Standing up to the job: commercial mower designs that keep operators on their toes is the Wright Manufacturing idea

Diesel Progress North American Edition, Oct, 2004 by Dawn M. Geske

With its beginnings as a landscaping company, lawn equipment manufacturer Wright Manufacturing has developed a line of commercial mowers designed to literally keep the operator on his toes. The company's line of zero-turning radius commercial mowers includes the Stander, Sentar and Velke mowers which are all designed to allow the operator to stand while cutting.

"The question that always arises is, 'Why would someone want to stand up to cut grass compared to sitting down or walking?"' said Bill Wright, president of the Frederick, Md.-based company. "It's not intuitive right away, but it happens to be a very efficient method to cut grass."

In a stand-up configuration, Wright said, the mower doesn't have a seat structure so it takes up less room. This allows it to be maneuvered in tight spaces in addition to more easily fitting on a truck. The mower is also more stable in this configuration, Wright said, because a standing operator remains vertical to the incline rather than leaning over a hill in the seat. "Standing up, they can cut much easier and much steeper in the range of 30[degrees] slopes as opposed to 15[degrees]," he said.

The company's core model is its Stander, a standing platform mower offered in 32, 36, 42, 48, 52 and 61 in. deck sizes. The Stander was the first model introduced by Wright for small to moderate size lawns with intricate turning areas. "They're doing little lawns, mostly U-turns, backing up and turning around," Wright said. "They're on and off the property in 20 minutes to a half-hour so they don't want to be bogged down with the extra size and weight of a seated mower."

The main power options on the Stander mower are Kawasaki's four cycle, V-twin, air-cooled KAI gasoline engines rated 15, 17, 19, 23 and 25 hp at 3600 rpm across the five deck sizes. The company also offers the mowers with a 674 cc Kohler Command Pro engine rated 23 hp at 3600 rpm in the 52 and 61 in. deck configurations.

For ground drive, the mower uses a hydrostatic system comprised of two independently driven 10 cc Hydro-Gear piston pumps and Parker or Hydro-Gear wheel motors. The pumps are belt driven by independent shafts belt driven off the engine. The wheel motors have integral dynamic braking and are mounted at the rear wheels of the mower. Travel and cut speed for the Stander range from 7.4 to 8.5 mph, depending on frame size.

The mower's blades are powered by a B-section wrapped drive belt. The blades are 0.25 in. thick steel with high lift wings to lift and cut the grass. A Warner Electric clutch engages the blades by releasing a magnet and disengages the blades using a spring-loaded brake to stop the blade spin. Blade tip speed is approximately 19,000 fpm.

Overall dimensions of the Stander mower range from 55 to 75 in. in length and 32 to 62 in. in width, depending on deck. Overall weight of the mowers range from 605 to 750 lb.

Wright's high-end mower, the Sentar, is a stand-up/sit-down mower with bigger wheels, higher horsepower and 48, 52 and 61 in. deck options for cutting open areas such as housing developments and large-acre homes. The Sentar (Spanish for "to sit") is configured with a seat and knee padding designed to allow the operator to sit during long, straight passes and stand on inclines. "The desirability of a seat will lend itself to the number of non-stop hours an operator will be spending on the mower," said Wright.

The Sentar mower is powered by the same engine range as the Stander with the addition of a 25 hp Kohler Command Pro option on the 52 and 61 in. deck sizes. It also features a greater ground speed than the Stander at 11 mph. The Sentar's drive system uses larger 16 cc Hydro-Gear pumps to achieve the higher ground speed and is the only mower in the Wright line to be equipped with a Long Manufacturing dedicated oil cooler. "The Sentars are high performance machines with bigger tires that lead to more heat generated," said Wright. "The other machines are smaller and lighter and don't go as fast, so the burden is not that great on the oil system."

Weighing in at 575 to 625 lb. the Sentar mowers measure 71.5 to 75 in. long by 49 to 62 in. wide, depending on cutting deck.

The company also offers a traditionally styled mower, the Velke, with a walk-behind design which can be configured with its Velke sulky ride behind platform. The Velke sulky allows the operator to ride standing behind the mower at the full 7.4 mph speed of the mower vs. walking at a 3 to 4 mph slower pace, said Wright.

The Velke mower is powered by Kawasaki, Kohler and Briggs & Stratton engines in 15, 17 and 19 hp ratings. The mower also features the same hydrostatic drive as the Stander and weighs 575 to 625 lb.

Wright distributes its mowers using a two-step distribution process which supplies about 500 commercial lawn equipment dealers through 10 U.S. distributors and trine foreign distributors. The mowers are manufactured at the company's Frederick facility along with a line of grass catching systems.

www.wrightmfg.com