Robotic Lawnmowers

[spkennyuk]

Actually I have 2.
The Husqvarna for the front lawn has a Gabion carport.
The Husqvarna for the rear lawn has a brick garage that I built, complete with automatic garage door, opening and closing behind it.View attachment 120366View attachment 120367View attachment 120368

I can see time team unearthing the small brick garage one in 1000 years time and being very confused at what it was used for.

Stuart Little would love that as a garage.

 

[philw696]

Not great for the olive oil yield that though!

I did say that I wasn't a Gardener

 

[Bebs]

I was speaking to someone about these at the weekend.

Yes, setup is a pain and the reason why they seem to be cutting grass that does not need it is they operate daily/bi daily and take a little off so the bin can take all the trimmings without the need to change.

So, it would appear, you cut the lions share of the grass to level it, then the bots take over and keep it there.

Make sense I suppose.

Spot on. I cut the lawns once only in spring and then switch the robots on. I don’t touch the lawns at all until the following spring.
The tiny continuous off cuts act as feed/compost and the lawns look much better for it.
Always enjoy raising a glass of chilled white wine to my neighbour as he pushes his lawnmower past my rear fencing, just as the robot comes past

 

[CatmanV2]

Thanks for the responses.. Im in the NE but the idea would be to take this out to Italy. Trouble is the house can be unattended for a few months at a time so from what Ive read and people have said on here its probably not the ideal set up for one

Have you seen Maximum Overdrive?

C

 

[Templar]

I don't have large lawns but I hate cutting them. I have recently spent hours online researching which robot mower to buy and after initially favouring a GPS controlled one (expensive) I decided on a wire controlled one and I will install the wire next Spring. I bought an Einhell from Amazon at just over £330.00 (on offer) so I thought even if I junk it I haven't lost too much. However I am ever hopeful. The people at Einhell are very helpful and the guy who would install it convinced me that its not too difficult putting the wire in although I didn't take too much convincing as the price he quoted was between £350.00 & £1K depending on how much work was involved. I think if you go for the GPS controlled there may be problems with fences and trees disrupting the signal but I don't really know it just seemed that the GPS controlled mowers at £1k to £1.5K were a step too far.

I think it a case of you pays your money and takes your chance. Anyway best of luck to anyone buying one.

 

[stikey]

these look like a good model

 

[Bebs]

I don't have large lawns but I hate cutting them. I have recently spent hours online researching which robot mower to buy and after initially favouring a GPS controlled one (expensive) I decided on a wire controlled one and I will install the wire next Spring. I bought an Einhell from Amazon at just over £330.00 (on offer) so I thought even if I junk it I haven't lost too much. However I am ever hopeful. The people at Einhell are very helpful and the guy who would install it convinced me that its not too difficult putting the wire in although I didn't take too much convincing as the price he quoted was between £350.00 & £1K depending on how much work was involved. I think if you go for the GPS controlled there may be problems with fences and trees disrupting the signal but I don't really know it just seemed that the GPS controlled mowers at £1k to £1.5K were a step too far.

I think it a case of you pays your money and takes your chance. Anyway best of luck to anyone buying one.

350-1k is taking the p1ss.
I was quoted £120 to put a new line in and hook up recently from Ernest Doe.

 

[Wack61]

Can't see why it can't navigate properly. My robomops do that. After an initial mapping, round the edges then back and forth.
I like them so much I bought another one at the weekend. (Non geeks stop reading here)

C

(After and on line vote the one on the ground floor is called Annaclean Skywalker. The one on the first floor is called Obi Wan Cleanobi. Wondering if I should get one for the top floor and what to call that)

Non geeks, I did warn you!

I've seen some great robotic cleaner videos, the dog diarrhea spread all over the room was good but the best one was the guy who came home after workmen had been in the house but couldn't find his robot hoover

So he had a look at the CCTV , the builders had put a ramp over the door threshold , he had a video of it making its way down the street , never got it back

I've got one of the WORX mowers , they seem to get good reviews , got it new in the box from Facebook for £300 , can't comment on how good it is because it's still in the box

The downside with mine is it needs a perimeter wire and charger but there's only one in the box so if you have 2 lawns you need another charger and wire

They do more sophisticated ones with cameras

 

[CatmanV2]

I've seen some great robotic cleaner videos, the dog diarrhea spread all over the room was good

My niece has had this happen. No dogs here, although we have had a cat puke incident. Now I tend to run them when I'm here

So he had a look at the CCTV , the builders had put a ramp over the door threshold , he had a video of it making its way down the street , never got it back

Class

C

 

[Swedish Paul]

I don’t get what’s wrong with following the self driven lawn mower around the garden on a summer’s day. Cold beer afterwards. The other half not nagging. What’s not to like?

 

[Sam McGoo]

I don’t get what’s wrong with following the self driven lawn mower around the garden on a summer’s day. Cold beer afterwards. The other half not nagging. What’s not to like?

Afterwards??? My Lawnmower has drinks holders

at £1k to £1.5K were a step too far.

If you had that cash to waste on a robo-mower, surely a gardener would be a better option.....

Especially if they looked like that!

these look like a good model

 

[MarkMas]

I looked into this a couple of years ago, but didn't get anything as my lawns are too small to justify the cost. But I was impressed with the tech.

You just need to peg or lightly bury a control wire around the perimeter (or pay someone a few quid to do it for you) and then the mower trundles around clipping all the grass all the time (and dropping the clippings - maybe some have a bin, but I've not seen that). The wire stops them escaping (somehow), and they just change direction if they bump into something. You can go with GPS, but it doesn't seem worth the extra cost to me.

You also need the base station with power to recharge the batteries - the mower RTB when it needs some juice. A solar-powered base station might be an option in a sunny country.

Some mowers only work on smooth level lawns, but there are some that can handle rough terrain and surprisingly steep slopes. Husqvarna does a fabulous articulated AWD thing for about £5,000, but you should be able to get something fairly heavy-duty for £800-2,500.

The top-of the range ones have App connectivity, so you can see on your phone where it is and what it is up to, which would be cool if you wanted to be able to remotely monitor it in Italy from somewhere else. They also have anti-theft tech, like Ukrainian tractors.

 

[MarkMas]

Or there's this:

 

[philw696]

I don’t get what’s wrong with following the self driven lawn mower around the garden on a summer’s day. Cold beer afterwards. The other half not nagging. What’s not to like?

That's what I did for years with a spot of Castrol R in the petrol a very pleasurable experience.
My new ride on being American has two cup holders
@DLax69 what do you reckon ??

 

[Felonious Crud]

These things are, apparently, far from infallible. Colleagues who use them both frequently have to collect the mower from wherever it's most recently got stuck, generally on some slightly uneven ground. It's fine, I think, for a flat lawn with not too many obstacles, but not perfect.

 

[CatmanV2]

C

 

[davy83]

i have two of these for my two lawn areas. I like them. They get stuck a fair bit, because they go out in all weathers and run into fallen fruit and branches and stuff blown in the wind. However i think the effort to re-start them is a fraction of what it used to take to keep the grass right and no cuttings. you need to do the edges or they get stuck in the long grass near edge. Overall i have not regretted getting them.

 

[zagatoes30]

Afterwards??? My Lawnmower has drinks holders

So does mine, perfect for fitting cold beers even though too many has a detrimental impact on the straightness of the lines

 

[Mattmaser]

Got a 20 year old John Deere ride on - look forward to whizzing round on it , but have a self propelled petrol mower for the bits the JD is too big to get into

 

[urquattrogus]

350-1k is taking the p1ss.
I was quoted £120 to put a new line in and hook up recently from Ernest Doe.

That’s right - We (ED) have specialists to sell and install, although most Husqvarnas are sold in the £2-4k bracket. Depends on the size of the garden etc. We have cable laying tools etc. They do get eaten through by animals or people put a spade through.