Solo 475-B-DELUXE 4-Gallon Backpack Sprayer

great backpack sprayer. love that the spray handle is on a swivle. allows for easy transport and storage. no longer have the pump handle in the way

Works well. I have used Solo backpack sprayers for many years on the farm. A reason to buy Solo brand is being able to replace parts that do wear out. I bought a Tractor Supply 'some other brand' one time, and couldn't find exactly the parts needed to repair the unit (diaphragm, gaskets), so I had poor results and had to discard it. Solo puts more design efforts into ergonomics, too.

Arrived with a hole in the tank where the tank is blow molded around the metal frame. Liquid from the tank drains into the metal frame. This caused rust to form in the inside of the frame, which causes rust to back flow into the tank when filling it. This is obviously a manufacturer’s, but I have contacted Solo for a warranty claim and they have ignored me. Outside of that it is an ok sprayer but kind of poorly designed. The way the shoulder straps attach to the frame is ridiculous and is not secure. I ended up having to zip tie the strap attachment to the frame so they wouldn’t pop off while in use. The chest strap is so bad that I just removed it after the first use. The brass nozzle is all but useless. The plastic nozzle works fine though. It does spray bleach without issue, so that’s nice?

I have a large cattle farm and I have owned many backpack sprayers. Some good, some really bad. It was time for a new one and I was very unhappy with my last one, a SOLO piston sprayer. While the overall quality was OK, the amount of pumping for a piston sprayer is way too much for the spray you get. The diaphragm type sprayers I have had in the past have required way less pumping than the piston type. No more piston sprayers for me. Also I blew out several pistons/o-rings on the SOLO which shouldn't happen. I looked over the different manufacturers and saw a lot of very bad reviews due to leaks, hard to pump and overall failures. I bought this because the reviews were pretty good and it is a top of the line model. You have to be careful buying one because like this one, they come in lots of different quality levels but look pretty much the same. The quality on this is pretty good. Here are the pros and cons: Pros: Ratio of pumping to spraying is good. A few pumps and you spray for a while. Also depends on the tip you are using, the bigger the hole the more pumping you will do. Has lots of pressure. I can spray outbuildings with bug spray about 25 feet up. Not bad for this type of sprayer. They also have a high pressure kit you can get to replace the adjustable pressure valve in the tank. Nice sprayer, good quality, easy to use. The tips that come with it are good and of course it takes standard spray tips available at any lawn and garden place. Looks like it will be easy to service the pump and they list a pump rebuild kit for about 15 bucks. No leaks that I can find. My back finally stays dry !!!!! Cons: The shoulder straps are good and comfortable. The waist strap is a joke. Way too thin and the buckle is almost around the back where you cannot reach it easily. Looks like an afterthought. I replaced it with the waist strap from my old SOLO which was nice and heavy with a big buckle on the front. The pump handle was a little short for me, I am average build 5' 7" 185 lbs. You have to move your elbow back about 4" to grasp the handle for pumping. Not comfortable. I used a piece of metal tubing with a rubber bicycle grip and simply glued it over the end of their handle and extended it about 4-5". Now I can comfortably reach out for the pump handle and pump. After using it several times, I found the shoulder straps keep slipping off my shoulders due to the weight of the unit. I have added an upper strap across my chest to keep the straps together. Now it works fine. Belly strap keeps the weight over your hips not on your shoulders. It almost seems like they never had anyone really try this out for a week and give them feedback. So bottom line it is good unit. I would buy it again knowing full well what I would do to it when I get it to make it fit me. Quality is good, pump operates smoothly with acceptable ratio to spraying and good pressure. Parts are available and reasonably priced. When using it it feels natural and is easy to use. But be prepared to possibly make some changes to fit your body.

holds up to commercial use

This sprayer is flimsy compared to Stihl sprayers and are close to the same price point.

Better than expected. 110 degree fan tip really provides a great pattern.

This sprayer is easy to use, clean and maintain. It is comfortable for me to wear for the duration of spraying the 2 acres of land I am treating. I do like the diaphragm sprayers vs pump because the droplets seem be heavier and that prevents drift.