220 gallon spray truck

Here is yet another spray rig project. This one was an attempt to compact things into a smaller space, yet increase the tank sizes. I wanted to leave room in the truck to store things under the reels, as well as have a little space in the back. Another goal was to not have things sticking up high, as some of our other equipment does. So I put together a rough 3D model of the parts so I could play around with different designs.

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Cut some plates to frame up the reel mounts and completed it with some angle iron, stick welded together with 6011

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Next I cut all the holes in the tanks, and started to plumb the various circuits. Inspector cat monitors everything closely. Added valves and pressure regulators for internal rinse nozzles, and chemical agitation eductors. Made some mounting points from stainless to hold the plumping in place. Made special tank pickups to feed strainer filters so that all holes in the tank are on the top. This is to prevent future leaks from failed tank seals.

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Too many pics for a single post. To be continued...

Then fabricate the motor and pump mounting frame, using quarter inch plate and 3 inch channel. Also made some retention parts with 1x1/8 and square nuts. TIG welded most of that.

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Quick and dirty paint just to keep the rust at bay until everything is powder coated later.

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Here the components are mounted, a 13HP engine, a low pressure 10 GPM pump and a high pressure 20 GPM pump You can see the belt tensioning system and the captive nuts, so it's easy to tighten the belts and lock everything down when it's installed with one wrench.

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The engine was supposed to be a new type of Honda with all electronic controls that would make a remote control panel a piece of cake. But even though it's been on their website over a year, it seems that it's still smoke and mirrors and I had to get the old style. The only problem is that although they kept the cable mount for the remote throttle, they redid the choke in all plastic and deleted the remote cable fittings in the process. So I pressed into service a door lock actuator, a piece of welding rod, and a spring to make up a remote choke that works at the press of a button. Welded a small triangle plate to mount it just under the fuel tank.

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And here it is ready to mount in the truck. I rolled the frame over a piece of pipe to find the balance point to attach a nice lifting hook so this can be removed for major service if needed, without disturbing anything else in the truck.

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Then install the tanks and finally the reel assembly and begin to plumb everything.

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And here is the final product. There are still a few loose ends to tie up, and the powder coating will be done after I'm sure all the welding is finished and any bugs are worked out in field testing.

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Very Nice setup

I'm sure someone in the future will thank you for the "one wrench" system. And the door lock actuator idea is brilliant. Did you just happen to have an actuator on hand with the right throw distance, or did that require some research?

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Originally Posted by DaveO

I'm sure someone in the future will thank you for the "one wrench" system. And the door lock actuator idea is brilliant. Did you just happen to have an actuator on hand with the right throw distance, or did that require some research?

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There is a good chance that someone might be me, so it's a bit selfish.

My initial idea was to use a small solenoid that I had in a junk box, but so much of the choke was plastic, I was unable to take it apart intact. Even the pivot rod through the carb body was plastic and the choke blade crimped on. My solenoid didn't have the power required and there was no easy way to make a metal actuator arm. I remembered the door lock unit left over from an old alarm installation and amazingly was able to find it. I measured the throw distance and drilled the stock choke lever at a point where that distance matched. The duty cycle is probably pretty low, but it only takes a second or two of choke on cold mornings to start it.

That's a nice little setup! Very compact and space saving!

I often wish I had a program to do 3D modeling in! I was spoiled back when I was working since I had the company's software (solidworks, Autocad, CADduct, etc) to use at my convenience, which made it easy to go from a silly idea in my head, to an actual product in my hands. I don't need anything too fancy, it's just nice to have something to play around with and help create a visual image.

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Originally Posted by Rambozo

I remembered the door lock unit left over from an old alarm installation and amazingly was able to find it.

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There is so much truth to that! I have a ton of little "nick-nack" things I've been holding onto for years (future projects) and I always have the hardest time finding the exact item I'm looking for! I keep telling myself that "It's always in the last place you look", but that never helps when searching! Luckily I have really been organizing lately and been in the cleaning up/throwing out mode.

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Originally Posted by youngnstudly

I often wish I had a program to do 3D modeling in! I was spoiled back when I was working since I had the company's software (solidworks, Autocad, CADduct, etc) to use at my convenience, which made it easy to go from a silly idea in my head, to an actual product in my hands. I don't need anything too fancy, it's just nice to have something to play around with and help create a visual image.

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No excuses, this was all done with the free version of Google Sketchup. Quite a few parts were pre-made models free from the Google 3D Warehouse, with just a few mods here and there, as needed. Who would have thought the best way to find nice models of sprinkler valves would be kids drawing elaborate versions of PVC spud guns. :D

http://www.sketchup.com

Nice work. That's a prime example of the benefits of thorough planning.

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Originally Posted by Rambozo

No excuses, this was all done with the free version of Google Sketchup. Quite a few parts were pre-made models free from the Google 3D Warehouse, with just a few mods here and there, as needed. Who would have thought the best way to find nice models of sprinkler valves would be kids drawing elaborate versions of PVC spud guns. :D

http://www.sketchup.com

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Great, now I'm never going to get to sleep tonight! I'm too busy playing with this (sweet!) program I just downloaded. Thanks for the link and info! I'm sure once I get the hang of the program, there will be no stopping me!:)

Here is a good start. http://www.youtube.com/user/SketchUpVideo/videos
And there are others all over YouTube. It's being used by a lot of woodworking publications, as well. It's a little heavier into architecture and Google Earth modeling, but it's open enough to make it fit almost anything. Plus there are like a ton of plugins to do specific things that are not built in. There is a Ruby API to allow some pretty intense automation, too. If you have any AutoCAD Lisp experience, you will be surprised at how easy things can be. Have a peek at http://extensions.sketchup.com

Of course once you have 3D models, you will want a 3D printer in no time. ;)

Interesting ideas for sure. I am going to have to look at that software also although I do have access to AutoCAD and the like.