All 50 before going this route because the expenses can add up quickly.

Step 1: Buy the Spayers Plus 403 Backpack Sprayer with Internal Piston.

Step 2: Remove the piston pump & base so that the tank is completely empty. When you remove the piston base you'll run into an issue because it's held in place with three bolts. These three bolts thread directly into the piston base so by removing the piston base you're also removing the nuts and creating a leak. See picture below of piston base and notice three rubber washers.



Step 3: To fix this issue you only need to order the screw set for base, it's $5.99. The only thing you are using in the set are the three waterproof nuts. While you're at it you might as well order the premium adjustable padded shoulder straps. The straps that come with the 403 are pretty small. The premium straps come on the 401 which use the same buckle and hook part number as the 403 so I'm assuming it will fit. The inside of the tank will look like this when you're done with step 3.



Step 4: This is where is gets a little tricky. I ordered this little sheet of acrylic to cut out my disc to fill the hole where the piston would usually fit. I can't remember exactly what size hole saw I used but the only thing that matters it that it's greater than or equal to 3". It's not an exact fit so you'll need to sand it down a little for a perfect fit. To make sanding easy I attached it to the chuck of my drill with a full threaded bolt, washer & nut. This will get the disc spinning so all you have to do is a apply a little pressure with the sand paper while occasionally checking the fit. After it fits into the cap perfectly you can then move onto drill out a bigger center hole for whichever fitting you decide to go with. I will refer to the fitting for this acrylic disc as the bulkhead fitting in Step 5.



Step 5: Fittings... I may have gone overboard with my choice of fittings but I wanted it to look nice.

Bulkhead Fittings
Part #61673

Part #61703



Other Fittings
Part #61696

Part #61673


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## Grass Clippins

A couple more things:

I used this clear braided vinyl tubing for the line that goes from the bulkhead fitting to the filter inside the tank as well as from the bulkhead to the other fitting at the outside base of the tank.

I used this brass filter inside the tank. A stiffer hose and heavy filter keep it in place on the bottom.

And I think that's about it. Now to tally up the expenses.

BM Spray-All 50 $94.13
Sprayers Plus 403 $79.99 (I bought for $52.99 @ Walmart)
Screw Set $5.99
Acrylic $6.49
Fittings $69.67
Braided Tubing $6.96 
Filter $12.99
Total $249.22

Future additions? wider tips and an Eley Comfort Grip Spray Nozzle similar to what @bandit390 uses. The BM nozzle is nice but that Eley looks nicer and I might as well round up my expenses to the nearest 100.


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## bandit390

So I actually bought the compact version and the needed accessories to turn it into the All version. The extras are a stainless steel check valve and the cap/nipple combo. I won't be able to try it out till next weekend. I also have a 5-gallon jug on order. It should fit in the backpack, and will probably only put 3-4 gallons in it. I can't find a 4-gallon jug.

FYI - Bex sells all the nozzles you would want. They are about $17 for the 303SS and $20 for the 316SS nozzles.
https://bex.com/products/_000008.php

https://imgur.com/HNn8kbC









https://imgur.com/cLKmqiM


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## bandit390

Grass Clippins said:


> @bandit390 thats the one. As soon as I got it I took the piston out so that tank was completely empty. After pulling out the piston you'll need to order two water proof nuts from Sprayers Plus to replace the waterproofing that you lost by removing the piston. I'll take pictures later to help explain. I then ordered the green plexi in. 1 x 1 sheet and used a hole saw to cut the outer circle followed by a smaller bit to cut the inner circle. All of that plus the fittings started to add up quickly, but it's nice.


So my first outing today was crap. If the nozzle is lower than the tank, then the liquid will leak out. Rasing the nozzle above the tank is awkward and not doable the whole time spraying. Is there any way to stop this? Do you have the same issue? I wouldn't care so much if my area was all lawn, but I cross a lot of sidewalks/driveways, and dripping a staining product on them doesn't work for me.


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## Grass Clippins

@bandit390 Where's it leaking from? I never have issues with it leaking more than a few drops from the tip.


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## bandit390

Grass Clippins said:


> @bandit390 Where's it leaking from? I never have issues with it leaking more than a few drops from the tip.


The tip. The lower I hold it, the more that comes out. This is just the concentrate from the bottle. No water from the hose leaks.


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## Grass Clippins

@bandit390 I was going to take a look at mine yesterday but didn't have time. I don't cross over any concrete or paved areas so I don't really remember how bad it drips but I do know it drips a little, not much. All I have to do is hold my arm up and point the nozzle to the sky for those brief movement when I'm stopped And trying to manage the hose. If you don't want any drop you could install a 1/4" barbed in-line ball valve, they're very inexpensive. I would put it within a few inches of the metering tip.


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## bandit390

Grass Clippins said:


> @bandit390 I was going to take a look at mine yesterday but didn't have time. I don't cross over any concrete or paved areas so I don't really remember how bad it drips but I do know it drips a little, not much. All I have to do is hold my arm up and point the nozzle to the sky for those brief movement when I'm stopped And trying to manage the hose. If you don't want any drop you could install a 1/4" barbed in-line ball valve, they're very inexpensive. I would put it within a few inches of the metering tip.


This is about the only one I could find. I'll place it where you said, that will allow me to close off the concentrate and flush some water through to clear the body/tip. Thanks for your help

https://imgur.com/HRcmjxA


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## Grass Clippins

@bandit390 no problem. I'm looking for one also, seems to be a popular part for kegs. Once the siphoning starts its hard to stop. One time, in a fit of rage, I was not thinking and pulled the hose from the metering barb, made a huge mess. We're still in the R&D Phase for this build :lol:


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## bandit390

Updated

Suggestions:
- A 5-gallon tank will fit in a backpack. I plan to only use 3.5-4 gallons
- Don't go cheap on the backpack
- The plastic hose barbs on the stock cap from blue mule are horrible

https://imgur.com/KVH01GZ









https://imgur.com/Nq6kYNJ


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## Grass Clippins

@bandit390 Have you had a chance to use the valve yet? Looks good.


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## bandit390

Grass Clippins said:


> @bandit390 Have you had a chance to use the valve yet? Looks good.


No. It's easy to turn with one hand and heavy-duty. I might have time this weekend, but the hurricane cleanup might push that back. In addition, I bought this one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CNDNVXL but it's tough to turn and will take both hands. It also doesn't look fully open when I open it and look inside.


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## bandit390

So I bought a 5070 and 6570 tip to see if I could get a higher GPM. The stock one is a 4050. The first two numbers are for the degree of the tip and the last two numbers are for the orifice opening. The 70 vs the 50 tip did not really provide anymore GPM that I was expecting. The end of my water hose is at 70 PSI and 5.5 GPM


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## Turf Titan

Need to thank the forum for guidance on this build. I have just shy of 7500 sq feet of turf and the Ortho was no joy to use. Besides the frequent refilling. I had significant issues with clogging, to the point where I had to buy another one after 2 uses.

The Blue Mule is a great experience all around. Consistent flow and no clogging whatsoever. I did many of the upgrades mentioned in this thread including the 80 degree tip. I did buy the valve to install between the spray gun and jug. I had a little incident with liquid fert where the liquid kept on flowing out the tip after releasing the trigger. The grass will grow back


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## Johnl445

Hey all, I'm looking to purchase the compact blue mule, the spray all 50b. Which one of these Bex spray nozzles would best mimic the spray patter from this hydratain throw away bottle. I actually really like the spray pattern and the the gpm, but I know this this throw away applicator will soon break.


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