Star 16 Agro Knapsack Sprayer

• Working capacity: 16 litres
• Total capacity: 16 litres
• Maximum Working Pressure: 3bar
• Seals - Viton
• Set of nozzles: Yes
• Regulator: Yes
• 3-position regulator: Free flow and 1.5 and 3 bar
• Lance length: 0.95-metre
• Hose length: 1.3-metre
• Carrying straps: Yes
• Back carrying: Yes

Our Star range of knapsack sprayers give you a choice of 16 or 20 litre tanks both of which are supplied with a pressure regulator, a set of spare nozzles, face mask, measuring jug and a couple of spare caps.

The box gave me a good first impression; strong, brightly coloured and with plenty of good quality information about the contents. The construction, of the box, felt strong enough to both hold and give some decent protection to the sprayer. Upon opening the box I found the contents to be well packed and I liked that the loose items were in a bag. Too many sprayers either have the smaller parts stored inside the tank or just left to roll around inside the box. I found the instruction manual, read it through and everything seemed quite straight forward. Only a couple of pages of instructions but I think it told me everything I needed to set the sprayer up, keep it running and look after it. There are also a couple of pages containing metering and liquid distribution information and an exploded diagram of the sprayer giving various part numbers should you need to order any spare parts.

Putting the paperwork to one side, it was time to have a look at the sprayer. To remove the sprayer from the box only required me to remove the lance and pack of parts then to gently pull on the handle and the tank lifted out easily. The shoulder straps are already fitted as is the pressure lever which saves a few minutes however it is set for pumping with the left hand which means holding the sprayer lance in your right hand. This can be very easily swapped just by removing the shoulder straps and fitting them on the other side of the tank, then flipping the pump handle. This means that the sprayer can be set-up for both left and right handed operators with minimum effort. After this you just need to attach the hose to the top of the sprayer and to the trigger handle which simply threads on at both ends. The pressure regulator attaches to the other end of the handle and the metal lance onto the regulator. The sprayer is now ready to use.

Filling the sprayer is easy as the tank has a very wide neck but do make sure that you use the filter to ensure that nothing enters the tank that could block the nozzle. I would also recommend placing the sprayer on a table, before filling, as this makes it far easier to put it on your back as opposed to having to lift a full tank from the floor. So, with tank filled I put the sprayer on and there is plenty of adjustment in the shoulder straps so all shapes and sizes should be well accommodated.

After all of this, I was ready to spray. The instruction manual told me to pump the handle 8-10 times to initially pressurise the tank so 8-10 pumps I did and I could feel the pressure building with each compression. You maybe a little confused as to the exact reason for the pressure regulator but turn it on and off a few times, whilst spraying, and you can see the difference. With the regulator off the sprayer works as per normal which basically means that the spray comes out with quite some force which means that pressure is lost quite quickly therefore you have to constantly compress to maintain the pressure. It also means that you, generally, use your tank contents very quickly. This is fine for some applications however when using herbicides or other products with a measured distribution rate it is recommended to switch the regulator on. This reduces the exit pressure to 1.5BAR (from 3BAR) giving larger droplets and allowing you to monitor your spraying and chemical consumption. It also means that you don't have to maintain the pressure within the tank as often giving you a rest. I found the spraying a pleasant experience, everything worked as intended and I thought that the sprayer felt good to use.

How do I fit the straps to this sprayer as there seems to be something missing?

This is a question that we are asked a lot as the way that the straps work on these sprayers is quite unusual but, we feel, once you understand the arrangement they are very practical. As you will see, when removing your Star sprayer from its box, the straps are already fitted to the top of tank meaning that you only have to fit the bottom of one strap. This is where people become confused as the two straps are slightly different to each other. One strap has a hook fitted to its end and the other doesn't, this is how the straps should be and doesn't mean that something is missing. The strap without the hook should be fitted into the small slots at the base of the side that the strap is on. There are a number of ways to fit the strap but we have found the best way is to pass the strap up through the bottom of the tank so that around 10cm is showing from the top slot, it should then be passed through the bottom slot where it will lock itself in place. This strap, is designed to be permanently fixed to the tank so that you pass your arm through it, lift the tank and use the small thumb button on the front of the strap to tighten to suit you. The second strap is then passed over your other shoulder and the hook attached to the bottom of the tank. This design may sound awkward but it makes putting the tank on and taking the tank off much easier than having both straps fixed.

The information booklet that is supplied with the sprayer does show how to fit the straps.