Spray tips don’t last forever, yet it is extremely dicult todetect wear because it may not be visible. Spray nozzle wear of 10,20, or even 30% won’t be visible. Using even slightly worn tips is verycostly. Water, crop protection product, and labor are wasted, andcrop protection product application quality can be compromised.

The spray tip wear depends on:

• Tip material
• Crop protection formulation type (e.g. wettable powder)
• Water quality
• Operating pressure
• Cleaning procedure

Rather than relying on visual inspection, it is better tocompare the ow rate from a used spray tip with the ow rate from anew tip of the same size, type, and pressure. If the ow from theused spray tip is 10% greater or more, replace it (quantitativemethod).

Compare the deposition pattern of a new and used spray tipin a distribution table and check if the used tip pattern shows adierent distribution than the new tip (qualitative method).

In the image below it is possible to observe a distributiontable comparing a new tip (left) with a worn tip (right) spraypattern. The worn nozzle is spraying 30% over the capacity.Comparing the spray coming from the new and worn nozzle onlywith our eyes would be hard to detect because the spray patternslook identical.

It is also possible to use a software that can compare thespray pattern of a new tip vs a worn tip (qualitative method). In theimage below, it’s possible to observe the SprayScan® mPT softwarecomparing the spray pattern of a new tip (left) with a worn tip(right). In this example, the new spray tip has excellent dropletdistribution uniformity, preserved deposition at the center, anddissipation towards the edge. The droplets are concentrated at thecenter of the spray, represented by the red colors. Worn spray tips,on the other hand, present an uneven distribution, represented bythe irregular spray distribution color pattern.

For more information about their certified and approved TeeJet spray tips, visit their website at www.teejet.com.