DRIVING IMPRESSION: Knight’s Laser recirculation system ends the need to purge the spray lines on the headland before setting off down a tramline. It also dispenses with the job of spraying out chemical left in the lines at the end of the working day. Mick Roberts reveals the workings of this RASE Gold Medal winning design
Narrow pipes returning to the tank from the ends of each boom section are the only indication that Knight’s Laser system is fitted to a sprayer.
There are no additional moving parts, and like most good ideas, the system is simplicity itself. And that’s the main reason why designer, Brian Knight, has been reluctant to tell the world how it works. Now with patents in place we can reveal how the Laser system operates and its potential benefits.
All sprayer operators will be familiar with one of their machines’ biggest drawbacks: No sprayer starts instantly spraying chemical in the field – liquid needs to be purged out of the system before chemical reaches the nozzles. And at the end of the day the cleaning water has to push the remaining chemical out though the nozzles to clean the lines completely (the lower the application rate, the longer this takes).
Laser neatly overcomes both of these problems. And, moreover, it does it very simply: Laser plumbing allows liquid to be circulated through the spray lines and pipework without it being sprayed out of the nozzles. The system works whenever the pump is running and the spray is switched off. It is able to do this thanks to the sprayer designer’s best friend – a venturi
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