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1 Congratulations on the purchase of your new Turbo Turf Hydro Seeding System. It is constructed using the finest components available and designed to operate for many years with a minimum of problems. This guide is designed to help you become more familiar with the operation of the Turbo Turf Hydro Seeding System. For peak performance please read this Operators Manual thoroughly. ************************************************************** Limited One Year Warranty Turbo Technologies, Inc. warrants its products to be free from defects of material and workmanship for a period of one year (12 months) of service, if the one year of the service falls within 12 months from the date of delivery. The company warrants that its products, at the time of shipment, will be free of defects of material and workmanship for normal use and service. This warranty will not apply or be extended to products subjected to misuse, neglect, accident, improper use or to maintenance of products which have been altered or repaired by anyone else except Turbo Technologies, Inc. or its authorized representatives. The buyer or any person receiving such a product during the duration of the warranty shall contact Turbo Technologies or its authorized representatives as soon as any defect occurs. Turbo Technologies, Inc. sole obligation under the foregoing warranty shall be limited to: (at its option) repair and replacement (and re-ship to the buyer with transportation charges collect to any place in the U.S.). Pumps, tanks and engines are excluded from this warranty, and covered by the warranty of their respective manufacturer. The company will not be responsible for any damage or losses, direct or indirect, arising from any cause whatsoever, nor for damage to equipment caused by outside influences including improper installation or modification, lightning, corrosive liquids, abrasive liquids or careless handling: nor. for labor, transportation or other damages incurred in the replacement or repair of defective parts In these cases repair will be subject to reconditioning charges in effect at the time. This warranty supersedes any warranty previously in effect. *Excluded from warranty are all hoses hoses will have a 30 day warranty TURBO TECHNOLOGIES, INC First Avenue Beaver Falls, PA Fax sales@turboturf.com

2 QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE TO OPERATING YOUR NEW TURBO TURF HYDRO SEEDING SYSTEm 1. Fill the tank ¾ full of water. 2. BE SURE THE DISCHARGE VALVE IS CLOSED AND THE AGITATION VALVE IS FULLY OPEN AND START THE ENGINE. 3. IF USING TACkiFIER ADD AT THIS TIME. 4. begin adding the recommended amount of hydro seeding mulch for the unit (correct amounts are shown in this manual). Break up the mulch into softball size pieces if your machine is not equipped with a bale buster. IF YOU HAVE NO BALE BUSTER AFTER YOU LOAD MULCH GO TO STEP Load your mulch in ¼ size portions with bale buster valve in the open position. Keep valve open until mulch is broken down. 6. turn on agitation valve AND TURN off bale buster valve. 7. ADD CORRECT AMOUNT OF SEED PER RECOMMENDATION OF SEED SUPPLIER BASED ON SQUARE FOOTAGE AND SIZE OF TANK. 8. ADD CORRECT AMOUNT OF FERTILIZER PER RECOMMENDATION OF FERTILIZER MANUFACTURER. IF USING GRANULAR FERTILIZER IT IS IMPORTANT TO POUR IT IN SLOWLY AND TO BE CERTAIN THERE ARE NO CLUMPS. 9. TOP OFF THE TANK WITH WATER AS FULL AS POSSIBLE, BEST MIXING ACTION IS WITH THE TANK FILLED RIGHT TO THE BOTTOM OF THE FILL OPENING. 10. ALLOW TO MIX FOR 3 4 MINUTES. 11. STRETCH OUT THE DISCHARGE HOSE TO THE FURTHEST POINT ON THE JOB, INSERT A NOZZLE INTO THE GUN and MAKE SURE THE GUN VALVE IS CLOSED 12. CLOSE THE AGITATION VALVE ABOUT ½ WAY, (ABOUT A 45 DEGREE ANGLE), OPEN THE VALVE LEADING TO THE DISCHARGE HOSE. 13. Open gun valve and begin spraying. Try for about 80% coverage. 80% of the surface will be green and about 20% of the dirt will show through. 14. at the end of the day clean out the machine by filling unit ¼ full of water. Open the agitation valve for 10 seconds, close the agitation valve and spray out tank. SAFETY PRECAUTIONS 2

3 A. Never refuel the engine while it is running. Allow it to cool for a minimum of two minutes before refueling. B. Never point the nozzle towards your face or another person. C. Never operate the unit from an unhitched trailer. D. Never allow the unit to be operated by unauthorized or untrained personnel. Any person using the unit should be aware of its safe operation before using the unit. E. Never climb on the tank. It is not designed to be used as a platform, and can become slippery when wet. F. Engine and muffler can become very hot. Do not touch either when the unit is running or has been recently run. G. Do not allow your unit to freeze without being winterized. H. Always use caution operating the unit. MATERIALS Most any seed can be used in the system. Virtually any grass seed, wild flowers and crown vetch can all be used. CONSULT YOUR SEED MANUFACTURER for the correct amount of seed required for the targeted coverage. The approximate coverage for our units is as follows: 50 gallon = 650 square feet 100 gallon = 1350 square feet 150 gallon = 2000 square feet 300 gallon = 4000 square feet 500 gallon = 6600 square feet 750 gallon = 10,000 square feet 1000 gallon = 13,000 square feet 1500 gallon = 19,600 square feet 1600 gallon = 21,000 square feet 2000 gallon = 26,000 square feet The amount of area any unit will cover is approximate. It will vary according to the operator, the job and soil conditions. When tacking straw and overseeding, coverage rates can be doubled. PRE-GERMINATED SEED may be used in the system. Several methods of pre-germinating seed exist. An easy to use system is to soak the seed in a container of clear water over night before using it. A garbage can is ideal. The procedure is to fill the container about 2/3 full of seed, then add water to the top of the seed. 3

4 When you return in the morning, the seed will have swelled, and the container will be full. The seed can then be dumped into the tank as needed. Pre-germinated seed will normally come up in about half the normal time. It is also useful when seeding in cool weather, or hot weather. Grass seed will only germinate at certain temperatures. By pre-germinating the seed, it is less necessary to worry if the ground will warm up enough, or cool off enough for the seed to germinate. There are other systems that will provide even faster germination that are often used in applications where fast germination is critical. One system involves pregerminating seed for 24 hours on the basis of 4 hours in water and 4 hours out of water for the full 24 hours. Another system involves soaking the seed for a few hours, draining most of the water, and passing air through the seed for 24 hours. People using these systems often feel they reduce germination time by 90%. MULCH There are two main varieties of hydro seeding mulch. Cellulose fiber mulch and wood fiber mulch. There are also mulches that are a combination of the two types. Both types of mulch will give good results. We recommend cellulose mulch in our system. Cellulose fiber mulch also known as paper mulch is easier to use, requires less material to do the same job and is less expensive. Cellulose mulch works by sealing the moisture in and making something like a thin paper machete covering over the soil and sealing in the moisture. It is inexpensive and very easy to use. Wood fiber mulch has strands of wood that are up to 1 long. It works like miniaturized straw and requires heavy applications. Sometimes in windy conditions the fibers of mulch will act like a wick and actually pull the water from the soil. Because the seed is disbursed evenly through the mat that is sprayed on and because the layer of mulch needs to be much thicker, less of the seed is in contact with the soil. Any system even large mechanically agitated systems will have the plugging problems using wood mulch. We do not recommend wood mulch in our 50, 100 or 150 gallon systems with the exception of pelletized mulch which is 80% paper and 20% wood fibers. In the 300 gallon and larger systems a combination mulch may be used. When using a 4

5 combination mulch, it is necessary to increase the mixing time. The wood in the combination mulch absorbs water slowly. Mix at least 20 minutes and mix a full tank. You may find that the combination wood/cellulose mulch mixes faster if you add the mulch before the water (that is not a misprint). The jets in the tank are set for best performance with paper mulch. With the combination mulch you may find better mixing action with one jet up and one jet down. PELLETIZED MULCH There are now pelletized mulches that come in a bag and can be poured in the tank. These may be paper or 80% paper and 20% wood. They are very handy in our smaller machines because of the smaller fill openings and can speed up loading in our bigger machines. RECOMMENDED AMOUNTS OF MULCH Cellulose mulch comes in 50, 40 and 33 pound bags. The recommended amount for each size hydro seeder is as follows: 50 gallon 12 pounds 100 gallon 25 pounds 150 gallon 40 pounds 300 gallon 80 pounds 500 gallon 125 pounds 750 gallon 200 pounds 1000 gallon 250 pounds 1600 gallon 350 pounds These amounts are approximates. Mulches vary and the amount of one brand may differ from the amount of another brand. Ideally, slurry should have about the same consistency as apple sauce. If the spray has little coloring and it takes a long time for the mulch to cover the surface of the ground, increase the amount of mulch slightly until you get the desired results. If the spray has very little power, your mix is too thick. Reduce the amount of mulch you are putting in the mix until you have adequate power. Bales of mulch vary in quality and performance. You may wish to experiment with different application rates and different brands of mulch to find one that works best for you. FERTILIZER Virtually any fertilizer intended for lawn applications will work, including granular fertilizer. Generally for new seeding a starter fertilizer is used. Starter fertilizers tend to be high in the middle number such as The middle number is phosphorous and will stimulate root growth. Fertilizers high in nitrogen, the first number, are not recommended when 5

6 seeding. They can burn the seed. It is good to apply a high nitrogen fertilizer approximately 30 days after seeding to give the grass a darker color and to stimulate blade growth once the root has been developed. Granular lawn fertilizers will generally be about the size of a bee bee. There are agricultural fertilizers with very large granules. These can not be used in the system. Some fertilizers have a tendency to clump or form something that looks like a rock. DO NOT add these clumps to the system. Break them up first. TACKIFIER An optional ingredient in the hydro seeding mix is a tackifier. A tackifier is a blend of gelling, hardening and loading agents designed to hold seed in place, especially during rainy conditions. There is a definite advantage to using them in adverse weather or on steep slopes. Some tackifiers also lubricate the system and improve the performance. Tackifiers come in two main varieties, powder and crystal. Powdered tackifiers come in a bag and are applied at a rate of 30 pounds to the acre at a 2 to 1 slope. Crystal tackifiers come in a jug and are applied at 3 pounds to the acre at a 2 to 1 slope. Turbo Technologies sells crystal tack in 3 pound jugs. The jug containers minimize the possibility of spilling partially used containers and help protect the contents from wet weather. A Turbo Turf Hydro Seeding System can be used to apply tackifier over spread or blown straw. When tacking straw, generally a small amount of hydro seeding mulch is used with the tackifier to make it easier to see where you have sprayed. Coverage when tacking straw is between two and three times as much as when hydro seeding. LIME We do not recommend the use of lime in a Turbo Turf Hydro Seeding System. There are liquid products available that although they are not truly lime, they alter PH and produce the same results as lime does. If you need to apply lime as you seed, we recommend liquid lime products such as New Cal, Liquid Cal, or Liquid Lime Plus. Liquid lime plus is sold by Turbo Technologies. If necessary, granular or pelletized lime may be used in the system. LOCKING FIBERS When seeding very steep hillsides and in erosion control applications, a mix with tackifer and locking fibers will make 6

7 a virtual spray on erosion control blanket. Locking fibers are ½ long fibers of crimped polyester that blend with the tackifier, seed and mulch to hold the materials in place in very difficult situations. Locking fibers are available from Turbo Technologies in a 10 pound box which will cover one acre. CO-POLYMER GEL On jobs that are likely to receive less than a desirable amount of water, co-polymer gel added to the mix will help solve that problem. Co-polymer gel will absorb 400 times its weight in water and slowly release it making it available in the seedbed. Type D for hydro seeding application is applied at 10 pounds to the acre. Type A & B can be applied with a spin spreader. Turbo Technologies stocks type D in a 10 pound container. GROWTH STIMULANT This is a special hydro seeding product designed to jump start seed growth. It contains a combination of sea weed extract and polymers of acrylamide and will speed germination and help increase root mass and top growth. DYE CRYSTALS Improve the color of poorly dyed mulch, or give your jobs and eye catching nearly psychedelic look. Dye crystals are available to improve the look of a finished hydro seeding job. OPERATING YOUR SYSTEM LOADING Begin filling the unit with water, once the unit is at least 2/3 full of water, start the engine. Open the valve going to the agitation lines all the way. Close the valve going to the discharge hose all the way. Make sure the valve on the gun is closed and add your tackifier at this time. Agitate two minutes. Begin adding the mulch. The mulch should be broken up as much as possible. On 300 gallon units and larger, try to break up the mulch to where nothing is larger than softball size. Putting larger chunks in will not create a problem for the machine, it will just slow the mixing time. On the 50, 100 and 150 gallon machines try to break the mulch up to golf ball size if possible. UNITS EQUIPPED WITH THE BALE BUSTER The loading procedure is a little different on units equipped with the bale buster. Fill the unit 7

8 with water to a level 3 to 5 below the bottom of the bale buster fitting. Add no more than 3 bales of mulch. It is only necessary to break it up enough to fit through the opening. Start the engine. Close the valve going to the gun and close the valve going to the side agitation. Open the valve going to the bale buster all the way. Allow it to run for 30 to 60 seconds. If your unit requires more mulch, add another 2 to 3 bales. When all the mulch has been added and all the clumps are broken up, close the vale going to the bale buster and open the valve going to the side agitation. THE BALE BUSTER AND THE SIDE AGITATION ARE NOT DESIGNED TO RUN AT THE SAME TIME, FOR PEAK PERFORMANCE RUN ONE OR THE OTHER. The next step for units with or without the bale buster is to add the seed. With the side agitation running, pour the seed into the tank. Next add the fertilizer. Turf style granular fertilizers work well, HOWEVER, they do require a little caution. Never add the fertilizer before the mulch. Always pour it in slowly. Sometimes fertilizer will clump in the bag and form something that looks like a rock. This MUST be broken up before you add it to the machine. Liquid and water soluble fertilizer may be used and can be added at any point in the mixing cycle. If you are doing an application such as over seeding using a light application of mulch, you will need to use a liquid or water soluble fertilizer. Next, TOP OFF THE TANK. The best mixing action is with the tank filled clear to the top. Once you have filled the unit, you should see the entire load rolling rapidly and all materials should blend instantly. Leave the material agitate anywhere from 30 seconds to 4 minutes. MIXING PARTIAL LOADS The best mixing action is with a totally full tank. Partial loads can be mixed with little difficulty. MIXING LOADS LESS THAN 1/3 FULL When mixing small loads you must fill the tank at least 2 above the jets. Break up the mulch as fine as possible. Avoid adding the fertilizer as long as possible. Open the agitation all the way and allow the load to mix for at least five minutes. Begin spraying. MIXING LOADS 1/3 TO ¾ FULL Break the mulch up as fine as possible. You may 8

9 see material collecting on the top side of the mix, on the opposite side away from the agitation. You can speed up the mixing cycle by using your gun with the straight nozzle to spray at this buildup until it blends into the slurry. Allow the unit to mix for at least 10 minutes after all materials are added. *TIP* Once you are familiar with the unit and its operation, you might find it is quicker if you estimate you have a load and a half to finish a job, to shoot a half a load, and refill, then finish the job with the full load so you do not really have to mix any partial loads. *TIP* If you are at the end of a job, and run out of materials with a small area undone, you can close the agitation valve fully, add 30 to 50 gallons of water, and open the valve to the gun using the material in the hose to finish the job. SPRAYING When the materials are mixed and you are ready to begin spraying, first unwrap the hose and take the gun to the position where you wish to begin spraying. Make sure there is a nozzle in the gun. Your Turbo Turf System comes with a variety of nozzles. On units with the 1 ¼ ID hose, the nozzle marked is the most commonly used. On units equipped with 1 ½ hose the nozzle marked is the most commonly used. Make sure the gun valve is closed. Go back to the unit. OPEN THE VALVE GOING TO THE HOSE. CLOSE THE VALVE GOING TO THE AGITATION ABOUT ½ WAY OR TO A 45 DEGREE ANGLE. Go back to the gun and begin spraying. The spray power you have is determined by the valve leading to the agitation lines, the one you set at a 45 degree angle. Closing it more will increase your spray power. Opening it more will decrease your spray power. The valve can be adjusted to most any position to give you the power you like. If you need all the power you can get, for example if you were needing to spray up a steep hillside, the agitation valve can be fully closed for a minute or two and nothing will settle out of the mix. If you wish to spray a full tank, at full power, stop every once in awhile and open the agitation valve fully to stir up the load. When you get near the bottom of the tank, the material going into the suction lines may start to whirlpool, and pull air into the lines. The spray will begin to sputter. At this point, close the agitation line totally, the sputtering will stop, and you will have a normal spray until all material is gone. Should the spray 9

10 continue to sputter, try adjusting the RPM of the engine, either up or down. PLANNING A JOB It is important to plan your job. To determine the amount of material that is required for the job, first determine the size of the job in square feet by multiplying the width times the depth. Next, deduct for any buildings, driveways or areas that do not need to be seeded. Then divide this number by the number of square feet your unit does in one load. This will give you the number of loads that will be required to complete the job. By using the material section of this manual you can determine the materials available for the job. It is better to have a little extra material on hand just in case it is needed. You may need to think about your water supply. Give some thought to any special treatment the job might require. If there are banks you may want to add a tackifier to those loads. If there are shady areas, you may wish to use a different seed. SEEDING Generally when spraying with a hose, it is best to begin at a point furthest from the machine and work your way back to the machine. That way you do not have to walk on your work. Just like painting a floor, you do not want to paint yourself into a corner. Planning ahead can make the job go better. *TIP There is a quick coupler where your discharge hose attaches to the unit. If you are seeding a job, and need to move the machine to refill with water, you can just pop the hose off, go get your water, you can just pop the hose off, go get your water, mix the load, pop the hose back in, and pick up right where you left off. SPRAYING The spray is very even and it is easy to get a consistently even application. Generally coverage should be in the range of 50% to 90%. To explain this further with 50% coverage you would see half soil and half green. With 90% coverage, you would see nearly all green, with a little dirt showing through. If you apply too much mulch, the seed may not be able to push through the heavy coating. If you apply too little the job may not retain moisture as well as desired. Turbo Turf Hydro Seeding Systems come with a variety of nozzles. All systems include a wide flat pattern nozzle that is 10

11 the most commonly used nozzle. The wide flat nozzle that comes with your system will have the number 80400, or stamped on it. There is a nozzle which will put out a straight stream. This is a distance nozzle. It is used to obtain maximum reach. It is a little more difficult to obtain a good even application. With a little practice you can achieve maximum distance and an acceptable application. The nozzle has a narrower pattern, and a lower application rate. It is primarily used for trimming, some people like it for intermediate distances. Units equipped with the 1 ½ hose option also come with a nozzle. This makes an excellent medium distance nozzle, and is ideal for tacking straw as well. *TIP Hydro Seeding mulch often contains some foreign material. If you are spraying and you notice your spray pattern suddenly change (usually from a flat spray to a V pattern), you have something stuck in your nozzle. Close the gun valve, unscrew the nozzle, and tap out the obstruction. Should you continue to spray with the obstruction in the nozzle, you may find that the obstruction will filter out the mulch and you can end up with a plug in the hose. SPRAY TECHNIQUES The gun may be held in a horizontal position or pointed down in a vertical position. Many people like to hang the hose over their shoulder which will leave one hand free to move the trailing hose out of the way. Spraying the gun down will give maximum soil penetration. Spraying the gun out and letting the material fall gently onto the surface will build up the heaviest application of protective mulch. Some people like to use a combination technique. Walking a pattern and spraying down to get good seed penetration and good seed to soil contact, then pausing occasionally to lift the gun, gently over spraying the area they have already done to build up a thicker mulch. Some people adjust their pattern to the soil conditions. In very light fluffy soil conditions spraying out to build up a mulch cover, and on firm soil spraying down to penetrate the surface. There are many techniques used in hydro seeding. Experiment to find the one that you like and the one that works for you. 11

12 Trimming is easy, you may either use the trim nozzle, or the standard hydro seeding nozzle. Close the gun valve about half way. When working close to houses or other objects the closer you hold the gun to the ground, the less distance any splatter will travel. Any splatter that goes on to houses, sidewalks, brick, etc, will NOT stain. It may either be washed off or will disappear on its own in a week or two. LAWN REPAIR AND RENOVATION Turbo Turf Hydro Seeding Systems are ideal for over seeding, and for repairing lawns damaged from summer heat, traffic and pets. It can be done quickly and easily with your unit. Unless there is a heavy build up of thatch very little preparation is required. To over seed, simply mix a load as usual, except use about ¾ or 1/2 of the normal amount of mulch. Use the standard hydro seeding nozzle and point the gun straight down. To repair areas that are dead, use the trim nozzle, and you will be able to follow the contours of the dead spots precisely. You may need to use a liquid or water soluble fertilizer. MAINTENANCE & CLEANUP If you are doing more than one job in a day, it is usually not necessary to clean out the unit between jobs. At the end of each day we recommend that the unit be cleaned out. The procedure is simple. Just put at least 50 gallons of water in the unit (25 gallons for 50, 100, and 150 gallon units). Start the engine, open the agitation valve for 10 seconds, close the agitation valve totally and spray out everything in the tank Engine Maintenance and Operation ********IMPORTANT* ******* In addition adhering to the recommended maintenance procedures in your engine manufacturer s Owner s Manual, we strongly recommend you to read the following: Because your engine is coupled directly to an impeller style pump, the engine is under load 100% of the time it is operating. It is necessary to always run your engine at ½ throttle or higher at all times. The cooling fan in your engine is designed to be effective at above ½ throttle. Running your engine at idle while under load does not provide enough 12

13 RPM for the cooling fan to properly operate and could lead to an overheating condition and shorter engine life. Also, if you run your engine repeatedly for short periods of time (less than 20 minutes), a condition called short run condensation is a risk in air cooled engines. It is recommended that you run your engine for at least 45 to 60 minutes periodically or change the engine oil every 20 hours of operation. WINTERIZATION When the unit is put away for winter, several precautions are recommended to prevent damage due to freezing. There is a plug at the bottom of the pump housing. Remove this plug to drain any water in the pump. Open all ball valves on the unit to a 45 degree angle to allow water to drain from the valves. Open the gun valve and hang the gun so it is pointed down. Some people will pop off the suction lines at the pump end. This is helpful, but not required. An additional step to prevent freezing is to pour some rv antifreeze into the pump either into the discharge outlet or through the priming plug located at the top of the pump. ** CAUTION ** If the unit is allowed to freeze without being winterized, the valves and pump housing will crack. SEEDING LARGE AREAS There are a number of options available for those who have big open areas to seed. They include the Area Volume Kit, The Stand Gun, and the Platform Mounted Turret Gun. The Area Volume Kit requires no installation. All three of these options allow for quick seeding at a rate of approximately 60 G.P.M. SEED & SPRAY The seed and spray option allows the hydro seeding system to be used both as a sprayer and a hydro seeding system. Connecting the proper quick coupler determines which system is in operation. By using the quick couplers leading to the spray discharge, the unit may be used as a sprayer. After hydro seeding, and before spraying, it is necessary to flush the unit out thoroughly before use. Should spray power decrease, check the strainer or the tip of the gun and clean if necessary. You may use any turf type chemicals in the sprayer. If the sprayer is used to spray herbicides, the unit 13

14 should be flushed thoroughly, and rinsed with a neutralizing agent. Detergents used for dishes or laundry will act as a neutralizing agent. ** This is a low pressure system intended for application of turf chemicals. It does not have sufficient pressure for tree work or for deep root feeding. RADIO REMOTE (THE INVISIBLE MAN) Pushing the button on the remote controller activates the electric hose reel, allowing slack in the hose to be taken up and often eliminating the need for a second man to pull the hose. Range is