FARGO, N.D. – Farmers and custom applicators who own mechanical drive sprayers say the only thing that might push them back into hydrostatic is the greater capacity and higher speed available on the largest hydrostatic sprayers.
The new Raptor mechanical drive, high clearance sprayer from Weddle Equipment has been tailored to address those performance issues.
Ken Weddle, the engineer who designed the original Apache mechanical drive sprayer and started the Apache company, said the Raptor is a new design, from the drawing board to the cab roof.
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“Every Apache customer I’ve talked to said the mechanical drive was the best part of that sprayer,” Weddle said.
“But they wanted higher speed, bigger capacity and a variety of other upgrades on things like the cab.”
He said the new sprayer is built on that basic mechanical drive concept and then expanded to a top capacity of 1,200 gallons US and a maximum boom size of 120 feet with the Ag Shield option.
The John Deere 6.8-litre diesel engine goes up to 275 horsepower and the sprayer has the familiar off-the-shelf John Deere cab.
“Every component on the Raptor represents an improvement over the sprayer I had before,” he said.
Raptor runs a JCB four-speed power shift transmission in the 850-gallon sprayer. The 1,000-gallon and 1,200-gallon units have an Allison six-speed automatic. Stainless-steel tanks are available.
All three models are capable of spraying at 34 km-h and have an on-the-go hydraulic positive locking differential from JCB, gear-style drop boxes with planetary final drive and universal joints. The drop box system gives 48 inches of ground clearance.
“The geometry looked severe, but it never actually became a problem on the Apache,” Weddle said about the radical angle of the Apache CV joints.
“Once the power comes out the sides of the differential, the speed of each half shaft is so slow that the angle doesn’t seem to matter.”
On the Raptor drive system, the half shafts no longer run at such an extreme angle.
Raptor has a stronger front end, stronger frame, 70 km-h road speed and big brakes so it can run safely at that speed.
“We did a lot of work on the brake system,” Weddle said.
“We have 12-inch rear discs and 24-inch front discs. And to make sure we have the best stopping power, we put on these special calipers. You don’t find many agricultural or construction machines with these big brake calipers.”
From an engineering point of view, the most notable feature is the twin-piston, fixed brake caliper. Rather than buy the cheaper style of caliper with one stationary side and a slider bracket for the brake pad on the other side, Weddle opted for a solid, squeeze-style caliper that has an independent piston and brake pad on each side of the rotor.
This design gives equal hydraulic pressure and maximum stopping friction on both sides of the rotor.
Because safety is a big factor in Weddle’s design, he puts two giant calipers on each rear disc of his larger-sized sprayers.
This is the same brake system used on the JCB Fast Trac, a field tractor designed for 65 km-h road speed.
The front suspension is also new. Weddle chose a simplified design that is less costly to build and maintain.
“All that scissor linkage I had put on the original sprayer is gone from the Raptor,” he said.
“The kingpin sitting in the middle of the front end was always a weak spot. First it would crack, then it would break, because it had to absorb all the stress. What I have now is a very simple design that gives a better ride and transfers stress directly to the frame rather than to a single point like a centre pin.”
Weddle has sold nearly two dozen of the new sprayers since they were introduced last fall, three to Canadian prairie farmers.
They are built in Martinsville, Indiana.
Ramboc handles Raptor on the Prairies, with outlets in Headingly, Man., Saskatoon, Regina and Grunthal, Man.
Cameron Stewart of Ramboc said the mechanical drive is the biggest attraction for buyers.
“Everyone is aware of the problems with hydrostatic drive,” he said.
“Anyone who has operated a mechanical drive sprayer agrees that you can go places with a two-wheel mechanical drive sprayer that you can never go with four-wheel hydrostatic drive. The mechanical drive makes better use of the power and fuel and it has low maintenance costs compared to a hydrostatic system. Farmers understand that it’s far more efficient than fluid.”
However, the mechanical drive is a drawback.
“It’s hard to size up the machine with the height and width you want and it’s more difficult to make your sizing adjustable. Hydrostatic gives you more flexibility in that regard,” he said.
“The other mental stumbling block is the perception of mechanical always being just two-wheel drive. I use the word ‘perception’ because that’s all it really is. The fact of the matter is that with a four-wheel drive hydrostatic, you have two wheels locked together, so once the first tire starts to spin, you have effectively lost your four-wheel drive. That’s why you see mechanical two-wheel drive sprayers out working where no hydrostatic operator would dare to drive.”
For operators who feel they must have four-wheel drive, Stewart said the Raptor will be available in 2005 with an optional hydrostatic frontwheel assist that can be switched on for emer-gency situations.
Prices start at $165,000 Cdn for the 850-gallon Raptor while the 1,000-gallon model sells for $192,000 and the 1,200-gallon sprayer costs $205,000. A 90-foot Precision boom is standard equipment and Ag Shield booms are optional.
