# Trouble Spraying N-Ext Products through Chapin



## Jairow (Nov 12, 2019)

I recently purchased the bio-stimulant pack with contains N-Ext RGS, Humic 12, MicroGreene and Air8. I found a recommendation that calls for 3 ounces of each product per gallon/1K sq ft. I followed the recommendation, mixing three ounces of each product for a total of 12 ounces in four gallons of water. I used a Chapin 20V sprayer with an XR110 Tee Jet.

I was only able to spray one gallon of this mix over my 4,000 sq feet. I'm calibrated for 1 gallon/1,000 sq ft. with this sprayer.

Not sure if the mix was too thick or if something is wrong with my sprayer. I've used the sprayer several times already with no issues, battery was fully charged, but this is my first time spraying N-Ext.

Looking for any input before I go opening up my sprayer. Has anyone else successfully applied a similar mix through their Chapin 20V? Should I stick to one or two products at at time?


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## CarolinaCuttin (Sep 6, 2019)

3 oz of each product in 4 gallons of product should be no problem at all, assuming you didn't throw the products in there without any water first. For 4 gallons of solution I would have at least 2 or 3 gallons of pure water before adding the products.

It could be your walking speed, the nozzle could have been obstructed, or your calibration was off. How wide (in inches) is the fan on your nozzle when you are spraying? Keep in mind this varies by how high you hold the sprayer off of the ground.

Catch water in a cup for 30 seconds spraying out of the sprayer at your desired PSI and see how much comes out.

I can figure your carrier volume with the above info, I'll assume 3 mph walking speed which is standard. Let me know if you walk faster or slower.


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## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

I believe on the gcf site it states not to add microgreene in a mix with the other 3 for a hose end sprayer. I wonder if that holds true for a backpack sprayer as well.

https://www.greenecountyfert.com/diy/


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## Jairow (Nov 12, 2019)

What a great forum this is! I really appreciate the quick and meaningful feedback I received.

I first added all products into a two-gallon bucket (this is probably where the problem was), then added two gallons of water, mixed with a paint mixer attached to a power drill for about three minutes, then poured this mixture into my sprayer tank. I did notice a thin layer of powdery residue at the bottom of my mixing container after I did this. I then added two gallons of water to the sprayer tank then mixed everything in the tank with the paint mixer attachment for a couple minutes.

I'll try adding the product to two-gallons of water instead of adding two gallons of water to the product. I'll also eliminate the microgreene and spray that separately as I had not seen the statement concerning adding this to the other three. I got this mix from the LCN blog.

I went ahead and checked the nozzle and the filter on the sprayer. There was some gunk in the filter that I cleared out, not sure if that was enough to cause issues. @CarolinaCuttin The fan of my nozzle is approximately 36 inches and I captured 20 ounces of water in 30 seconds.


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## CarolinaCuttin (Sep 6, 2019)

@Jairow That works out to about 17 gallons per acre, or 0.4 gallons per 1000 if you are not overlapped at all and trying to spray edge to edge. If you are overlapping 50% on each pass, then it's double (34 GPA and 0.8 gal/1000 respectively).

If you sprayed 1 gallon over 4000 square feet, that's 11 GPA or 0.25 gal/1000. What could cause the difference between my theoretical carrier volume and the experimental carrier volume?

1. You aren't spraying the whole yard, there are skips being left behind.

2. You're holding the sprayer higher than you calibrated for, making the fan wider than 36 inches

3. You're walking faster than 3 mph (this seems unlikely, it's uncomfortable to be walking much faster than this while spraying I think).

4. A combination of multiple things at once.

Unfortunately, you aren't even close to 1 gal/1000, and anything under 20 gallons per acre of carrier volume is too low for both foliar and soil sprays.

If we assume 3 mph walking speed and a 36 inch fan with zero overlap, you need to catch 50 ounces in 30 seconds to achieve a carrier volume of 43 GPA (1 gallon/1000).

If you are catching 20 ounces now, you aren't going to get to 50 just by changing the pressure on the sprayer, you'll need to get a different nozzle. The only other option is to decrease the fan width or walking speed or both.


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## Jairow (Nov 12, 2019)

Thanks @CarolinaCuttin, I'm thinking now my Chapin is not working properly. I appreciate you running those numbers as I can continue to troubleshoot and test. The sprayer is pulsing now and I don't have much hope for it based on the research I've done with similar situations. May end up getting a different brand sprayer as I was really looking forward to using these products.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

@Jairow check and clean the filter in the wand (the big plastic nut).


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## Jairow (Nov 12, 2019)

After a whole day of troubleshooting I was finally able to spray close to four gallons on my 4K lawn - had about one quart left over. My Chapin was clogged up with the mix I originally used. I cleaned the filters, lines, changed out the tee jet opened and cleaned the pump per some instructions I found on here. For some reason, the pump would pulsate with the XR110 tee jet and not the XR80. I was able to mix 3 ounces each of Air8, Humic 12 and RGS into four gallons of water and apply it with no problem. I applied the MicroGreene separately (3oz in 4 gallons) also with no problem.


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## Ri22o (May 6, 2020)

In my research, as was also said further up, you can't mix the fertilizers (Micro Greene) with the amendments. They have differing pH levels and won't place nice with each other.

You can mix Micro Greene and Greene Effect without any issues though, but they are also both fertilizers.


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## Mnbadger (Jun 9, 2019)

Do not mix micro green with others. Almost turns into a gel. Only made that mistake once.


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