Robot mowers

Author
Discussion

wjwren

4,484 posts

134 months

Friday 22nd November 2019
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Rfisher you seem to be clued up on these mowers. What would you say is the best make/model?

Durzel

12,232 posts

167 months

Sunday 1st December 2019
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+1

Would like an answer to the above question too. There’s loads of different ones about at vastly different prices.

Looking to buy one for a friend who has a large uneven garden, I’d estimate 400m2 as a minimum, with a giant tree offset in the middle and a flower bed with a partial fence around it etc.

mikeiow

5,288 posts

129 months

Sunday 1st December 2019
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wjwren said:
mikeiow said:
I was wondering that: unless Harry’s regularly mows the beds?!
Does the s300 mow right to the edge? I have some metal edging round the edge of the lawn and at the moment i have to get the strimmer out as my Bosch leaves a 30cm gap round the edge.
Sorry, missed this reply!
I would say the answer is a guarded "yes".
Guarded because you will need to be VERY precise on the wire placement, & might need a few goes at it. Could be tricky, I think.

Pretty easy to get within just a few cm, for sure!

Mine has a flat wooded path one side, & wood border and can have wheels going over, and in spring I plan my 3rd attempt to get it precisely where I want it!

rfisher

5,024 posts

282 months

Sunday 1st December 2019
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Yes I like robot mowers.

I buy, sell and repair them as one of my many hobbies, so I've owned more than 50 over the last ~5 years.

I've had Bosch, Worx, Robomow, Honda and Alpina mowers.

What you buy depends on your needs really.

First consideration is the size of your garden.

Then the slope.

Then the terrain.

New prices generally reflect the lawn size capacity.

So a 350m2 mower should cost about £350 and a 2000m2 mower about £2000.

Except that the lower end of the market is at around £600, so 350m2 mowers tend to be priced at the same level as 500m2 models.

It won't be too long before mowers are developed which don't need a perimeter wire and use 3D imaging and mapping to map your lawn.

Bosch feel like they are involved in robot mower development for the long term.

I also like Worx mowers (another German company).

However, I feel that there latest mowers are not as good as the earlier models.

The edge mowing machines are not well built and feel a bit gimmicky.

Their best mowers are the older Landroid L and M series.

Robomow are all good but I've not played with their Rx range.

The Honda Miimo is one for the posers.

The Alpina is a surprisingly good mower.

Personally I'd go for the cheapest you can get to start with so you can see if you like what they do.

You can always sell it on and get a better one later.

If you are happy to pay more from the off then I'd recommend the Bosch Indego 350 Connect for 350m2 lawn, Worx WG797E.1 for 2000m2 and any 500-800m2 mower for the rest.


Durzel

12,232 posts

167 months

Sunday 1st December 2019
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As if by magic I spotted this on Amazon for £549.99 down from £799.99 and pulled the trigger:

WORX WR142E M700 Landroid Robotic Mower 700m
Learn more: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07KKYLF9Z/ref=cm_sw_e...

All the different sizes are discounted, but only for the next 23 minutes - sorry!

CamelCamelCamel appears to confirm that this is the cheapest it's been.

EDIT: Ended up also buying the ACS and RadioLink module, but from a company in Germany as it was a reasonable amount cheaper than Amazon.

Hope I made a good choice - damn Amazon and their flash sales!

Edited by Durzel on Sunday 1st December 23:40

Ifor Williams

22 posts

210 months

Monday 2nd December 2019
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Likewise, I've been watching the McCulloch Rob 1000 on camel camel, and have just bought it for a larger lawn on the basis of the brilliant Flymo 1200r i got last year for a smaller front lawn.

£544 seems like a reasonable price for one : https://uk.camelcamelcamel.com/Mcculloch-1000-Robo...

Durzel

12,232 posts

167 months

Monday 2nd December 2019
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Nice find. And yeah, that seems like a good price. That's the one I was reading up on yesterday, seems to be well reviewed.

Zoon

6,654 posts

120 months

Thursday 16th January 2020
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Flymo 1200r is down to £400 on amazon

wjwren

4,484 posts

134 months

Thursday 16th January 2020
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My Bosch went off to be fixed and they decided to send me a new one. Coming today.

kryten22uk

2,344 posts

230 months

Thursday 30th January 2020
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Flymo 1200R down to £190 in B&Q!!!
Insanely low price. Think I might pick up a couple just for spares.

BigBen

11,610 posts

229 months

Thursday 30th January 2020
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kryten22uk said:
Flymo 1200R down to £190 in B&Q!!!
Insanely low price. Think I might pick up a couple just for spares.
Damn, can't find any in stock or would have got one to replace my late lamented Bosch

acme

2,971 posts

197 months

Thursday 30th January 2020
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Apologies if this has already been discussed, but has anyone got experience of the larger ones for gardens of circa half an acre with various flowers borders/manhole covers etc to navigate, also with a slope, can they cope?!

I was thinking Honda?

Cheers

Mr MXT

7,691 posts

282 months

Thursday 30th January 2020
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And how do they cope with dog poo? :/

Sandy59

2,706 posts

210 months

Thursday 30th January 2020
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acme said:
Apologies if this has already been discussed, but has anyone got experience of the larger ones for gardens of circa half an acre with various flowers borders/manhole covers etc to navigate, also with a slope, can they cope?!

I was thinking Honda?

Cheers
I have a Viking 632 PC which has various obstacles to get around, and manages pretty well.
Basically if it has a solid object to hit square on it's fine and just turns around. If you have something like a bush where the branches are low it can easily get stuck, so you either need to run a perimeter wire around these or install small bricks or a small wire trellis type thing to stop it going under the bush.
On slopes mine manages to go up quite a steep slope easily in the dry, but can get stuck if the grass is wet, although it is quite steep to be honest.




Amateurish

7,697 posts

221 months

Thursday 30th January 2020
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acme said:
Apologies if this has already been discussed, but has anyone got experience of the larger ones for gardens of circa half an acre with various flowers borders/manhole covers etc to navigate, also with a slope, can they cope?!

I was thinking Honda?

Cheers
I use one of the cheap ones for a one acre garden with a slope. For the most part it can cope.

Sandy59

2,706 posts

210 months

Thursday 30th January 2020
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acme said:
Apologies if this has already been discussed, but has anyone got experience of the larger ones for gardens of circa half an acre with various flowers borders/manhole covers etc to navigate, also with a slope, can they cope?!

I was thinking Honda?

Cheers
Honda Type R maybe ??




kryten22uk

2,344 posts

230 months

Thursday 30th January 2020
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BigBen said:
Damn, can't find any in stock or would have got one to replace my late lamented Bosch
Apparently they are in stock at the odd shop, but just not recorded online. So it's just checking your local by chance really.

wjwren

4,484 posts

134 months

Friday 31st January 2020
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I went in to my local B&Q and they were only allocated 4 units which have now sold. I was advised the 1200r is now discontinued and they are having no more stock and is replaced by Flymo Easilife - £700, in stock from Monday.

Redmax

752 posts

212 months

Saturday 1st February 2020
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I'm about to order a Robomow RC304U. The lawn's fairly small, about 350m2, pretty flat with the odd unusual shape but nothing too difficult I wouldn't have thought.

Can I do better than the Robomow? What's the current Mercedes/BMW/Audi of robot mowers please?

Thanks

Jason

Redmax

752 posts

212 months

Saturday 1st February 2020
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ash73 said:
Choice really boils down to whether you want one with a solid blade (e.g. Robomow) which can chop up leaves, or one with razor blades (e.g. Flymo, McCulloch) which are a bit quieter and cheaper.
Thanks. We don't get too many leaves on the lawn really. Then again I'm not unduly concerned by the noise, and for the right mower which will do a good job and last for a good while, for the fairly small size of machine I need I'm not that price-sensitive. Decisions, decisions...confused