Discussion
Big_Dan said:
Have you got it up and running yet? £349 falls into gadget budget territory
I have had it up and running most of the week. Happy with it so far. Once you set it to go it will start the process again in 24 hours this wasn't very clear in the paperwork but I confirmed by phoning Yard Force who where very helpful on the phone.
Be aware it gets stuck if there are any large holes so make sure the ground is fairly level. I have seen some spiked wheels on ebay that look like they might help with that.
Flymo 1200R:
1. Can you set it to go over the perimeter wire a little bit more? Mines been laid for three years so very buried, and I’d like Rob to cross it the tiiiiny bit more!
2. Anyone have any experience opening this up? I need to replace the right charging contact, and not comfortable doing this in case I can’t put him back together!
1. Can you set it to go over the perimeter wire a little bit more? Mines been laid for three years so very buried, and I’d like Rob to cross it the tiiiiny bit more!
2. Anyone have any experience opening this up? I need to replace the right charging contact, and not comfortable doing this in case I can’t put him back together!
wjwren said:
Just got the flymo easilife. Only checked it over but the top is really loose. Is this normal. Have yet to venture through the manual.
Hello. Yes I just got mine too, and it's exactly the same. It looks quite nice though.However Have just sent back for a refund because I bought it 3 days ago for £640 and is now on for £496!
Hello all
I've been following this topic over the last week and thank you all for the really useful information you post on here. You gave me the confidence to take the plunge!
Although I have bought the flymo easilife for my small garden I am wanting to ensure it will work in my garden and would appreciate your advice please.
Its a triangular shape, small and simple, however due to kids swing and climbing frame there are some narrow gaps.
1. I am wondering if the mower will be able to traverse these gaps? I have checked and it will get under the climbing frame which is a relief.
- sketch of gaps (sorry I cant draw)
- garden
2. Also I am not sure whether I should isolate all the items on the lawn (posts for swing, small trees etc...) or just let it bump into these and move on.
3. Finally I was hoping to place the mower at the apex of the garden. Currently there are wood chippings and I will level this out and use a mower garage and create a wooden runway onto the lawn (70-80cm wide) There is easily 2m straight run in front of that area for the guidewire but I was wondering if this would work OK?
For the boundary wire would I just run it along the runway either side and then once on the lawn just follow the perimeter?
Also any tips for the route for the guide wire? I understand it needs to be 30cm from the perimeter wire and needs 60cm space to the left side. This does limit the options but I'll probably route it under the climbing frame.
- spot for charging station
Your help and advice is very much appreciated. Many thanks.
I've been following this topic over the last week and thank you all for the really useful information you post on here. You gave me the confidence to take the plunge!
Although I have bought the flymo easilife for my small garden I am wanting to ensure it will work in my garden and would appreciate your advice please.
Its a triangular shape, small and simple, however due to kids swing and climbing frame there are some narrow gaps.
1. I am wondering if the mower will be able to traverse these gaps? I have checked and it will get under the climbing frame which is a relief.
- sketch of gaps (sorry I cant draw) - garden 2. Also I am not sure whether I should isolate all the items on the lawn (posts for swing, small trees etc...) or just let it bump into these and move on.
3. Finally I was hoping to place the mower at the apex of the garden. Currently there are wood chippings and I will level this out and use a mower garage and create a wooden runway onto the lawn (70-80cm wide) There is easily 2m straight run in front of that area for the guidewire but I was wondering if this would work OK?
For the boundary wire would I just run it along the runway either side and then once on the lawn just follow the perimeter?
Also any tips for the route for the guide wire? I understand it needs to be 30cm from the perimeter wire and needs 60cm space to the left side. This does limit the options but I'll probably route it under the climbing frame.
- spot for charging stationYour help and advice is very much appreciated. Many thanks.
Edited by Bhamani on Saturday 2nd May 14:53
Is there an easy fix to “out of area” fault code for a mcculloch robot? It appears my front garden is too far away from the base station in the rear garden. Ideally don’t want to buy another base station - not seen any advertised anyway. Something that might transit the right voltage through the line wires maybe? Tia
I took the plunge on the Flymo EasiLife 200 for £496 and was hoping for some set up advice. I'm ridiculously excited about this!
I have an odd horse shoe shaped garden. I was wondering if you can set two guidewires so I can set up the base at the top and have a wire down each and tell it to start at one side one day and the other side the next day (Plan B).
Or am I better putting the base at one end and asking it to trudge the whole length (Plan A).
I would rather have him in the middle, so I can see him from the window and check up on him. But the plugsocket is actually more convenient for Plan A, so that works also.
I have an odd horse shoe shaped garden. I was wondering if you can set two guidewires so I can set up the base at the top and have a wire down each and tell it to start at one side one day and the other side the next day (Plan B).
Or am I better putting the base at one end and asking it to trudge the whole length (Plan A).
I would rather have him in the middle, so I can see him from the window and check up on him. But the plugsocket is actually more convenient for Plan A, so that works also.
This is priceless advice. Thank you!
h0b0 said:
This is from the frivolous purchases thread. Geoff is a Husqvarna 450x
The kids were playing fetch with him earlier and he chewed up a ball. He isn’t dangerous but he does chew toys.
So far he is exploring the yard.The latest update is that he is mostly running smoothly. We had some idiots put road working tools on my yard and cut the cord by accident. And, a couple of times he has sent out a distress signal because he slipped out of zone (read more about placing the cord further down). On one occasion he ended up between 2 trees and it took a while to find him.
Learn from my mistakes.
1) don't allow your kids to help if they are anything like mine. I had hoped for a clean install with no joins but due to kids/workmen I have multiple joins.
2) there is a template for installing the cable. ALWAYS allow more distance to the obstacle than necessary. There is a setting in the app where you can tell Geoff to go over the cable more...... but not less! I tried to get the cable to exactly 20cm from a drop off and if Geoff approaches the wrong angle he will drop a wheel. As a result, I have had to pull up the cable in some places. If it says 20cm, lay it 30 away and use the 10cm in the app.
3) dont hammer the cable in too far. It will break. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow. But, some day..
I got Geoff because my landscapers were taking the piss with their charges. I have ended up buying a strimmer as well to cut the bits he doesn't quite get to. (although I admit I have not done that yet). That means the ROI time frame is approaching centuries but I am a gadget person as well.
If you follow the advice above then life will be easy. I bought the 450X due to the size of my land. To give an idea of scale, I used 2 large install kits. That is may be more about complexity than size though. I also bought the 450X because it has much bigger motors than the other models and is less likely to get stuck.
I am very happy now the teething trouble is over. I had to move his schedule to the night and turn his head lights off though because of the amount of attention he was getting.(all positive) In the US they don not have fences so he is on show. Every person going by stopped and filmed him. He got chased, and subsequently chased a dog. Now that dog is scared to come on our grass. We have even had cars stop in the middle of the street when they see him.
Once I have seen a Summer with him then I will be able to judge if he was a good decision or not.
h0b0 said:
h0b0 said:
Geoff is killing me! I have to put a cable down around the garden so he doesn’t run off and cut the neighbors garden/swimming pool. Due to the complexity of my garden it has taken hours and my back is killing me.
If the goal was to do less gardening I have gone from doing nothing to doing a ton and paying a load of money for the tools to automate.
Mission status currently failure.
Geoff is braving the lockdown we have here in the US and cutting the grass like a trooper. There have been some challenges, including the squirrels biting through his cable. But, we made it. If the goal was to do less gardening I have gone from doing nothing to doing a ton and paying a load of money for the tools to automate.
Mission status currently failure.
The kids were playing fetch with him earlier and he chewed up a ball. He isn’t dangerous but he does chew toys.
So far he is exploring the yard.
Learn from my mistakes.
1) don't allow your kids to help if they are anything like mine. I had hoped for a clean install with no joins but due to kids/workmen I have multiple joins.
2) there is a template for installing the cable. ALWAYS allow more distance to the obstacle than necessary. There is a setting in the app where you can tell Geoff to go over the cable more...... but not less! I tried to get the cable to exactly 20cm from a drop off and if Geoff approaches the wrong angle he will drop a wheel. As a result, I have had to pull up the cable in some places. If it says 20cm, lay it 30 away and use the 10cm in the app.
3) dont hammer the cable in too far. It will break. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow. But, some day..
I got Geoff because my landscapers were taking the piss with their charges. I have ended up buying a strimmer as well to cut the bits he doesn't quite get to. (although I admit I have not done that yet). That means the ROI time frame is approaching centuries but I am a gadget person as well.
If you follow the advice above then life will be easy. I bought the 450X due to the size of my land. To give an idea of scale, I used 2 large install kits. That is may be more about complexity than size though. I also bought the 450X because it has much bigger motors than the other models and is less likely to get stuck.
I am very happy now the teething trouble is over. I had to move his schedule to the night and turn his head lights off though because of the amount of attention he was getting.(all positive) In the US they don not have fences so he is on show. Every person going by stopped and filmed him. He got chased, and subsequently chased a dog. Now that dog is scared to come on our grass. We have even had cars stop in the middle of the street when they see him.
Once I have seen a Summer with him then I will be able to judge if he was a good decision or not.
Generally, we don’t have fences. But, there are many reasons why you would. For example, dogs. Most people would fence them in physically. If not they may use an invisible fence which is the same technology as the auto mowers. Most towns will require a fence if you have a pool. But, that might be just around the pool and not the yard. This is because yards can be safer to keep your own kids out and yards can be large and fences are expensive. Most people putting in a pool don’t want to spend 50% of the budget on a fence.
My yard is lined with trees one 3 sides which will grow to form a barrier.
My yard is lined with trees one 3 sides which will grow to form a barrier.
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