Having sprayed countless tanks of chemical from 15 litre backpack sprayers over the years I can’t begin to explain what a luxury it was to push the trigger and achieve a constant flow with excellent pressure. No more continuous pumping via a hand lever with varied flow rate proved to be both less tiring and more productive.
Fifteen litres is obviously a heavy amount to carry on your back and combined with the 6.2kg unit it is heavy when the tank is at full capacity, which is the same for all sprayers of this size. AEG have addressed this by having very comfortable, padded and adjustable shoulder straps as well as an adjustable waist strap. This waist strap enables you to gently pull the sprayer to be secured against the small of your back, eliminating the common problem of the base of the sprayer knocking into your lower back as you walk. Adding to the comfort is a breathable mesh backing, reducing heat transfer on the operator’s back, which is also a common problem when spraying for prolonged periods in the warmer months.
A large filler cap with a top handle and ribs around its edges make cap removal easy and when removed reveals a wide opening ensuring filling and decanting chemicals is a simple, no-mess procedure, particularly with a basket filter in place. The opaque tank has both litres and gallons marked on either side ensuring an easy assessment of fluid levels for the user. Quality features to prolong the longevity of the sprayer include a stainless steel lance, brass nozzle and chemicalresistant seals.
Two snap-on lance holders are fitted either side of the unit so either side can be used when transporting or storing. The brass nozzle is adjustable to cope with all types of application and a plastic fan nozzle is also supplied. With the brass nozzle fitted I was able to adjust easily to suit the desired application. When needing to spray high into taller shrubs it was effortless with the adjustable flow rate set at the maximum 1.6L/min. The distance the unit can throw exceeded any hand pump sprayers I have used and made coverage of generally hard-to-reach places easy. The adjustable flow rate dial enables the operator to adjust the rate infinitely from 0.5L/min to 1.6L/min depending on the situation. It is located on the lower back left of the unit below the pump on/off switch, which are both easily reached and adjusted when the unit is on the operator’s back.
Incredible spray runtimes allow for potential full days of spraying on a single battery. Basically, for every Ah of battery you can achieve 1-hour runtime when using an 18V battery and 2-hours runtime when using a 58V battery. I assume this would not be at the maximum flow rate of 1.6L/min, but it is still very impressive. With a 58V 4.0Ah battery up to 8 hours of runtime can be achieved and if you insert an 18V 9.0Ah AEG FORCE battery you can expect up to 9 hours of runtime.
The dual voltage 15 litre backpack sprayer from AEG would make a welcome addition to any contractor kit, especially if you have been persisting with conventional hand pump sprayers. The effort required to operate this sprayer is minimal compared to conventional sprayers and productivity would be much higher. Runtimes are easily long enough to make this a viable commercial option and AEG has an impressive warranty scheme.