[CarolineJ]

I bought an NJ Phillips one which managed one lot of fluke and worm doses and then died - even my engineer husband hasn't managed to get it to start working again.  Since then I've been using a syringe, but doing even just 14 of them that way is a pain and the flock's only going to get bigger. 

What do you have and would you recommend it?

[Foobar]

NJ Phillips make excellent guns - if it is faulty then send it back to them to get it fixed.  Have you read the instructions?  It should tell you how to take it apart and clean it, they are a bit complicated but once you get the hang of it they are ok.  You can also buy spares for them.


Given that you've forked out for the NJP one I would expend a bit more effort to get it working again rather than spend more money on another.


The MVF plastic ones are good though, like this: http://www.molevalleyfarmers.com/mvf/store/products/molecare-sheep-drenchpour-on-gun-15ml  (I think they are made my Simcro)

[harmony]

Take it back. I have one from Mole Valley. I wash it after I have used it but I do sometimes wonder how anyone gets on with hundreds to do as they don't seem to last that long. Maybe I wash mine too much 

[CarolineJ]

Thanks, it's been sitting in a drawer for nearly a year now, so I won't get much joy from the retailer!  Husband doesn't want to spend any more time on it (think it was four weekends before he admitted defeat) and the repairs kit is only £9 less than I paid for it!  We need a bigger capacity one too, so might as well start fresh.

[shep53]

Have a couple of 30 yr old Phillips ( metal ) guns still working ,  couple of new o rings  , luke warm water to clean and cooking oil .  Maybe 10 or so freebie plastic one that last  months or maybe a year  and will do thousands of doses  , cooking oil before and during use .      Often its  the  flexible tube that's the problem  and ti lets air into the gun and tube  , just pull off the back of the gun , cut 5ml or so off it and reattach   to re seal

[Backinwellies]

I invested in metal one ... worth the money I think.

[CarolineJ]

Have a couple of 30 yr old Phillips ( metal ) guns still working ,  couple of new o rings  , luke warm water to clean and cooking oil .  Maybe 10 or so freebie plastic one that last  months or maybe a year  and will do thousands of doses  , cooking oil before and during use .      Often its  the  flexible tube that's the problem  and ti lets air into the gun and tube  , just pull off the back of the gun , cut 5ml or so off it and reattach   to re seal

Oh, now that's one thing we haven't tried, thank you    The problem is that it's not drawing any liquid up the tube into the gun, but will fill quite happily if you stick the nozzle into something.  I'll see if that makes a difference tomorrow.

[shep53]

Some times the valve at the end of the barrel / start of the nozzle can stick  , so squeeze the trigger and hold , put your finger  on the end of the nozzle and release the trigger , some times if the valve sticks I can finish   a lot of sheep by doing this .  some times after you've dosed a few sheep the valve settles back to normal .           When the gun is empty and you squeeze the trigger  it should feel tight and give a parp sound .   Some guns such as the metal  ones  you can remove and clean the nozzle valve and check the o ring , some plastic ones have a spring and a tiny ball bearing and some are totally sealed

[CarolineJ]

Some times the valve at the end of the barrel / start of the nozzle can stick  , so squeeze the trigger and hold , put your finger  on the end of the nozzle and release the trigger , some times if the valve sticks I can finish   a lot of sheep by doing this .  some times after you've dosed a few sheep the valve settles back to normal .           When the gun is empty and you squeeze the trigger  it should feel tight and give a parp sound .   Some guns such as the metal  ones  you can remove and clean the nozzle valve and check the o ring , some plastic ones have a spring and a tiny ball bearing and some are totally sealed

I think you've cracked it    It draws just fine if I put my finger over the end.  However, the only two parts on the end of the barrel are a screw nut and the nozzle, I can't see a valve of any sort.  I'm wondering if something went missing when it was cleaned.  Off to Google for a parts diagram...

[CarolineJ]

Hm, looks like the inlet valve at the other end of the barrel may be missing or backwards.  Now I just need to break into it to find out - the little black bit you push to the other side of the barrel to open it up is jammed fast.  Hammer!

[CarolineJ]

Inlet valve turned round and pointing in the right direction, however water just pouring through - I think I'm missing an entire valve assembly at the front.  NJ Phillips doesn't seem to have any trace of this on their website, so I'm going by parts diagrams for their other guns.  It didn't come with any instructions other than a leaflet telling you what not to use as a cleaning agent.  Going to pop into the place I bought it and see if they've still got any that I can have a look at.

[CarolineJ]

Close to giving up on this.  I'm missing the delivery valve.  The place I bought it has stopped selling them, so I called into a bigger one in Inverness on my way back up north at the weekend, which does still sell them.  They thought the service kit would sort it out, so I bought that, but looking at it, it's for a 20ml gun and even without opening it I can see the valve isn't going to fit.  I've emailed CoxAgri as the UK distributor to see if there's any way I can get a replacement valve, but it may be game over.  It's a PASD998, which I can barely find a reference to online, and they're £27.50 new, so at least I didn't spend a fortune on it - the kit I bought at the weekend was £14.77, and with a 220 mile round trip to return it, I think I'll either have to write that off or buy the drench gun it actually fits!!

[DartmoorLiz]

I get so fed up with stuff that does not work, falls apart, can't be fixed and can't be calibrated .  I have finally found a Henke-Sass, Wolf Tuttlingen drench gun that is fully serviceable and works well.  My only criticism is that the spring for the mechanism is quite strong but that just means I'm feeble.  I also use a Prima-Tech injector which I have just learned can be retrofitted with a steirmatic needle cleaner system.   I've been using them on a flock of 60ish for 4 years and they are still going strong.

[Foobar]

If you get no joy from Cox Agri, e-mail NJ Phillips direct then you'll know for sure what can be done to fix it, if anything.  Sounds like you have an old model (old stock?) that has been superseded.

[Tim W]

We run a fair mob of sheep and the drenching gun can get a fair bit of work

All guns suffer wear and tear which alters capacity and easily turns to under/over dosing (ineffective/expensive/leads to resistance)

Best option i have found is to buy a new cheap MVF gun every year and regularly calibrate