My autonomous lawn mower thread/blog

KCross

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122038463#Comment_122038463

I reckon the power block is done in.

I’d say so too. I’ve had that go.
could also be base station but from what you’ve tried sound like PSU.

Where are you based? Get a loan of another one to see or call to a dealer and ask them to plug it in rather than ripping it open.

listermint

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122040011#Comment_122040011

Near impossible to rip open. I tried. Cut through it. Wouldn't advise anyone to bother.

KCross

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122040215#Comment_122040215

I wasn’t clear but I meant the base station.

listermint

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122040333#Comment_122040333

Easy to open that puppy. 😃

padair

Thanks, only getting it going this week. It's been in the garage since I got it last October. It's going great today.

Faws

I just put our 430x back in service for the season and it is frequently shutting down while mowing. The screen is off, no response from turning off/on or button pushes.

I thought it was the battery but when I plug it back into the base, it turns back on and says the battery is full. It then asks to do a guidewire recal and set the date/time/pin.

Any idea how to solve?

airy fairy

A complete newbie to this. The ride on has given up the ghost and we are thinking of an autonomous mower. Have a mostly flat acre of lawn, a slight gradient here and there, nothing that you'd notice visually, surrounded by trees, which in itself may be an issue before we begin due to little branches/leaves etc falling randomly. Have no desire to laying a boundary wire though, ..and just want an easy life, obviously when we're investing big, we want something that can't actually do the job and not be clogging or upset over a twig every 5 minutes...

Is there such a robust machine on the market? Any names, advice, the good and the bad please.

listermint

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122042220#Comment_122042220

Guide wire is the easiest life, no idea where the notion came from that it's not. The most basic system that goes boundary to boundary and bounces of the wire is the simplest solution.

Bells and whistles and firmware and software updates will be the headache you never asked for at a premium price.

Thud

twigs are also not an issue, mower will mow over smaller ones. Anything bigger you'd have needed to pick up for a regular mower too

denismc

Guide wire is a one off installation, most installers will install it for a small fee.

Then you just forget about it until you or your dog decides to dig it up accidentally, but even then it's easy to repair.

micks_address

If anyone is interested I've listed my yard force on adverts.. put lawn is so small it's total overkill for it

http://www.adverts.ie/26710252

Brianb8802

Anybody that's interested in a landroid, amazon.de have a deal on for today. The S400 is €540 delivered (17% off) and the L1000 is €908 delivered (33% off).

I bought the S400 last week before the deal and it was delivered this morning. Amazon want me to free return the original one and buy another one to get the €100 saving 😐

https://amzn.eu/d/gzPkPA8

https://amzn.eu/d/gPKD79C

ablelocks

amazon don't delivery those to Ireland

co-op store has greenworks 750m for sale - reduced from €1000 to 600

denismc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122050637#Comment_122050637

Yes they do deliver to Ireland.

ablelocks

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122051247#Comment_122051247

huh - 400m will deliver to ireland now

but still not the 700m or 1000m

listermint

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122051374#Comment_122051374

They may have changed policy during the day for this item, this happens often.

You could use german forwarder service like mailboxde.com I've used them in the past successfully.

carbuncle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122050637#Comment_122050637

go to bottom of coop page and sign up for the newsletter, within a few minutes you will get a voucher for 10% off your first order - the total amount, not just one item.
I just bought a greenworks optimow 4, rated for 450sqm for €360 delivered and got it on the second day after ordering.

I went for the 450sqm as when you read the specs for the battery etc the 750 uses the same battery and cutting disc size - the only difference is amount of pegs and wire but as this was a replacement I needed neither.

I have a 900sqm area but noticed with my McCulloch (drowned in Pond after nearly 4 seasons) that there is little difference at the lower end - just run it for longer.

Since I installed last week I think now the greenworks 450 is software limited only - it will go to recharge at 40% battery and take 2 hours to top up yet it is exactly the same battery as the 750sqm. It does state the recharge times in the specifications of the two units are different.

My grass and moss is still long, it’s only been a few days set at the highest level but my brother has seen a marked improvement in charging speed, running time and state of battery when it goes to recharge somce his started 3 weeks ago. So maybe the extra torque used when working hard affects runtime and recharge time.

We will see but I will be very disappointed if the difference in the models is due to software limiting, that may change with some complaints though (as there are firmware updates via the app)! €200 difference for some more cable and some pegs is a bit much.

Its seems to work well though. Very similar physical design to the McCulloch units (no longer made, they were owned by husqovana and of course they make more profit on those).

I thought about navimo but decided to go cheap, always issues with any type and the greenworks has a 3 year warranty. No display to fail either and higher ip rating - you can wash with a hose.
you need to use the Bluetooth app for scheduling etc but no real hardship although with Bluetooth always on that may use some power.

Anyway, happy enough at €360 - we will see how the lawn looks in a few weeks and if the time mowing and charging speed increases as the grass gets shorter and the moss goes.

For those that don’t know I found with my first one that it only takes a few weeks or so for moss to go and grass to take over - maybe they rip up the moss.

I have had a few guide wire breaks over the years and had one at the weekend but the cheap (€10 from local hardware shop) am band radio technique does work to trace breaks.

I will report back on whether it can do the larger area, if not I will put it up for sale and possibly go for the navimow wire free for the craic and interest of the visual system and positioning really.

I am in two minds though, expensive mowers seem to need expensive parts when really it’s a simple task and laying a boundary is an afternoon’s job. I note earlier in the thread people paying €200 for control boards and over €300 for gearboxes, displays failing etc.

In 4 seasons with the €400 McCulloch (again rated at much less than I needed) I needed a new board for the base station after a spider fried it (€65 delivered) and €40 for a new battery although the battery did not last too long after the unit spent an hour in the pond.

I really should put a bit of edging along the pond.

staples7

edit

staples7

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122039204#Comment_122039204

same, that was one expensive slug 🙈

airy fairy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122042416#Comment_122042416

Guide wire has been ruled out as the lawn is on a clay stoned surface, not much can be dug before its hit. A very inquisitive dog wouldn't help either. Would much prefer a gps guided machine and be done with it once and for all.

listermint

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122051592#Comment_122051592

You don't have to bury the cable. It's clipped to the lawn surface and them settles into the grass roots in a few months. Common misconception is the cable needs to be buried.

I replaced some last year as I reshaped my lawn was looking for my original cable which was laid and clipped some years back it was 4 inches below the surface. Literally disappeared

Dozz

@carbuncle are spare parts readily available for the Green works mowers?

I like the look of the Worx one for €500 from Germany though

Ron30

My parents live about 1 mile from me.

I have a 450x automower

Would it be possible to buy a second charging station and install it along with the boundary wire on my parents lawn and get my 450x to mow their lawn once or twice a week as well as my own?

Id be bringing the automower in my car to their lawn?

I don't want to move my own charging station.

Is that possible?

Can one automower work in two separate locations on two difference charging stations?

RainInSummer

You'd have to go into the menu.

Security - Advanced - New Loop Wire Signal.

denismc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122054622#Comment_122054622

You would have pair the automower everytime you switched between stations, a lot of faff tbh

Also automowers are designed to run pretty much every day, I'm not sure a couple of days in each garden would be enough to keep the grass tidy.

Ron30

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122055676#Comment_122055676

alot of messing alright. probably putting to much pressure on mower.

Thanks

greenbamboo

Hi all, I'm looking at a robot mower for a lawn of 3000sqm. I've seen a very strong looking make of one that looks like it would work well on my soft lawn that has a slight slope on it. Its the Ambrogio 4.0 elite 4wd robot. Has anyone any experience of this manufacturer and model. Ive heard some stories that the Ambrogio app isnt great which worries me.

https://ambrogiorobot.ie/4-0-elite-4wd/

amacca

What do people think of the worx landroid mowers in general...solid enough option?

witnessmenow

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122059840#Comment_122059840

We have a M1000 that's going into its 5th season (so we have it 4 years) and it's still going strong. Wouldn't have any problems recommending them

Sometimes it's traction isn't the best, we also have a yard force for the front garden and it seems to have better wheels than the worx, but using new blades regularly definitely makes a massive difference. We put ours our last week on old blades as I was waiting for delivery of the new set and the difference between how it's getting on now with the new blades and last week is night and day.

Twice I've had to fix the boundary wire where the base station was still green but the lawnmower thought the wire was missing. We have changed the layout of the garden a few times so our boundary wire is a complete hodge podge of different wires and connectors so probably not ideal!

Other than that it's been fine, haven't had to do anything else with it.

gym_imposter

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122042220#Comment_122042220

Get a Kress