Robot mowers

[M1AGM]

joestifff said:

Is it hard to dig the wires into the ground? Can you hire machines?

We get rabbits, foxes and all sorts, don't want them being nibbled.

You might get rabbits (amd squirrels) breaking the wire when they make little digs, happens to my setup now and then. A pack of the 3M gel connectors and some spare wire easily fixes any breaks in minutes.

I wouldnt dig the wires in, either get a pro to do it with a machine or cut the grass (where you are putting the wire) down to almost bare earth, place the wire and use pegs to hold it down correctly, in a couple of weeks the wire will have disappeared.

[ColdoRS]

I’m sure it’s been asked before but going through 89 pages to find the answer is a mission.

How do the higher end robot mowers deal with steep slopes/undulating lawns?

[indigochim]

beko1987 said:

Given how open source irobot roomba's and Neato Botvac robot vacs are, im surprised no one has yet hacked the Lidar hardware onto a robot mower and had that find the boundries.

I keep thinking as I look at the robot mowers that they seem unsophisticated compared to that or vacs. I assume that the lidar may not be so useful as lawn edges will merge into other surfaces rather than walls and maybe the step up to a weatherproof version adds complication and cost but surely there's a better way than the random logic hit and edge and return in a different direction. I'm sure they could do a perimeter map and then fill the gap more efficiently. I suspect the wire and random is just cost effective.

Edited by indigochim on Friday 22 April 11:48

[deckster]

indigochim said:

I keep thinking as I look at the robot mowers that they seem unsufisticated compared to that or vacs. I assume that the lidar may not be so useful as lawn edges will merge into other surfaces rather than walls and maybe the step up to a weatherproof version adds complication and cost but surely there's a better way than the random logic hit and edge and retun in a different direction. I'm sure they could do a perimeter map and then fill the gap more efficiently. I suspect the wire and random is just cost effective.

The other big advantage of random paths is that they don't wear grooves in the lawn. Efficiency isn't really a massive deal; given that George just heads out for an hour or two every day, he just does his thing to keep the lawn nice and neat and I really couldn't care less if he could shave ten minutes off by taking a more calculated approach. And whilst it's a minor hassle to put the wire down, it's largely maintenance free after that so I don't see a huge advantage to having him work out the edges himself.

Maybe the tech is coming, but I certainly wouldn't trust something with lots of whirling sharp blades to reliably know where it is and not head off into the azaleas every now and then. Wires & random paths work well for almost all domestic lawns, so there's not really a whole lot of incentive to invest in higher-tech methods.

[gfreeman]

According to Husqvarna my 450X has an onboard GPS system which creates a map of the garden, including where the boundary and guide wires are installed. Husqvarna Automower® will then register which parts of the garden it has covered and adjusts its mowing pattern accordingly. This will ensure optimised lawn coverage and an excellent cutting result.

Mind you, at well over 4 grand I would have hoped it also weeded the flower beds, did the pruning and did the weekly grocery shop

[M1AGM]

gfreeman said:

According to Husqvarna my 450X has an onboard GPS system which creates a map of the garden, including where the boundary and guide wires are installed. Husqvarna Automower® will then register which parts of the garden it has covered and adjusts its mowing pattern accordingly. This will ensure optimised lawn coverage and an excellent cutting result.

Mind you, at well over 4 grand I would have hoped it also weeded the flower beds, did the pruning and did the weekly grocery shop

I had mine installed last Thursday and it is doing a good job so far on about 3500sq m (to be extended to near the 5000 max next season).

[TimJMS]

ColdoRS said:

I’m sure it’s been asked before but going through 89 pages to find the answer is a mission.

How do the higher end robot mowers deal with steep slopes/undulating lawns?

Last year I added an Ambrogio Quadmower to the fleet for the purpose of handling a very difficult area that has defeated every robot I've thrown at it over the last 22 years. It copes comfortably by having very wide, very low pressure tyres, 4WD and 4WS.

[gfreeman]

M1AGM said:

I had mine installed last Thursday and it is doing a good job so far on about 3500sq m (to be extended to near the 5000 max next season).

Nice!

[ColdoRS]

TimJMS said:

ColdoRS said:

I’m sure it’s been asked before but going through 89 pages to find the answer is a mission.

How do the higher end robot mowers deal with steep slopes/undulating lawns?

Last year I added an Ambrogio Quadmower to the fleet for the purpose of handling a very difficult area that has defeated every robot I've thrown at it over the last 22 years. It copes comfortably by having very wide, very low pressure tyres, 4WD and 4WS.

I’ll get onto some YouTube reviews later, thank you. First picture I googled showed it on a slope steeper than anything I have so I think that eases my concerns!

[fiatpower]

I managed to snap one of the screws securing the blade to the cutting disc of my 1200R. I've ordered a spare off a spares site but i've looked underneath and the current cutting disc appears to be held in place by rivets yet an exploded diagram i've found says it's a screw. It's never been touched by me so it can't be rounded! Has anyone changed one of these on their machine?

[SlimRick]

Looks interesting, but if they don't sell an F1 style rear wing for it then I'm out!

https://luba.mammotion.com/?utm_source=Facebook&am...

[mikeiow]

SlimRick said:

Looks interesting, but if they don't sell an F1 style rear wing for it then I'm out!

https://luba.mammotion.com/

That is pretty cool looking!

[dirtbiker]

Came here to post about that one too - I think it could be pretty good if the price isn't crazy. Appeals as we've just had some new turf laid with a gradient that will certainly be too much for my Flymo 1200R to manage. Will keep tabs on it!

[Frimley111R]

M1AGM said:

joestifff said:

Is it hard to dig the wires into the ground? Can you hire machines?

We get rabbits, foxes and all sorts, don't want them being nibbled.

You might get rabbits (and squirrels) breaking the wire when they make little digs, happens to my setup now and then. A pack of the 3M gel connectors and some spare wire easily fixes any breaks in minutes.

I wouldn't dig the wires in, either get a pro to do it with a machine or cut the grass (where you are putting the wire) down to almost bare earth, place the wire and use pegs to hold it down correctly, in a couple of weeks the wire will have disappeared.

Yep, I only dug the cable in that went directly across the middle of the lawn so that the the scarifier didn't catch it later on. And when I say 'dug' I just used a spade, pushed it into the lawn, leant on it to create a gap and dropped the wire into it.

The border cable was just pinned to the grass. As said, after a few weeks the grass grows around it/over it and you won't see it at all.

When the squirrels dug through it there were spare connectors in the box that I used to reconnect the cable.

[indigochim]

indigochim said:

I keep thinking as I look at the robot mowers that they seem unsophisticated compared to that or vacs. I assume that the lidar may not be so useful as lawn edges will merge into other surfaces rather than walls and maybe the step up to a weatherproof version adds complication and cost but surely there's a better way than the random logic hit and edge and return in a different direction. I'm sure they could do a perimeter map and then fill the gap more efficiently. I suspect the wire and random is just cost effective.

It would appear that people are developing this as a open source mower project

[Lord Marylebone]

Apologies if this has been covered, but can anyone give me an idea of typical installation costs for a mower?

I have a local Stihl dealer who is calling me back on Monday as I have expressed an interest in the RMI 422, and he will be discussing installation costs as well, but before he does I just wondered what others have paid for this service?

The lawn area in my garden is around 550m2 and very simple, in a large one piece U shape, down the sides of the house and round the back.

Thanks

[deckster]

Lord Marylebone said:

Apologies if this has been covered, but can anyone give me an idea of typical installation costs for a mower?

I have a local Stihl dealer who is calling me back on Monday as I have expressed an interest in the RMI 422, and he will be discussing installation costs as well, but before he does I just wondered what others have paid for this service?

The lawn area in my garden is around 550m2 and very simple, in a large one piece U shape, down the sides of the house and round the back.

Thanks

It's a couple of hours work for an untrained monkey. So I wouldn't be paying very much at all.

[David A]

Lord Marylebone said:

Apologies if this has been covered, but can anyone give me an idea of typical installation costs for a mower?

I have a local Stihl dealer who is calling me back on Monday as I have expressed an interest in the RMI 422, and he will be discussing installation costs as well, but before he does I just wondered what others have paid for this service?

The lawn area in my garden is around 550m2 and very simple, in a large one piece U shape, down the sides of the house and round the back.

Thanks

The company selling me a husqvarna do a free install though they are a little more expensive than other places. However they have a cable burying machine thing which is better as other wise I’d strim it or have a squirrel or fox chew through it. Plus I can’t be arsed doing it !

[Lord Marylebone]

David A said:

The company selling me a husqvarna do a free install though they are a little more expensive than other places. However they have a cable burying machine thing which is better as other wise I’d strim it or have a squirrel or fox chew through it. Plus I can’t be arsed doing it !

The cable laying machine and previous experience is one reason why I was fancying leaving it to the Stihl dealer.

deckster said:

It's a couple of hours work for an untrained monkey. So I wouldn't be paying very much at all.

To be fair, it still sounds too difficult for me

Edited by Lord Marylebone on Saturday 23 April 16:16

[bennno]

Lord Marylebone said:

David A said:

The company selling me a husqvarna do a free install though they are a little more expensive than other places. However they have a cable burying machine thing which is better as other wise I’d strim it or have a squirrel or fox chew through it. Plus I can’t be arsed doing it !

The cable laying machine and previous experience is one reason why I was fancying leaving it to the Stihl dealer.

deckster said:

It's a couple of hours work for an untrained monkey. So I wouldn't be paying very much at all.

To be fair, it still sounds too difficult for me

Edited by Lord Marylebone on Saturday 23 April 16:16

You just peg the cable down and within a couple of months you can’t see it, couldn’t be easier.

The husqvarna mowers are also sold as flymo for a lot less expense. Identical bar different coloured plastic.