GCI Turf has a fairly new product out there and not a ton in the way of unsponsored reviews, so I thought I'd put one up here in case anyone is considering it. The spray buddy comes in several sizes from 5 gallons to 20 gallons (and I think 50 gallons is in the works). No sponsored reviews here!
Background
Currently I'm working with 15k square ft of lawn and up to this point I've tried a manual pump backpack sprayer, electric backpack sprayer (ryobi) and a push sprayer (Chapin 12 gal). I really couldn't get in the grove with these and it was a massive chore to use them. The backpack sprayer being 4 gallons means I had to refill it at least 3 (usually 4) times. To do my entire lawn from start to finish it was an hour plus with all the mixing, spraying and cleaning. I didn't enjoy it. Plus it was taking a toll on my back and my knees. The Chapin 12 gal was ok but it was clunky, heavy to push up hills and it often had pump priming issues, not to mention the build quality wasn't great. Hoses and spray wand broke as well as the on/off switch had to be replaced. I found the spray quality of the stock boom to be sub optimal and had little motivation to do the mod most people do. Overall, it just didn't work for me and I found myself using the backpack sprayer more.
Enter the GCI Turf Spray buddy system. I saw on another forum someone mention the mix buddy, and I couldn't wrap my head around the need for it, after all it just replaced having to mix the material in the spray tank itself and then you just dump it into the backpack sprayer. Then I saw he had an actual pump and hose system to replace everything. Wall mounted tank, built in agitator, lightweight hose on a high quality reel; it was the answer to my annoyances with backpack spraying. Then I saw the price. I decided to pass. I sprayed the yard a couple more times after that with my backpack sprayer and decided to revisit the spray buddy and ultimately decided to go with it.
I was going to initially go with the dual 15 gallon tanks so I could do 2 gallons/1,000 square feet but after I'd accepted the price, shipping ended up being nearly $300. I asked them to double check the cost of shipping as the 15 gallon system was only $70. They said was all correct and was due to UPS surcharges and an additional large box. This led me back to the 15 gallon unit, after all I'd been doing 1 gallon/1000 sq ft since the beginning anyhow, this would allow me to do that with one fill up. So, I finally pulled the trigger.
Shipping speed was S.L.O.W. They do say it's 10 day minimum lead time but the pump was also back ordered. It took nearly 2.5 weeks to receive it and the pump was about another week behind it. A couple of parts were broken in transit and one part was missing. I e-mailed them and they got all of those replacement parts in short order. The install was pretty easy. He sends you a video on the install which is a bit dated as he's changed the configuration and parts a bit, but it's enough information to get the job done. All in all, install took me about 2 hours or so working at a pretty slow pace. I will say that I have to agree with Pete at GCI, this thing is built of all really high quality material and no corners were cut. All the fittings, hoses, reel etc are top notch which comes at a cost. It comes with a Lesco spray gun that has a 2 gpm and 1.5 gpm nozzle. Since I'd been spraying with a boom up to this point, I decided to get his spray boom package (extra $) because I didn't think I'd like the spray gun. Those will get their own review, but they are really nice and the nozzles he had made are really great.
My first spray with the system went pretty well. I wasn't sure the pace at which to walk so I tinkered with that a bit. I also had my pump overheat and shut down about 10-12 minutes in. After a 10 minute cool down I was able to do the rest of the lawn without issue. I also find that the hose kinks somewhat easily, but the more I use the hose the less I see that happening. The issue for this overheat was that I had the pressure set too high. After some emails with Pete, he gave me a bit more of a tutorial for the new pressure regulator. Setting 6 did the trick, with no thermal protection shutdowns since.
I’d like to mention again, just how quick this makes spraying. I have a new section of fescue that I’m babying, It’s about 3k sq ft. I was walking by my shed and thought I’d do a quick spray of humic on that section. Literally 9 minutes and I was done. No mess, no clean up, no heavy tank on my back. I filled it, dumped in the humic, let it agitate for 60 seconds and off I went. It’s really efficient and clean.
This week I rewired my shed and put it on it’s own 20 amp circuit. It was on a 15 amp plug with a GFI which kept tripping, so I upgraded the wiring and rather than taking the plug in and out of the socket I can now leave it plugged in and use the breaker as the on/off switch. Another thing I did that has cut down the time it takes to prep is I ran water directly to it. So now rather than drag a hose around to the tank, hold it there, fill up, wind hose back up etc, it’s now just a matter of opening the valve and letting it fill up.
I give this rig, two thumbs up!
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Background
Currently I'm working with 15k square ft of lawn and up to this point I've tried a manual pump backpack sprayer, electric backpack sprayer (ryobi) and a push sprayer (Chapin 12 gal). I really couldn't get in the grove with these and it was a massive chore to use them. The backpack sprayer being 4 gallons means I had to refill it at least 3 (usually 4) times. To do my entire lawn from start to finish it was an hour plus with all the mixing, spraying and cleaning. I didn't enjoy it. Plus it was taking a toll on my back and my knees. The Chapin 12 gal was ok but it was clunky, heavy to push up hills and it often had pump priming issues, not to mention the build quality wasn't great. Hoses and spray wand broke as well as the on/off switch had to be replaced. I found the spray quality of the stock boom to be sub optimal and had little motivation to do the mod most people do. Overall, it just didn't work for me and I found myself using the backpack sprayer more.
Enter the GCI Turf Spray buddy system. I saw on another forum someone mention the mix buddy, and I couldn't wrap my head around the need for it, after all it just replaced having to mix the material in the spray tank itself and then you just dump it into the backpack sprayer. Then I saw he had an actual pump and hose system to replace everything. Wall mounted tank, built in agitator, lightweight hose on a high quality reel; it was the answer to my annoyances with backpack spraying. Then I saw the price. I decided to pass. I sprayed the yard a couple more times after that with my backpack sprayer and decided to revisit the spray buddy and ultimately decided to go with it.
I was going to initially go with the dual 15 gallon tanks so I could do 2 gallons/1,000 square feet but after I'd accepted the price, shipping ended up being nearly $300. I asked them to double check the cost of shipping as the 15 gallon system was only $70. They said was all correct and was due to UPS surcharges and an additional large box. This led me back to the 15 gallon unit, after all I'd been doing 1 gallon/1000 sq ft since the beginning anyhow, this would allow me to do that with one fill up. So, I finally pulled the trigger.
Shipping speed was S.L.O.W. They do say it's 10 day minimum lead time but the pump was also back ordered. It took nearly 2.5 weeks to receive it and the pump was about another week behind it. A couple of parts were broken in transit and one part was missing. I e-mailed them and they got all of those replacement parts in short order. The install was pretty easy. He sends you a video on the install which is a bit dated as he's changed the configuration and parts a bit, but it's enough information to get the job done. All in all, install took me about 2 hours or so working at a pretty slow pace. I will say that I have to agree with Pete at GCI, this thing is built of all really high quality material and no corners were cut. All the fittings, hoses, reel etc are top notch which comes at a cost. It comes with a Lesco spray gun that has a 2 gpm and 1.5 gpm nozzle. Since I'd been spraying with a boom up to this point, I decided to get his spray boom package (extra $) because I didn't think I'd like the spray gun. Those will get their own review, but they are really nice and the nozzles he had made are really great.
My first spray with the system went pretty well. I wasn't sure the pace at which to walk so I tinkered with that a bit. I also had my pump overheat and shut down about 10-12 minutes in. After a 10 minute cool down I was able to do the rest of the lawn without issue. I also find that the hose kinks somewhat easily, but the more I use the hose the less I see that happening. The issue for this overheat was that I had the pressure set too high. After some emails with Pete, he gave me a bit more of a tutorial for the new pressure regulator. Setting 6 did the trick, with no thermal protection shutdowns since.
I’d like to mention again, just how quick this makes spraying. I have a new section of fescue that I’m babying, It’s about 3k sq ft. I was walking by my shed and thought I’d do a quick spray of humic on that section. Literally 9 minutes and I was done. No mess, no clean up, no heavy tank on my back. I filled it, dumped in the humic, let it agitate for 60 seconds and off I went. It’s really efficient and clean.
This week I rewired my shed and put it on it’s own 20 amp circuit. It was on a 15 amp plug with a GFI which kept tripping, so I upgraded the wiring and rather than taking the plug in and out of the socket I can now leave it plugged in and use the breaker as the on/off switch. Another thing I did that has cut down the time it takes to prep is I ran water directly to it. So now rather than drag a hose around to the tank, hold it there, fill up, wind hose back up etc, it’s now just a matter of opening the valve and letting it fill up.
I give this rig, two thumbs up!
