Sprayer Field Capacity and Spray Time
Theoretical and effective acres per hour, the spray time for a field, and the tank loads needed, from boom width.
Example
You enter
- Boom / swath width (ft) 30
- Ground speed (mph) 6
- Field efficiency (%) 70
- Field size (acres) 80
- Tank capacity (gal) 300
- Spray volume (GPA) 15
You get
- Theoretical capacity 21.8 ac/hr
- Effective capacity 15.3 ac/hr
- Spray time for the field 5.2 hr
- Acres per tank 20
- Tank loads needed 4
Checked against published worked examples from: USDA land-grant extension sprayer field-efficiency guidance.
Details, formula, and sources
ScopeGround speed, and the field efficiency that overlap and turns eat up. Pairs with tank-mix for the product.
Formula or tableTheoretical acres/hr = boom width x speed / 8.25; effective = theoretical x field efficiency; spray time = field acres / effective; acres per tank = tank / GPA; tanks = ceil(acres / acres per tank).
Source and editionUSDA / land-grant extension sprayer field-efficiency guidance, by name.
Free accessExtension field-capacity and field-efficiency guidance free on land-grant university extension sites.
What governsEstimate. AHJ and licensed professional govern.
API field namesboom_width_ft, speed_mph, field_efficiency_pct, field_acres, tank_gal, gpa, theoretical_ac_hr, effective_ac_hr, spray_time_hr, acres_per_tank, tanks_needed
- 8.25 divisor boom width (ft) x speed (mph) / 8.25 = theoretical acres per hour (the 5280 / 43560 unit constant)field-capacity arithmetic
- Default field efficiency 70% (typical 60 to 80% for boom spraying); captures overlap, turns, and refill loss; editableextension field-efficiency guidance