A mobile hydraulic system using water as the media was developed by the Agricultural & Biological Engineering Department at Purdue University. This system was specifically designed to operate on a Jacobson Greens King VI mower. Existing oil hydraulic components were replaced by current industrial water hydraulic components. Due to the lack of available water hydraulic components, the individual systems had to be re-engineered to perform correctly. Water power was used to power all circuits including; steering, propulsion, reel drives, and reel lifts. Testing has shown that the machine is fully functional and operates with desirable characteristics at approximately 3 mph.
The authors would like to thank supporting companies Danfoss and Swagelok, undergraduate students Dan Pitstick, Dan Sellers, and Nate Schoonover, alumni Rich Munford from Fairfield Gear, Karl Hay from Parker Hannifin for providing needed components, and Joseph Oberlin of PHD hydraulics for donating the steering cylinder.