Chafer Mistral sprayer The Chafer Mistral is a truly top spec sprayer in terms of capacity, equipment – and its awesome £76,000 price tag! Clearly, for farmers and contractors to be able to justify such an investment, this machine should and must ‘go some’. Mick Roberts climbs aboard the mighty Mistral to find out exactly what a buyer can expect for his money
Chafer introduced its first horse-drawn sprayer back in 1922. And it has been making sprayers ever since.
Easily identified by their trademark stainless steel tanks and yellow booms, Chafer machines may not be renowned for their leading-edge technology and sophistication but, in terms of durability and ability to ‘take stick’, their reputation is second to few. It is not uncommon, for example, to find 15- to 20-year old machines still hard at work. In developing the Mistral, Chafer has attempted to dispel its staid, low-spec image while, at the same time, retain its reputation for building strong, long-life machines. First seen at Smithfield 1996, the Mistral made quite an impact – largely because it was so radically different to the machine it replaced, the more basic SP range – built by Househam. A remote CCTV camera, fridge and CD player were all options which the SP driver could only dream of, and were features that were guaranteed to grab the Mistral its all-important launch headlines. And they did.
Admittedly, a conscientious operator needs and deserves to be pampered. But to start paying back some of that £70,000 takes more than a fancy flask holder and snazzy stereo; premium spraying kit must also be on offer, as well as a skid unit capable of allowing that kit to perform. Chafer claims to provide both, comfort and output – claims that we investigated during our test.
