Buyer's Guide
STIHL Garden Sprayers Buyer's Guide
From a 1.5L handheld sprayer to a cordless 85L backpack unit, tank size and pumping method are what separate the STIHL sprayer range. This guide covers picking the right size and type for the area you're covering, plus how to keep a sprayer working reliably over a full season.
Choosing the Right Sprayer Size
A 1.5L handheld sprayer suits spot-treating a few weeds or a small bed without carrying any extra weight. Step up to a 5L manual pump sprayer for a domestic garden's worth of coverage in one fill, and a 12-18L backpack sprayer once you're covering a whole plot or working a site professionally, where refilling a small handheld every few minutes would slow the job down. Match the tank to the area you're actually covering — an oversized sprayer is just extra weight on your back for a small job.
Manual Pump vs Cordless Backpack Sprayers
A manual backpack sprayer needs regular hand-pumping to keep pressure up, which works fine for occasional use but tires the arm over a long session. STIHL's cordless SGA 60 and SGA 85 sprayers hold consistent pressure from a battery pump instead, so output stays steady from the first squeeze to the last without any manual pumping — worth the extra cost if you're spraying large areas regularly rather than the odd weekend job.
What You're Spraying: Matching Sprayer to Treatment
Herbicides, pesticides and general liquid feeds all run through the same sprayer types, but nozzle and pressure control matter more than the tank size once you're applying anything with a specific dose rate. A fine, adjustable spray pattern gives even coverage on foliage without wasting product on runoff, while a coarser jet suits spot-treatment or reaching further with less drift. Always check chemical compatibility before switching between products in the same sprayer, and rinse thoroughly between different treatments.
Maintenance & Aftercare
Rinse the tank, lance and nozzle with clean water after every use, even between applications of the same product, to stop residue building up and clogging the nozzle on the next job. Seals and gaskets are the first parts to wear on a pump sprayer, so a slow pressure leak is usually a seal issue rather than a fault with the whole unit — our STIHL Sprayer Parts & Accessories range covers replacement seals, lances and nozzles rather than needing a whole new sprayer.
